Gung Ho Photography

Runcorn & District Scale Model Boat Club

Had a little trip out to see those people who sail with the Runcorn and District Scale Model Boat Club over in Runcorn. What an enjoyable few hours. I seemed to spend at least an hour sailing someone else's yacht. Really enjoyed myself. Anyhow, here are a few photos from the day. Anyone interested in contacting the club can find their web site here.

Another visit to the boat club a week later (Sunday 15th June) brought some more photos of these two delightful steam powered craft.

A collection of images of my Kyosho Seabreeze on it's maiden voyage. Can't wait for 'proper' sailing weather and decent winds. I'll attach the video camera next week from some 'in water' video footage.

Aerial Panoramas shot from a model aircraft

Here is a collection of aerial panoramas. Each panorama is carefully stitched and assembled from multiple images (8 – 35) photographed from a model aircraft flying between 1,000 and 3,000 feet altitude.

The locations contained within this collection include:-

Kelsall Village
Runcorn Model Aircraft Club flying site
Sandy Lane and River Dee (Chester)
The Groves and River Dee (Chester)
Backford Country Estate
Christleton Village (added 5th Oct 2007)
Tarvin Village (added 5th Oct 2007)
Ashton Hayes Village (added 5th Oct 2007)

More panoramas will be added when weather and flying locations permit.

Derek learns to fly

This is Derek. Today is Derek�s first flying lesson. Derek bought a model plane. Derek has never flown a model plane before. Derek bought a model plane flight simulator a few weeks ago as well.

Derek did very well. Derek had five flights today. Derek still took his plane home in one piece. Derek was so good at flying that I had to invent problems just to have a go. Derek spoilt my flying fun by being so good.

Here�s what Derek flew.
Parkzone Stryker �C� brushless aircraft
Spektrum DX7 2.4 Ghz radio set inclusing AR7000 RX
Flight Power 2100 Mah light battery

The 2.4 Ghz radio was a breeze to set up. It looks weird with the transmitter antenna being so short. The Ar7000 twin receiver fitted into the Stryker without issue. It�s a fast hot plane that also slows down to a pussycat�s pace.

Click his image and see how we did today.

Spotted Flycatchers; From the egg to fledging.

For the last few weeks I was privileged to follow the progress of a pair of nesting Spotted Flycatchers. I first observed the birds fleeting into and out of an old hanging basket that with the exception of a small conifer was pretty much dead.

After a few days, the penny dropped and I pulled up a chair to have a look inside. nestled within was a small nest containing five speckled eggs.

The Spotted Flycatcher is on the red list which means that it is not recovering from a historical decline or is globally threatened. Further details on the habitat and lifestyle of the Spotted Flycatcher may be found here.

I was able to track the nesting pair from egg laying to hatching and fledging though these are very flighty and will not tolerate any disturbance in the garden. After a few days I was attuned to the adult call. When the hen was sitting on the eggs, anyone leaving the house would cause the cock to emit an alarm call from the branch where he was overseeing his nest and this would cause the hen to also fly off.

I�m surprised they survived with the frequency of comings and goings at hour house, but all five chicks fledged.

The photography probably won�t win any prizes for picturesque imagery, however it does illustrate what can go on around us. I�m really happy that I managed this one for my photographic records. Hope you enjoy.

New project added: The Airborne Camera

New project added to site: The Airborne Camera.

Follow along as I attempt to add video and still images to my model aircraft.

For this project ill be adding a new air frame, fitting telemetry and finally adding the camera�. then the fun begins.

You can find the project listed on the right of this web page under the projects banner, or if you�re idle, click here or the image accompanying this article.

Doh! Even more model aircraft from RMAC.

Sunday Photo Collection: Taken on Sunday, these images are split into four separate groups. Mark once again dominated the photo shoot and managed his own section with the Puppeteer (then again his beer bribes were greatest).

Sport Models. This is the everything else section and features sport models. Sport models are fun to fly but not scale like in appearance. Sport models tend to offer the wildest aerobatics, maddest antics and are just damn good fun to fly. It�s also reassuring to know that in the event of a �ding� there�s usually less to repair.

Turbine Boomerang. These are images of the turbine powered boomerang jet. It�s powered by a single stage compression model turbine engine. Usually running on Jet-A1 fuel or Kerosene with turbine oil mixed in for good measure. With turbines it�s all about the adrenaline rush, the awesome sound and the speed. None of this is conveyed by these still images.

Scale models. These birds are scale representations of actual aircraft. Fantastic in appearance and smooth flying characteristics.

Marks Puppeteer. Looks nice, sounds nice, flies nice. This delightful biplane just looks and sounds the part in the air. It�s powered by a four stroke engine that pup-putt�s nicely when flying.

Next week, weather permitting, ill post up on board video taken from flying aircraft.

More flying model aircraft at Runcorn Model Aircraft Club

Ok, so I went flying and took my camera with me, so shoot me. As I stated last week in the entry below, going to the flying site for the first time in 18 months with a stack of aircraft models was going to cost me. It�s just a little glider, but at 2.6M wingspan it sure flies nice.

If you like any of the photos (or don't), then leave a comment below.

Here�s Marks Pitts. It has a reputation for chewing up other models and spitting them out, so the bulldog was painted on the sides. Hence the term Pitts Bulldog.

Here�s another one of Marks, the superb Spitfire. It looks good and flies great. Very realistic.

A selection of the rest of the planes on the day. Errm, well actually not, just a few that I happened to take (well I was flying most of the time).

After an 18 month break, a return to model aircraft flying.

Well it finally happened. After a break of some 18 months I visited my old model aircraft flying club on Frodsham Marshes. It was good to see so many familiar faces and be welcomed so warmly after such a long time.

I took with me three electric models as a gentle re introduction to the sport of model aviation. A modified Parkzone Stryker, an �Eff Sumthin� and a highly modified Multiplex Micro jet which has had the tail sawn off and a ducted fan shoe horned in.
Runcorn Model Aircraft Club runs a web site here .

I�d recommend going along, it�s worth a look.

Welcome to the re-vamped Gung Ho Photography web site

The Blog
You�ll be seeing the regular slots in the blog with a Regular Friday Rant and Wednesday Shameless Plug. I�m also looking at introducing other themed slots, watch this space for updates.

Comments invited
Under each article or blog entry you can now create and view comments. Please comment as you see fit on any articles presented. Maybe I made a mistake, or you would like something else added? Let us know through the "add comment" link or get directly in touch with me using the "Contact Me" link in the upper right hand corner of the page.

Site traffic
Thanks to the many visitors we've been receiving from 35 countries. The hit visit rates have escalated following Google' s and Yahoo's rescanning of the web site. I've updated the page counters, they now only count site traffic as a whole, and at the rate of one visitor visit per hour. That means each new viewing session only counts for one irrespective of the number of pages viewed.

Thanks for visiting
Dave

Chester Folk Festival is in full swing.

The village of Kelsall comes alive with visitors camping here for the three day bank holiday weekend.

Street dancing outside the Oak
Featured performances from Chester City Morris Men, White Hart Morris Men, Bradshaw Mummers and the Britannia Coconut Dancers.

Vintage motorcycles, sidecars, three wheelers and Morgans from Oulton Park

See vehicles from as far back as 1928 being ridden as they should be, by their enthusiast owners around Cheshires historic racing circuit. Event organised by the Vintage Motorcycle Club. The make, model engine capacity and year of manufacture are presented along with each image.

Solo Motorcycles
Images of solo motorcycles racing around the circuit, ridden by their collector/owners.

Threewheelers, sidecars and Morgans
Two up teams hurtling around the circuit. Comfort seems to have improved over the years, and I wouldn�t like to get caught out in the rain like this lot did.

A day at the races: Chester Racecourse

It was nothing if not bewildering finding myself at a Chester races. Having never been to a formal race meeting before, it was initially difficult to find order in all the apparent chaos. Champagne was freely flowing and the tally-ho brigade were out in force. The photographs are presented in three distinct groups.

Parade Ring and Winners Enclosure
Shots from the Parade Ring and Winners Enclosure covering the horses, jockeys, trainers and owners as the horses are paraded in front of the crowds preceding each race.

Trackside and racing action
Trackside shots taken during the race from the rails. See the jockeys and horses in full race action as they thunder around Britain�s oldest and smallest racecourse.

People and crowds
Crowd and people shots from around the venue. See the punters cheering the horses on during racing and generally enjoying themselves and the alcohol.

British Superbike Championship

Stunning bike action from the Superbikes as they thunder around the Oulton Park circuit at speeds up to 150 mph. Shots here from the Saturday practice sessions taken at Lodge Corner, Knickerbrook, Brittens and Hilltop. The cream of racing motorbike action.

Delamere Forest Walkabout

This is my first attempt at landscape photography and I think it�s a case of publish and be dammed. I was so busy concentrating on foreground interest that in many of the pictures I forgot about the subject, so ill label those as scenes.

The initial photos are from the paths that cut through Delamere forest. The latter images are of the lake, though in some places it looks more like a mid western swampland. I was determined not to spend the day swapping lenses, so all were taken with the kit 28-105 mm lens that came with the camera, though I dud use a polariser for the water shots.

This lake at Blakemere Moss was deafening. The birds that had migrated there were so loud they could be heard through the dense forest for quite some distance. Anyone interested in Delamere Forest will find more information here.

Superkart Racing from Oulton Park

These Superkarts are extremely quick with top speeds around 150mph. These little machines are powered by 250cc single or twin cylinder engines producing around 62 BHP. With a full race faring and little inertia or mass, they were lapping the full Oulton International circuit at around 1 min 40 seconds, a full ten seconds faster than the Formula 3 cars racing there just two weeks earlier.

The Superkart shots were all taken from Old Hall Corner as they whiz past in a colourful blur or outright speed. As a race driver, you must surely have something missing between the ears to race around the circuit at 150mph with your back side only 3 inches above the track?

Honda Superclub and New Era Motorbike Racing

This Oulton Park bike meeting held several classes including the Sound of Thunder, Formula 600, Bridgestone Pro-Bike Open Championship, Formula 400 and Honda CB500�s. Superb racing action was witnessed as these hot-on-steroids racing machines hurtled past.

These shots are from Knickerbrook and are mostly tightly cropped onto the rider and machine. This is the first time I�ve attempted to photograph bikes, and am quite pleased with the result, though it�s quite difficult shooting at a 200th of a second to get the now obligatory blurring of the background as these machines jockey for position. Enjoy the images.

Views of the Grand National crowds leaving Aintree racecourse

During this years Grand National horse race I was lucky enough to have access to the rooftop of the Queens Head, a pub that sits right next to the main Aintree Racecourse entrance. I thought I�d use this vantage point to photograph some of the crowd leaving the venue and document the changes to the usually busy traffic thoroughfare as it became closed off and turned into a mile long taxi rank.

The police were out in force, both on foot and on horseback and were supported by the constant whining of an overhead helicopter during the event. At this time, the Queens Head transforms from a locals only type of establishment to the predictable 10 deep at the bar squash fest. here you will find shots from the roof and ground (where I dare) of the crowds as they mill past, looking tired and in many cases very drunk trying to make their way home.

Riverbank Decay, River Dee, Chester

These images represent a very personal journey for me. It was in this location that as a youngster in the late 60�s and early seventies I spent most of my time. These images are in fact the garden of my uncle and aunt who at various stages of my life looked after me. Summer holidays spent here were the norm and I had many a happy day fishing in the river or playing around with the many distractions that lay in abundance.
What is left is the decay from a once active boat builder and restorer. The house lies on the river and during the twice yearly high tides flooded. During the recent storms you can see the new damage with trees blown on top of boats and old cars, boats knocked off their moorings and even a sunken landing stage.

I sometimes find it hard to believe that my uncle used to hand build boats in that shed for himself and others. I still remember the clinker (wood) construction he used to do, and later on (early seventies) the new fibreglass hulls. Must go now, i'm off down memory lane...

Butterfly House Disaster

Well this was a disaster from the outset. A call to my photography buddies revealed a venue change. Instead of shooting an Autograss event, it was decided that the Conwy Butterfly Jungle would provide a suitable diversion. A quick spin back home to grab the bag with the flash gear and I was on my way � tagging along like you do. Only problem was, I left a vital piece of flash gear at home, the QTTL adapter, the little insignificant bit that interfaces the camera with the flash gun.
As a result of my forgotten component, I was confined to shooting with a wide open lens under low light conditions. Most insects (and birds) won�t sit still, so most of the images went into the bin. Anyhow, have a laugh at what I managed to salvage. I�ll apologise in advance for the shallow depth of field on every photograph. Some might call it artistic license, but ill just be honest and say that it�s all I could do. Anyone interested in visiting the butterfly jungle in Conway can find their web site here .

Tits feeding in my garden

For my first attempt at wildlife photography I bought a bird feeder and stocked it with nuts. After hanging it in a tree for a day and observing �small things� feeding I set up the camera on a tripod to see what was arriving.

I expected that the birds were all sparrows, but was pleasantly surprised to find four different species of bird feeding from the feeder. The birds visiting include Greenfinch, Long Tailed Tits, Great Tits and Blue Tits. There is also a Bullfinch feeding from the ground under the feeder. I�m hoping that it will make the transition to the feeder or else ill be chasing the ground feeders at a later date.

I was surprised to see how much blue is in a Blue Tit, though I�ve never really been that close to one to observe before. I didn�t have a clue what was feeding from my garden so I visited the garden birds website to identify them. You can fine their website here.