The View from My Window: Moving Hovercraft
Created | Updated Feb 25, 2018
The View from My Window: Moving Hovercraft
The cats have wandered away from the window the birds have flown off. So I have an unobstructed view today. Oh, Roxy and Phoenix are sleeping on the radiator shelf, well, they were born in Canada and Australia, it's a good enough reason.
I do like the Isle of Wight: it is like 1970s Britain (so I am told), and that is a good thing! The Isle of Wight is my fallout bunker that helps to protect me from the passage of time, wonderful! There are many things on the island that are either notable or unique but one that is quite special, is the Hovercraft ferry service. I believe this is the only service of its kind in the world. So when I was in Ryde I was determined to take its photograph.
As the hovercraft lands on the beach on the eastern side of the pier I wandered down there to prepare. I decided to use the pier as part of the backdrop. Now hovercraft cause large amounts of spray so I put a 60mm to 150mm telephoto lens on the camera and selected a position away from the spray area. In this case the shutter speed had to be fairly fast to freeze the spray coming from beneath the hovercraft.
The hovercraft arrived on time – the trip from Southsea takes a little over 20 minutes, so as it came into view I had ample time to take a few trial shots. As the hovercraft passed between me and the pier it was just right position. The little waves with white crests in the foreground were a gift as they could not be relied upon, the little patch of exposed beach helps to indicate the landing place. The point is that a little thought and simple preparation makes photography easier, not easy, just easier. Yes there will be times you will have no time to prepare, but if you do, use it
This photograph is also a tribute to the useful medium telephoto lens either built in to a compact camera, or an interchangeable lens on an SLR camera. As for the photograph as the sky and water were almost the same colour the pier was a very useful backdrop and emphasized the position of the horizon very nicely.
Note: This image was also used to illustrate the h2g2 Guide Entry Hovercraft on the Isle of Wight, UK
