Sunday MoonDay – Sunset WaterSkiers

Over the past several days at varying times of an evening, I have heard the characteristic squawk of geese as they passed over the house, and in several V-formations and generally large numbers; but never predictably enough to have a camera (and preferably on a tripod) at hand, so since it was a Sunday evening I decided I would go in search of where they might be, so that I might put myself in the best position to catch them in flight.

I drove round to Brogborough Lake to the Windsurfing Club to enquire whether they had seen them, and learned that they had indeed, but only in the mid-afternoon, whereas I was hoping to capture them either in the early morning or early evening light. Sam, co-owner with his wife Emma, said well if you cannot find them at least you have the Eclipse of the Moon at three am! At first I felt that was a difficult time for me, but it sowed the seed of an idea, and seeds tend to germinate in my mind, and it did make me ponder a possible timetable, since it was very likely to be a clear night…

I mentioned that the geese seemed headed to the other adjacent lake at Stewartby, and Sam said he had heard there were large numbers seen over there, so I thanked them and headed in that direction, I decided I would not return the way I had come, but head in the direction of Liddlington. It was at the junction of Sheep Tick Lane that the low rays of the evening light was falling on the edge of the Allotments and a bed of roses, some dying Red Hot Pokers, and tall Sunflower heads. I could not simply pass them by, so parked up for a few moments to grab some shots for possible use as cards.

This route to Stewartby meant I had twice to cross level crossings before parking close by the Sailing Club. This allowed me to be be in a possible position to see the geese against the sunset backdrop should they be taking to the skies. I could see that the far side of the lake was certainly crowded with a large congregation of birds on the water with just a few occasionally taking to the air, but they were largely silent, so since geese are notorious for loud conversations when planning to fly, it seemed unlikely they were due for takeoff anytime soon.

However in the foreground at the pontoon, there was human activity by a powerboat and I soon spotted a young lad in a wetsuit with a ski, and the preparations suggested an imminent departure, and a lone angler seemed to sense his fishing activities were about to be curtailed, so decided I would record the scene and hope for some interesting shots of a skier in nice lighting. I proved to have arrived at a vary opportune moment, and was able to get shots of two different skiers before the last glows of sunset had faded from the sky.

I added two shots of the moon either side of midnight; the full moon and the total eclipse of the Super Moon giving me the Rose Moon – I slept for an hour and a half before getting the total eclipse at around three o’clock and back to bed at after four for a lie-in.

Bicester – Heritage Open Day

I had learned that Francis Newman was planning to exhibit his Ferrari at the Bicester Heritage Centre on the Sunday morning, so I decided I would drive over there and meet up with him. The morning started at my end in sunshine, but by the time I was ready to get into the car for the journey, the weather had deteriorated to become as forecast – dull and misty, but I let Francis know that I was heading over, so took the camera with the 24-105mm lens and a pakamac in case rain came and joined the steady stream of cars heading along the A421 for Milton Keynes.

As I navigated the series of roundabouts that are the signature feature of Milton Keynes environs, the mist increased in density, though not as dense or as unpredictable as to be described as fog; I was simply driving through low-lying cloud! I came upon the entrance to the airfield quite suddenly and duly paid my £5 entry fee and parked up. I texted Francis to check where I might find him, but before I set off for the Motor Transport Yard, took the opportunity to capture a couple of the aircraft on the perimeter that stood with the backdrop of the lingering mist.

Using the map as a guide proved misleading as the gate I had entered was not the Main Gate as I had presumed, but once I had queried one of the marshals, I regained my bearings and headed towards where Francis was located, standing beside his blue Ferrari, after a short catch up chat I decided I did need to have a shot of his car and its owner. We talked for a while about the forthcoming Grand Prix where Vettel and Raikonen were hoping for some good luck against the Mercedes for a change, and we were soon joined by another friend who it transpired was now the Logistic Support guy for next year’s new entrant to Formula 1; the Haas team; that sounded quite an achievement and also a lot of hard work!

Francis and I soon went off in different directions as we sought out different vehicles of interest that were on display. I came back once to the yard to chat further and though his car was still there, he was not, so I continued my trip around the area, before returning once more only to find the car and Francis gone!

When I finally felt I had seen all of interest, I headed for the car and took slightly different shots of subjects that had hitherto been shrouded in mist, and once in the car, the sun was finally overcoming the mist and a glider passed overhead.

Goodwood 2015 – Revival Meeting

Having already enjoyed a splendid day at Goodwood Revival on the Friday, I assumed that I could not be so lucky weatherwise on my second visit of the weekend, but I had not counted on the excellent contacts Lord March must have up above, for despite some suggestions that we would not be so lucky on the second day we had yet another day of fine weather.

The journey south was freer of cars on the motorways as it was no longer a weekday, so it was both leisurely and speedy and both Andy and I were able to get our cameras sorted quickly in the Old Control Tower, so that we saw and listened to the band playing on the Startline for the Track Blessing. Followed by the Gassers Demonstration performed by a varied assortment of  American themed cars burning rubber and being assisted by a Red Indian offering a Goodwill Dance for each entrant and the equally frenetic Startline Marshal flagging each one off!

As that display came to an end I took Andy through the tunnel beneath the track and entered the Pits area and later the area close to the Chicane. Despite not seeing Simon Diffey’s name in the programme, I did spot the car I had seen him drive in previous years a Type 51 Bugatti and recognised his gold crash helmet, so I was able to follow his race, and later see mechanics working on the car in the Paddock.

There is far too much to cover in a single day at Goodwood, so I outlined for Andy a few of the regular attractions and I did form the impression that he was enjoying himself and he felt that the effort of acquiring the outfit and its accoutrements had been worthwhile. Like me he was impressed by how friendly everyone was and how many would engage themselves in conversations with total strangers.

Knowing Andy’s interest in aircraft we also headed towards the airstrip and spent some time wandering amongst the static ones as well as those in the sky. Whilst in the Old Control Tower we met the New Zealand High Commissioner’s wife and I made sure I took some shots of the pair of them as they later drove around the circuit as part of the Bruce Mclaren Tribute. Lord March led the tribute by reading of Bruce’s career moments and achievements from the Starters Steps erected centre track and it was good to see Jackie Stewart amongst those in the forefront of all the drivers coming to show their respect. It is truly amazing that Bruce is one of the few men that have been winners of races in a car he designed and built; that he drove and won so many championships, yet died at the age of only thirty-two and, whilst testing at this very circuit in 1970.

I got a call on my mobile in the afternoon from a friend who had bought his wife along to the event for the first time, and we arranged to try to meet up, and were successful. It was good to meet Alasdair after a gap of a few years as he was one of those who helped me understand the intricacies of computer networking, such that I could write that chapter in my book ‘Mac OSX for Photographers’ back in 2008.

I have been lucky to meet numerous really interesting people at Goodwood over the years and this weekend was no exception as I met an Opera Singer who was a friend of a Russian lady who had organised an exhibition of Lord March’s photographs in Moscow. Also because the noise levels are often very high conversations are more often one to one, so Andy was speaking to a different set of people to me. Sometime I must catch up with his discussions!

Once again I am really grateful for the opportunities offered by my being a guest of Lord March at this event.

Goodwood Revival 2015 – The Friday

I do need to have faith in SatNav – I had set my destination correctly, but I felt I had no need of the M25 to reach colleague Martin Evening’s home, so when it instructed me to come off the M1 and take to the M25, I spoke out loud that you must be wrong, so continued for a further junction feeling that I knew better – wrong! I ended up by simply doubling back and wasting several minutes taking its correct advice and joining it further round! I was late by precisely the number of minutes the extra unnecessary mileage took to right the wrong.

I made my apologies for the late arrival and we loaded Martin’s gear and set off. Both of us marvelled at scenes that we witnessed as the sun glowed through mist that lay in many of the valleys as we headed south towards Chichester and the Goodwood Revival Meeting and discussed how we must try to get out early at this special time of year as we both regretted how the pace of life and responsibilities had made this difficult to fulfil.

We made good time and headed into the track, in our haste failing to take accurate notice of where I had parked the car! Since we had rather special tickets that invited us to the Old Control Tower, I suggested this was a location we find early whilst there was time and fewer crowds. And it was really fortuitous as after checking in there, we headed for the first floor now decorated with Liberty prints and furniture and fittings depicting the Sixties, and almost the first person we met was Lord March whose guests we were lucky to be for the day. It was good to be given a chance to have a brief chat with so busy a man, but it did give us a chance to thank him and have a brief catch-up.

There were so few guests at this time that we were able to accept the hospitality of tea and coffee and explore the opportunities of shooting from the higher viewpoint and it was not long before both of us had enjoyed the offered drinks and had begun taking pictures.

I think Martin was fascinated by the costumes and the characters represented, because I was already fully aware that the cars themselves held little interest. He was certainly new to Goodwood’s atmosphere, and the level of noise was an issue. So during our day this would be reflected in the images we took. I am definitely more of a recorder, Martin’s experience with taking control of models for fashion and hairdressing would be more apparent. My background from years of being an Assistant Chief Pit Marshal for the BRSCC would also have a bearing. Viewing Martin’s FaceBook pages will therefore be like visiting two different shows! I hope mine still provide interest.

Later on the lawn by the track beneath the Old Control Tower, we chanced upon Neil Barstow and his wife, Janet, where conversation was far harder trying to compete against the thunderous raw of American muscle cars.

The picture that heads this piece is of Simon Diffey in the Bugatti Type 51 coming out of the Chicane, the car is owned by Richard Collier.