“It all ends with the click of a button…” was a comment I heard about photography, at the Private View of my recent exhibition. This is a common misconception, so I thought I would walk through the various stages of how I go about creating art prints for the print gallery.
I’m going to use this photo, which I took recently when I was out on a recce, as an example image. I should start by saying that there are plenty of things that I would do differently in this photo, if my original aim was to go and create a fantastic photograph of this waterfall. I made this photo purely because I had climbed down the cliffs to get there, and I may return someday at a better time and with a more structured approach.
This above is the final, print ready, image, so let’s take a look at how I got there…
I came across these paragliders, down by the coast a couple of weeks ago, and watched in awe as they took off around me. I like to keep my feet firmly on the ground so could only admire them as they jumped off the cliff, with only a big sheet to keep them from crashing into the rocks and sea below!
We were lucky to have two of the London 2012 Olympic events take place in Surrey, and the Men’s Road Race was equally as well supported as the Time Trial. I once again I grabbed my camera, jumped on my bike, this time accompanied by Mrs Doug, and followed the River Wey to Byfleet, where the road race crossed over the M25 (via a bridge.)
Read on to see more photos, and to find out how my wife ended up as “pacesetter” for the Men’s race.
With the Paris Olympics Time Trial starting today (at the time of writing) I thought it apt to revisit the London 2012 Time Trial which started and ended in Hampton Court Palace in Surrey, and which saw Bradley Wiggins win Gold, and Chris Froome the bronze medal.
When I heard that a man was sailing a charity box that he had converted into a boat, from Henley-on-Thames to Shepperton, I just had to grab my camera bag, hop on my bike and go and see what this was all about.
The annual swan upping event on the River Thames took place again in July, where hopes were high for an improved count over last year, when avian flu had badly affected bird numbers. This year, however, the flooding and high river levels will have washed away many nests, although some may be rebuilt later in the season, resulting in a lower count than might be expected, but still improved on last year.
The 2024 Swan Upping, Bridge Wharf, Chertsey, 15/07/2024. Photo by Douglas KurnContinue reading →
The Saint Edward Brotherhood Monks returned to Chertsey for their annual blessing of the waters, and luckily the water had subsided otherwise I would have been stood in the river! There was a good turn out again as the sun shone to keep us all warm after the sub zero temperatures of late.
It was 20 years ago today (November 26th, 2023) that Concorde made it’s last ever flight before being permanently retired from flying duties. That flight was a non-commercial flight which took it from London Heathrow airport to its final landing strip at Filton Airfield in Bristol.
Quite by chance I happened to be in London on October 24th, 2003 when Concorde made it’s last ever commercial flight, and permission had been granted for 3 of the aircraft to allow them circle at low altitude over London before landing for the final time at Heathrow airport. I was completely ill-equipped to take advantage of seeing the Concordes fly over Tower Bridge, having just a Canon EOS10D (6.3MP folks!) and a 24-70mm lens.
I did manage to get shots of all 3 of them, but I just can’t tell the difference other than the times that they flew over! This is definitely the last one though, which was Concorde call sign G-BOAG, piloted by Captain Mike Bannister.
Concorde, call sign G-BOAG, on it’s last ever commercial flight, doing a low altitude fly past over Tower Bridge, London. Photo by Douglas Kurn
Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey has a Concorde as part of its display of aircraft, and it is possible to book a simulated flight aboard the plane, with Captain Mike Bannister acting as the pilot for the flight. I managed to book a flight and discovered that it was capable of flying at Mach 2 or supersonic flight. There was a bit of shaking and bumping as we reached Mach 2 but it was great fun being there.
A sign inside Concorde saying that we are flying at Mach 2 at 56,500 feet, in a simulated flight at, Brooklands Museum, Weybridge. Photo by Douglas Kurn
On leaving the aircraft after “landing” back at Brooklands you can walk past the cockpit and see one of the reasons that the Concorde was retired, as it is based on a very analogue system of switches and dials.
The cockpit of the Concorde. Photo by Douglas Kurn
During my project to photograph the remains of the Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit at night, I was allowed onto the Brooklands Museum site and just had to take advantage of a lot of waiting around for long exposures to develop, by taking a “selfie” with Concorde!
Doug in front of Concorde, at Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey. Photo by Douglas Kurn
It’s sad to know that it will never fly again, although it feels exciting to have been around when it was flying. Even as kids growing up we would occasionally hear it fly overhead on one of its many flights, and look up eagerly at an amazing piece of technology, and as it turns out now, history.
You must be logged in to post a comment.