Dave Wilson Photography » General

Saturn V Study III, Johnson Space Center

Dave Wilson — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:25:24 +0000

This is the last of the little set of Saturn V studies (though there are more rocket pictures to come) and it's probably my favourite of the three. I just love the way the light wraps around the curved surfaces of the first stage engine fairing. The contrast of the smooth light across the black surface and the hard geometry of the ribs makes this is a really compelling image for me.

Saturn V Study II, Johnson Space Center

Dave Wilson — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:12:22 +0000

Continuing the Saturn V theme, here's the second of three detail studies showing part of the first stage of the rocket.

Saturn V Study I, Johnson Space Center

Dave Wilson — Sun, 20 May 2012 14:49:29 +0000

It's time to move back home from California so this week I'm running a collection of images I shot while visiting Space Center Houston and Johnson Space Center last weekend. This was my third visit down there as part of a great program they run for Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts and similar organisations. The kids get to spend the night, after the space center closes, doing a bunch of fun, aeronautically-related activities among the exhibits then we all "camp out" for the night in the Spaceship Gallery under one or other piece of space hardware (this time, Drew and I slept underneath an Apollo-Soyuz docking adapter, for example).

Aside from this being great fun for the kids, it also gives photographers like me amazing access to the exhibits when there is practically no-one around! I shot a few more images inside the Space Center but my main aim was to complete a set of Saturn V images I've been working on so we also spent an extra hour or so with the big rocket at JSC.

This shot was taken with a fisheye lens to create a rather abstract, ovoid from the cylinder of the rocket's first stage.

Trees in the Clouds

Dave Wilson — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:18:10 +0000

One of the most spectacular views we came across while in Sequoias National Park was from the top of Moro Rock. Getting to the top of this large granite outcrop took a bit of a climb but, from 7500 feet, the panorama was breathtaking, especially since the roof of the cloud layer that day was at about 5000 feet.

Standing on the top, the cloud looked like an ocean sweeping westward with waves, albeit very slow ones, crashing into the west-facing slope of the Sierras. It was mesmerising to watch.

Hotel Flags, San Francisco

Dave Wilson — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:14:06 +0000

Apologies for forgetting to post an image yesterday – I was down at Space Center Houston with a bunch of Cub Scout and, despite having pictures queued up and ready to post, I completely forgot to press the relevant button!

We’re moving back to San Francisco today for another image taken in the Nob Hill area. This shows the Fairmont Hotel in the foreground and the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel in the background. I stayed at the Mark Hopkins and very much enjoyed it. On the plus side, the view from the top floor restaurant and bar is breathtaking. On the negative side, they left a bad impression on me with the $6.50 price tag on a 16oz bottle of water in the room (but you can probably ignore that complaint as the whining of a cheap Scotsman, however).

Eureka, San Francisco

Dave Wilson — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:21:33 +0000

On my second day in San Francisco, I had intended walking from my hotel all the way past the Golden Gate Bridge to try to get one of those iconic shots of the bridge from the beach that's just south-west of it. By the time I got to the Fisherman's Wharf area, though, two things were apparent. Firstly, it was going to be a long way (there are hills in San Francisco!) and secondly, it was going to be completely pointless since the clouds were covering the bridge (I didn't see any part of the bridge that whole day).

Rather than call the day a dud, I decided to take a wander into the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park. Am I glad I did! What a fascinating place that is. They have half a dozen or so historic ships, all beautifully preserved (or under renovation) and all set up with loads of fascinating information boards. It's definitely worth the visit if you are even slightly interested in maritime history.

This particular image shows the steam ferry "Eureka" which is powered by a fabulous and enormous single cylinder "walking beam" engine.

Dauntless Under Restoration II, USS Lexington

Dave Wilson — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 14:40:21 +0000

This is the last of the images I am posting taken during the 10 minutes of lovely light shining onto the USS Lexington hangar deck on Easter Sunday morning. Once again, it shows the Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber which is currently living there during its restoration.

Damage Control Station, USS Lexington

Dave Wilson — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 09:57:41 +0000

One of the damage control stations deep in the bowels of USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Jet Engine, USS Lexington

Dave Wilson — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:14:00 +0000

One of the various jet engines found displayed in the hangar deck of USS Lexington. Had I been more on-the-ball, I would have written down the model but, given that I was shepherding some very hyper kids, I had other things on my mind.

As you can tell, this was taken during the 10 minute window of amazing sunrise light on the Sunday morning of our stay aboard the ship.

Pilot House, USS Lexington

Dave Wilson — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:01:58 +0000

Getting around USS Lexington is not something you should try if you are even vaguely unhappy with the idea of ladders or very steep staircases. I think it's pretty fair to say that the ship is not wheelchair accessible since there's a whole lot of climbing involved!

Getting from the hangar deck, where the main visitor entrance is, to the pilot house in the island involves at least 5 flights of these almost-vertical stairs and, for me at least, also involves at least 2 bashings of the head on some low metal beam or other.

Oddly enough, in a refit in the early 1950s, an escalator was added to allow access from the flight deck to the hangar. Oddly enough, though, it was for downward traffic. Perhaps tired air crews were more likely to have accidents on the stairs than fresh ones heading up to work?