Friday, May 13, 2011

Powered flight


Prepare for landing
Somewhere near Toronto, ON, March 2011
Click photo to embiggen
About this photo: All good things, including Thematic's vehicular theme, must eventually come to an end. I thought I'd wrap things up with this golden-hour-lit view out the window of a Dash-8 on a recent business trip. I took it with my wife's camera. Shhhh. New Thematic theme goes live this weekend on account of the big Blogger outage. Click here to share one last vehicular vision.
I'm easily bored, especially when I'm in the middle of the atmosphere and I have no one to talk to. Having a camera in my hand somehow makes the time tick by a bit faster, somehow gets me to my destination sooner, somehow shrinks the distance between me and home as I count down the hours until I once again return through the front door.

En route photography also reminds me why I got into this picture taking thing in the first place. The SLR stays at home because it's just too big and bulky for a work thing. Instead, my wife's little Fuji gets tucked into my laptop bag. It's small, simple, and more flexible than you can imagine. I'm reminded of how much fun it can be to coax memorable images out of a camera most folks would typically use for basic snaps. I compose, I think, I see my journey in ways I'd miss if I chose to instead bury my nose in the in-flight magazine.

The results won't change the world, of course. But as I watch the late afternoon light play on the well-worn metal that encases the Pratt & Whitney PW100 turboprop engine, I decide it doesn't have to be earth-changing to be worthwhile. I like what I see, and I like how I'm feeling as I stare out the window. So I line up and shoot. Good enough for now.

Your turn: How do you pass the time on a long journey?

2 comments:

Mustang Sally said...

Depends on my mood.
If I'm feeling happy, or productive anyway ;) I'm likely to spend it much like you chose here.

If my life is such I just want to escape I'm more likely to try to lose myself in a book. Fiction is great for a 'time out' when things are too hectic or too ... sad for lack of a better word.

You may have noticed I'm rather handy at 'dropping out' when I need to. Like a lion that is my rising sign, I tend to retreat to my cave to lick my wounds until I'm ready to face the world again all proud and fearless.

Alexia said...

I find this photo rather scary - looks as if the plane is held together by super-glue and faith!
Good shot!