A busy day of....

NOT much at all!!!

Well, not really... I actually got a fair bit done! Not huge things, just lots of small stuff....

The biggest thing of the day was that I finally got a new phone; an iPhone 5S! My old 4S had been playing up ever since I was in Vietnam!!

Other than setting it up, making sure everything was back on it, I then went out for a bit and did some shopping, and had lunch whilst out. When I came home though, I had grand plans of mowing the lawns, and/or vacuuming, instead, I had a wee nap... Oh well!

I then collected Bronty and we headed down to the airport, as a mate was leaving on a flight tonight, and I wanted to test my skills of the night panning photography... Only thing is, as the night got on and darker, the harder it all became, and I didn't get his at all, BUT, I did get some prior to his departure!

So, tomorrow it will be a matter of getting the lawns mowed, and putting some water about the place, especially on the rose garden, as i want some more blooms....

Hoo roo for now...

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Flying away to another land, far far away...

Well, come Sunday, I will be leaving on my trip…. And WHAT a trip it will be… I still have a few things left to do though!! I have a house sitter, so the house will be occupied whilst I am away and the 'fur-kids' will be well looked after… But, where AM I going I hear you ask?? EVERYWHERE!!!

Flight List & Hotels

Flight Miles

Flightpath

I have a conference to go in Monte Carlo, about the middle of the trip, and I have meetings along the way in Europe mainly… I have also set up a meeting in Brazil! BUT, one spot I am REALLY looking forward to, is the visit to St Maarten in the Dutch Antilles. It is like the 'Mecca' for 'spotters' to go to, and I am really looking forward to it!! NOW, I am getting there from a different routing than everything else I have seen; most arrive from Paris or Amsterdam (AF/KLM) or from Miami (any of the major carriers). Where as, I am routing in from Saò Paulo Brazil!!

Anyway, its ALL booked now, and I am ready to go… All I have to do now is pack!! haha

Earlier in the week, I was wanting to do some more 'macro' photography, some close-ups. The old Passionfruit is in flower again, so I grabbed a shot of a flower on it…

Passiflora spp

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday N0.87 - Airport Sunrise

Good Morning Sydney ATC… Open for arrivals and departures!

Sydney ATC Tower

DHL B767 Freighter

Hoo roo for now...

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The Day The Hobbits Arrived (Thematic Photographic)

Ok, to be a part of Carmi's thematic Photographic this week, (Flying), I thought I'd add in the latest logojet, from Air New Zealand; The Hobbits!

Arrival from Auckland
Departure back to Auckland

You can, of course, read more about Thematic Photographic over on Carmi's blog... Written Inc!

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The day started with rain, and although the forecast was to top 40c, I initially doubted this very much... How wrong was I! There was a few of us out there, and a few left to try and grab a different view of the beast. I, and a friend from Holland, and another local spotter all hung around on the mound. She did look lovely, and a credit to ANZ for doing it!

However, by the time it was scheduled to leave, it was now after midday and not the best for spotting, but the heat was increasing by the minute! And by the time it actually left, it was nearing 36c!

On my way home though, I had to stop at the Pool Clinic, and purchase a 'Creepy Crawly' for the in-laws pool. Initially, I was going to go home and pick up Bronty, but she was probably better at home in the cool, so I went straight over to their place. Installing it took no real time at all, and before too long, it was circling the pool picking up leaf litter from the bottom! We also added some chemical, chlorine and an acid to stop the chlorine escaping, and I left it to do its thing, happily do its thing at that!

By the time I got home, Miss Bronty was MORE THAN HAPPY to see me, bless her! I had gotten something light to eat for dinner, as the last thing I wanted to do was cook! The heat did NOT get any cooler, and thank goodness I fixed the air-conditioner a couple of months ago! I eventually got too bed, but later in the night, 2.30am Sunday, it was still 27c!

Hoo roo for now...

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Day 10 - Airside spotting at PRG!

Ok, this was a definitely a 'highlight' of the trip... It isn't every day you can get THIS close to the action!!

We arrived at the airport after having breakfast in the hotel, it was served down in the cellar, which was full of lovely lines and arches of old stone (propped up by new here and there...). We caught the Metro and then the bus that links the Metro to the Airport. But, we had to get out at T3, which is short and on the opposite (almost) side of the airport. It was the old terminal, and it is now used for FIFO and charters as well as General Aviation! We were met by the guide, and as it was just us, we were going out in a car as opposed to the bus, which had its pluses in that we could get to better locations and out for a longer period as well!

Soon enough, we were driving along what was the old runway, which is being used for GA parking. Low and behold, there was an Australian registered aircraft out there!!

Wristband

Prague Airport Spotting

VH-LAL a long way from home - Sitting on the old runway in Prague!

We then headed along to the cargo ramp, where an all white (boring) China Airlines Cargo B744F was being loaded. This will be good to get as it departs!!

JP and the China Airlines Cargo B744F

B-18722 China Airlines Cargo B744F - PRG

We then headed to a little spot, where we set up for a good couple of hours, and mainly spotting small (A320 and B737's) jets and the odd props (ATR's) taxiing past and or departing. It was fantastic as a lot of the airlines were all new to me! The lighting was being difficult, but hey, it was middle of the day and I wasn't going to complain, and I got some good results!

CSA Logo Jet departing PRague Airport

AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines B735 UR-AAL - PRG

BMI Baby

We then moved (a little) so as we could get both the B744F and the Emirates B773 departing. After the EK taxied past, we had to get into the car, move, in order for the B744F to pass us, as this is an operational (and safety) requirement. It didn't take either of them to long to get to the end of the runway and soon departing!

EK B773 to DXB

China Airlines B744 Freighter departing PRG

The day was fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, thanks JP!

We then headed back into town, and dropped of the camera gear and then a freshen up. We were meeting up with JP's dad for dinner, at a Mexican restaurant nearby! It was great to catch up with his dad again, as it was last December, in Rome, where I last caught up with him for dinner!

What a day, lots of great stuff done and lots of good company... Totally exhausted, especially as now my hayfever was ramping up... I am over the sneezing and constantly running nose and itchy eyes.

Hoo roo for now...

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Day Two in Oslo

Well, I woke early, it was the suns fault rising at such an un-godly time!!! We had arranged to meet at 10am, allowing me to get a little 'sleep-in' (yeah right!). But instead, we got away at around 9am, and headed for some more spotting - but this time, it was some 'Ship Spotting'!

Mr C drove me around, he offered for me to drive, but NO WAY was I going to, as I wanted to see what there was to see, and I didn't want to crash his car!!!

We went to a spot that looks up the harbour and offers a nice view of the city centre and its surrounds. Luckily, there was a ferry coming upstream from Denmark, so I managed to snap it! I must say, the 'thrill' of ship spotting with me, isn't going to take I'm afraid...

Pearl Seaways

After this, we drove to collect Mr T. He was flying later in the day back home to Bergen. But, we had another full day of spotting to do, and first up, it was to the top of the ATC tower, some 94m high!

OSL Spotters

It was a great view from up there, and I am grateful for the experience. I managed to get a couple of good shots!

Icelandair

Korean Air Cargo

We then went to a total of about 6 different spotting locations around OSL airport! And this isn't all of them either!!! Throughout the day, we shot the usual suspects, SAS and Norwegian, but I also got a few of the bigger stuff we just don't get at home, Qatar and PIA!

Lupinus

Mr T

Fungi

PIA

It was another FULL on day, and after saying goodbye to Mr T, we headed back out for a little bit, before the fading light (clouds) gave in and we headed back to the apartment. I said my goodbyes to Mr C and thanked him for his hospitality, and I showered, changed and headed out for some city sights and dinner! I have found a little cafe bar nearby, good food and reasonably priced, so I headed back there. Afterwards, back to my apartment and after a quick Skype call home, I found some well earned sleep.

Hoo roo for now...

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Hello from Oslo!!

Yes, I know, I've been slack lately with my blogging, but I've not had much to really post about... Not that THAT is an excuse either, I've just been slack!

Anyways, as I write, I am on a train from Oslo to Kristiansand in Norway. My trip began many weeks ago, when I signed up to go to a conference. It morphed (over time) to include both a visit to the Prague Botanic Gardens in the Czech Republic, and also to the World Horticultural Expo in Venlo in The Netherlands!

It was a booking of sorts, that whilst fragmented, was a great routing... Let me give you the highlights...

Monday 18th June 2012

This saw me fly out of Sydney aboard one of the newest airliners SCOOT. They are a LCC of Singapore Airlines, and are using a B772; which is an ex SQ plane. There are NO bells and whistles at all with them, and this for me is OK, but I only wished that they had the moving map on monitors on the bulkhead walls. This would give me the situational awareness of where I am!

Anyway, I had a 'FlyBagEat' ticket in economy, which is pretty much that, I can fly, with a bag, and I can eat! The later of course you pay for! The flight was good, the crew were friendly ex SQ girls, and in just a shade over 8 hours, I was in Singapore. I had a 3 hour transit here, but due to a delay getting out of Sydney, it meant it was a 2 hour layover.

From Singapore, I flew with Finnair, which for me, was the second time I have flown with them. This flight was over 11 hours, and after a long laborious take off, I quickly nodded off, and only woke up for the breakfast some 2 hours short of Helsinki! I must've been tired!

Arrival into Helsinki was great, and it bought to a close the end of my long haul flights from Sydney - I just had a short, 90 minute, flight, to Oslo. Helsinki airport is very easy to get around, its clean and in typical Nordic blonde timber and lots of glass. I found my departure gate, and I was off again, this time on a smaller regional plane.

Tuesday 19th June 2012

My short flight across from Helsinki to Oslo was pretty much uneventful. The crew again were very polite and served me a coffee ex Helsinki. Our arrival into Oslo, as I had not been here before, was difficult in that I didn't know where the airport was! Soon enough, we were turning for finals, and I had it in sight. I was to be meeting up with some friends in Oslo, and even though I could not see them from my aircraft, I was actually sitting on the right side too, they got a photo of my arrival into Oslo!

I cleared immigration, there was no-one there, and before long, I was outside shaking hands with my Norwegian friends! I was asked IF I wanted to be taken to my apartment, but as I had slept almost the entire journey SIN-HEL, I was fine and we went straight out to meet up with some more local spotters and spot for the rest of the day.

Soon after, Mr C got a text message asking if the 'Kangaroo' had arrived, and not long after that, a van with two more people (and a dog) came out to welcome me!! Such nice people!! Anyway, we spotted and here are a couple from the day...

Estonian Air

Lupinus

Dandelion

I was driven into town to my apartment, and once I had my keys, headed downstairs and had a nice long HOT shower; it was SO refreshing. Soon, I headed outside in a much more respectful manner, to a cafe nearby, where I had dinner, a Norwegian beer, before heading home for a sleep. Oh, and I forgot about the Norwegian light, it was still DAYLIGHT at 11pm, and the sun was up from 3.30am!!!

So that is, basically, how I got here...

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 124 Bird

I was out spotting in Melbourne, and along the airport viewing park, is a rural area where a lot of birds flock. On this occassion, there was a flock of Crows. This little fellow is sitting on a road sign just off the road...

MEL Crow

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 120 Peace

Recently, an organised airside tour gave us the opportunity of photographing 'up close and personal' to the active runway in Sydney... Here, a QF Boeing 767-300 is taxiing past where we were located, and he gave us the 'PEACE' sign - cool hey!

Peace Man QF B763ER

Hoo roo for now...

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Doing the Kai Tak Trek...

Today, we did the 'Kai Tak Trek, in that we headed for the infamous, Checkerboard! It was the navigational aide for the arrival path for the old Kai Tak. It could certainly do with a repaint nowadays, AND inclusion to the Heritage List!!

After this epic walk (in the heat) we then headed off to the new airport for a bit of spotting and cool... The Airport Express got us there in relative style, and if nothing else, it was cool!! We shot some interesting aircraft, most of which we don't get at home, but every time a Cathay A330 came in, it was cameras down...

The 'Checkerboard'

'J' spotting...

Pufy Cloud

Stormy Cloud (didn't happen though)

9th Green Marriot

Hoo roo for now...

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Getting use to the 7D

OK, now I know that I am no photography expert, but the learning curve UP from my trusty old Canon EOS 400D to the 7D has been a steep one. I have had a bit of 'coaching' from the side (thanks guys) and I am slowly getting use to it. However, the biggest thing I have issue with, is the location of the power on/off switch! On the 400, it was operated by my right thumb, and on the 7D, it is on the other side of the body... So yesterday, in an emergency to get a shot, I found out on numerous times, that I needed to turn it back on, DOH! But, this is only a minor thing to get use to!

Whilst out yesterday, mainly for an afternoon of lunch and spotting with some mates for the USAF C-17 arrival, I also got out the macro filter and shot some stuff; Mouse Eared Chickweed - which is of course, a weed growing in a lawn nearby...

Mouse Eared Chickweed

USAF C-17_03

Hoo roo for now...

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