RSS FeedIn search of Nessie monster
Jan 29, 2012 Castle, Photo Essay, Scotland, UK
After two years I visited Loch Ness and Urquhart castle, I was there again. Unlike last time where we drove all the way to the castle, we decided to take the cruise on the dark waters of Loch Ness to reach Urquhart Castle. It was a windy day, but the clear sky and a bit of sunshine made it an enjoyable ride to the castle. Here are few photos taken while searching for the mysterious monster of Loch Ness. :)
Dark blue waters of Loch Ness
Hotel Loch Ness Clansman – starting point of cruise journey
Another view from the cruise
Urquhart Castle, as seen from the boat
Closer look of Urquhart Castle
Catalina, the flying boat
More than the display of Vulcans and F16s at the Luechars airshow, what interested me more was the slowest of all the planes, Catalina. Used widely during World War 2, Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat – capable of land/take off both on land and water. Here are couple of photos of Catalina which I captured during the airshow.
And it took me a while to realise of all the flights, why the slowest one got me interested – it reminded me of the animated series Talespin :)
Leuchars Airshow
Despite staying in Bangalore for a long time I never managed to go to Aero India, a biennial air show held in Yelahanka Air force station, Bangalore. When I got to know about airshow by Royal Air Force at Luechars, I couldn’t stop myself going there besides the bad weather. The day started with rain and visibility of just 100 meters when we started from Aberdeen. But we were fortunate enough as rain gave away. Though the parachute display was cancelled due to bad weather, we had a glimpse of a range of flights – The Red Arrows, Hawk T1 and Tucano T1 – all three from Royal Air Force, F16s from Dutch Air Force, Vulcans, Pitts, Catalina (flying boat) and Dornier Alpha Jet from French Air.
The excitement of witnessing my first airshow made me mess up with my camera settings and on top of that light was against us along with overcast sky. That resulted in very few considerably good photos of the metal birds. A friend mentioned that this RAF Leuchars Airshow was no where close to Aero India which happens every two years in Bangalore (Leuchars airshow is an one day event which happens every year, where as Aero India is a five day event).
Statues and the sea gulls
Sep 15, 2011 England, Scotland, UK
One of the common sights one gets to see in cities and towns of England and Scotland is statues. Statues of Kings & Queens, Dukes & Duchesses, royal family members, war heroes, prominent historical personalities, literary giants and many more. These statues blend into the surroundings so well as if they are integral part of the place. During my first visit to England, I failed to notice a statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel for almost two weeks. But at the same time some of the statue stand out and command ones attention towards them. The intricate details on the statues, be it a stone one or bronze attracts and makes anyone to ponder about the effort & time taken to bring out such a beauty.
When you are living in a city and you are to see the same statue almost everyday, the interest gradually goes down. But what makes these statues more interesting are the flying artists aka sea gulls (or pigeons if you are not staying in a coastal city). They sit on these statues day in and out to come with their own art. Be it head, shoulder or forehand. and when there is a heavy rain, everything gets washed out and there is a fresh canvas for the sea gulls. And the painting begins again. :)
