TEFC                     

 After working through a variety of small cameras used to capture video from my Drifter, I think I am getting close. I have used a variety of pencil cams and even the small ipod nano with inbuilt camera. I have recently purchased a gopro HD Hero2. After evaluating it against the contour, it came out in fron for quality and durability.

My small kodak playsport is still in the mix for price and sound - ideal for that trip through Vietnam... but it doesn't really stack up in the extreme sports arena.

Nuff said, here is a piece shot with a combination of the gopro, the kodak (my ten year old son) and a couple of snaps from the Nikon D90. Music by my favourite music provider for indie videos - Smartsound.

Remember ladders are dangerous!

This entry was posted on January 23, 2012 at 8:17 PM and has received 101 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

 I went for a flight the other day to get some pictures of Darwin from a distance and captured some other evidence that Darwin is emerging from a backwater status to an economic contributor.

The President of the United States arrives in Darwin tomorrow and I thought that seeing that all flights by non-essential aircraft are not permitted during his visit I would provide an aerial view of the surrounds of Darwin taken in very recent times.

I have marked some of the locations on a google map

I will start with the new detention centre being built out along the Channel Island road. I took quite a few pictures of the centre which is looking very nice. Here is one from the album. Click on the picture to view the entire album of shots.

New Detention Centre in Darwin

To get photographs of Darwin I had to use a 200mm lens which in a digital camera takes it out to about 300mm. I hadn't used this lens for a while and I am almost inspired to buy a 28-300 Nikkor lens with vibration reduction after seeing the shots this old lens produced.

So here is a photograph of the existing Gas Plant with Darwin City in the background. Apparently the large tank in the foreground has a floating roof that rises and falls with the gas that is stored within the tank.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

 Although this doesn't look like an island, this next shot is Channel Island where our power station and aquaculture research facility are. There is also a boat ramp there that will see you into the mouth of the Blackmore River quite quickly - and it is bitumen all the way. The power station is gas fired and the aquaculture centre breeds barramundi as well as exotic items like the sea cucumber and giant clams.

East Arm wharf is where our cargo and livestock shipping occurs. There has been some controversy with the temporary banning of live cattle exports which genuinely affected the livelihood of many folks. Hopefully the disruption led to a genuinely positive outcome in relation to the humane treatment of animals otherwise it will go down as a failed action on the local and international stage. A couple of cranes have fallen over or come adrift and then there was the spillage of ore into the harbour although on that one I would prefer to be in Darwin Harbour than in harbours surrounding the failed nuclear plant in Japan. The wharf will only continue to become busier with all the development that is going to happen in the resources sector.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

The small island in the middle of East Arm is called Catalina Island. The Peninsula behind the island was occupied during WWII with the presence of Z Force on Catalina Island.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

Site of the new INPEX project in the foreground and Darwin in the background.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

 Darwin in the background with the new detention centre in the foreground. Vacant plot of land is partially for the INPEX site. East Arm Wharf on the right and on the far left the edges of the existing Conoco Phillips gas plant.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

 Finally to Darwin, the place of my birth and much changed over the 50 years I have been around.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

Welcome to Darwin Mr. President

This entry was posted on November 16, 2011 at 7:43 AM and has received 241 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

I have been doing more flying and less talking about flying and I'm using this entry to clean out some subscribers who have moved on from my blog.

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This entry was posted on November 14, 2011 at 10:13 PM and has received 133 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Went out to MKT yesterday for my first flight in a while, what with holidays, Christmas and renovations to the laundry. It was good to drag the drifter out and get it ready for a lazy trip out to Adelaide River. This time of the year is fantastic for flying in the morning. Zero wind and thunderstorms normally hold off until the afternoon. As usual, the time from undoing your tie downs to getting in the air takes much longer than the normal preflight time as you have to catch up with folks and yesterday was a little special.

Harvard at MKT

I heard the thundering sound of an approaching Harvard (which I recognise only because it does frequent these parts) - I grabbed the camera and got some very nice shots of Nick conducting a close up inspection of our airfield. When Nick came around again and I saw the landing gear down I wondered why Nick was going to land as he normally does a fly past and heads off South for some fun.

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This entry was posted on January 4, 2011 at 5:17 AM and has received 320 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Before I start this little story, (for our TEFC club members) don't forget the flyaway to Batchelor and cricket match against the parachutists this coming weekend.

Aerial - Palmerston

During this time of the year the air is clear which makes it perfect for photography before the first fires start turning the top end into dry haze. I took a flight up along the southern coastline of Darwin Harbour where there was a large natural gas storage ship in dock at Wickham Point taking on its cargo of supercooled natural gas bound I guess for Japan. Nearby was our power station located on Channel island.

Aerial - Darwin Harbour Developments and Skyline

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This entry was posted on March 9, 2010 at 2:30 AM and has received 683 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

When you are flying around 1000ft above the ground in a drifter aircraft, you get to see some amazing things. Most of the people who are subscribed to this blog fly aircraft and I take for granted that they see what I see when I fly. I also take photographs when I fly, a lot of them. I get a lot of pleasure from the combination of flight and photography.

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This entry was posted on February 23, 2010 at 8:08 AM and has received 404 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.