Picnic At Heenfaru

Hi there Blog readers! I have once again managed to get a second post out this week!

I hoped you liked the previous one which was centered around the streets of Male'.

This one has images I captured while on a picnic flight the other day.

After a morning of flying in and out of Male' we were given the afternoon picnic assignment. This meant we were to pick up some passengers from the lagoon in Rasdoo and then fly them over to the island of Heenfaru. Once we reached Heenfaru we had to back up on the beach and drop them off .After they all deplane safely we then taxi the plane over to a rope line where we moor it for a couple of hours while the passengers have some lunch and do a bit of snorkeling.

Now because we just dropped them off and then went to the rope I didn't take any pictures of us up on the beach. This is because the engines stay running while the copilot and cabin attendant help the people off the back of the float. This beach isn't very good for leaving it tied to our beaching stakes as pictured in a previous post, click here for a picture if you are interested in how that set up looks. Because I am in the plane holding the plane on the beach with a bit of reverse it is quite impossible for me to take a picture!

It was a pretty nice day for this and I got some pretty cool shots, I hope you will agree! Just as quick reminder , don't forget you can click on any of the photo's to get the bigger version to pop up.

The sky does look a bit foreboding but this isolated storm passed us by and only provided a nice contrasting back drop for my photographs!

Love these types of shots. The beach and water can interact so symmetrically at times that they simply beg to be photographed!

Black and White can add amazing character to a photograph. Perhaps especially when one of these storms passes by.

I was trying to convey an antique look with this post production treatment. I love experimenting with these frames and colours. Perhaps you can imagine that this shot was from days gone by, finding an uninhabited island and recording it for generations to come.

Wading into the water is test of my nerves! So very careful! It was worth the effort though and thankfully the camera survived.

You may wonder why the airplane is the colour it is. This particular one is custom painted for one of our customers, the Conrad which chain owned by the Hilton group. She's a sweet looking airplane no matter what the colour is!

Thanks for dropping by I hope you will return. I try to put new photo's and rumbling's once a week or so.

Rob

One of the many barefoot pilots!

The Streets Of Male'

Alright then welcome or perhaps welcome back!

My last post was almost all airplanes so this week something a little different. Now in no way does this mean I am about to diminish my love of finding cool shots to take of my favorite aircraft. It is just that this week I felt compelled change it up a little.

I like being able to share with you those perspectives that I gain through the special access I am afforded as a pilot here in the Maldives.In this particular post however I would like to share some of the images that I am able to capture while walking around the city of Male'

It is a truly unique city built atop a coral formation in the middle of the Indian Ocean. For those who are unfamiliar with the city you can click here for one of the shots I've taken , have a look at this link for a map or even look to my archived pages for other photos I've taken.

It is a city that is jam packed with people and vehicles. Somewhat chaotic depending on the day or time . However once you get used to the flow of the city, how to maneuver around the traffic and not bump into people it can be quite a cool adventure navigating the narrow streets. The opportunity to capture unique and inspiring images are every where once you find a way to tune yourself in and fade into the background.

Enough already onto the images......

First up I present a wall! Okay all that build up for this you might ask! I don't know , I was just compelled to photograph it! The brick work, the way the ladder was just placed there and those plants! I am not sure if anyone actually lives in there but I liked the angle and the lay out!

By contrast to the previous shot here is the the steps that lead up to the entrance to the largest Mosque in Male'. An impressive building adorned with a golden dome that is a stand out in the Male skyline. Easily seen from any angle as we fly by the city. For a little more information you can click here.

On one of my walk about's I strolled by this bug. "Punch Buggy " is quite a competitive game I play with my boys so I had to take a picture! I have never seen this one driving around Male' so that may explain why it seemed to be in such perfect scratch free condition!
Very cool gold trim!

The streets are all made of brick and the majority of which not much wider than this one pictured here. I am certain there is not one street with out a line up of motorcycles either!

Memories of championship football team that won the SAAF tournament . I was living here at that time and it was an amazing game to watch, even though neither my wife and I really would be considered fans of soccer.
The jubilation that rocked the Maldives was amazing to be apart of!

As I said motorcycles everywhere!

I got up the courage to ask a few of the city elders if they would mind if I photographed them. To my surprise and delight most were only to happy to pose for me!


These motorcycle lines are like my flame. I feel drawn to the symmetry of the line up I suppose!I am inspired to photograph them in the same way I love taking pictures of the long line of atolls !

And these two fine gentleman were very gracious to allow me to photograph them. They were so casual about it as well, oblivious to the fact I was taking there picture soon after they granted my request.

This fellow saw me taking pictures of his friends and actually offered for me to take his. I was only to happy too! I love the character that is represented in his face! With a handshake and a smile I was on my way.

This is the view from my tiny little balcony!

Graffiti is also another thing that draws my attention here as I walk the streets.

Love this picture even though the image is somewhat disturbing.
To me it as if the the girl in the poster is actually leaning on the handle bars of the motorcycle! The poster is promoting a Maldivian movie that is playing at one of the theatres here. Apparently is about a woman who has been abused and takes revenge for the abuse.

My last photo is a preview for an upcoming post. One of my friends here invited me to a cultural event which was a combination of traditional dance and story with modern music. It was an amazing event and i was given blanket permission to photograph. I want to be able to get my facts straight so I am waiting to get some translated details as to the exact story. There were also some very moving tributes to some artists who have recently passed and i want to be sure I everything straight before I post.
At the end of the show this little one was on stage having her photo taken and I was able to get this picture and many more I can hardly wait to share!

As always I hope you have enjoyed the images and my ramblings.

I wish you well.....

Rob

Planes Planes and Planes With The Odd Landscape For Good Measure!

Well I managed to get another post off this week.

I am pretty excited once again to share some of the images I was lucky to capture throughout this past week.

Now my passion most definitely favours the mighty Twin Otter and those who are lucky enough to have flown this amazing Canadian built aircraft so this post finds the majority of it's images dedicated to the airplane.

This is not to say that this is all that my blog is about and if you are a first time visitor to the site please explore a little further down the page or into the archives as I think you will find some fairly compelling images that I have caught while touring around the Maldives.

It is an amazing thing what I do for a living and it has afforded me opportunity and perspective. Which I hope I have been able to translate into my passion for photography.

Hope you enjoy what I have to offer!

Lets start off with this smiling guy! Marlin from Sri Lanka.

Always enjoy flying with him as he tends to indulge my photography. Not to mention he is a fine pilot and easy to get along with during one our 13 hour days! Soon to be married girls so hands off! LOL!

That last bit I couldn't resist because Marlin has mentioned to me that his fiancee reads my blog!

More and more I find myself playing and experimenting with framing treatments.

I think they add a unique flavour to the photograph. I always keep coming back to this particular line of coral reefs that frame the Eastern edge of the Ari atoll. I always go a little gaga when the a clear,cloudless shot presents itself to me!

Again some experimentation with black and white and the frame treatment.

I great shot of Ken putting the Twin Otter into her parking spot. He makes it look easy! You can even see a few of the passengers having a look out.

People are always so amazed by how we are able to fit these planes into those slots along the jetty! Nothing like seeing an airplane parallel park.

I posted a video to YouTube a few years ago, I'll post here again for those of you who are unfamiliar with what I am talking about.




I think you'd have to agree this is pretty cool!

Ken is probably way to modest to admit it but he is more than likely the hardest working pilot at Maldivian Air Taxi. Like the guy he is I caught him sitting on the float eating his breakfast waiting for the next load of passengers!

Lead by example, no clearer demonstration of that than this picture!

With 8Q-MAT back from an overnight at resort the boys in maintenance are giving her a once over along with an engine(compressor) wash before they release her for the day.

The behind the scene guys deserve a lot of the credit for the safe travel of the precious cargo we carry everyday!

Just coming off the "step" after a landing on the South right water way.

There are certain times a day that the base is a buzz with activity! Pilots, along with Air Traffic Controllers that guide us in ,have to be on there toes to make it work out smoothly!

Captain Mark bringing her in for what will no doubt have to be a quick turn around!

Looking pretty cool there buddy!

Really is a sweet ride. Doesn't go fast but man can it land and take off in very little space. Especially welcome attributes when the Monsoon comes to play!

Who doesn't like a nice rainbow?

The one on the end is mine for the day!

Earlier in the day I was treated to a pretty nice sunrise. I thought it would be cool to show what it looks like reflected in the top of the wing!

Love these moments!

Most definitely my favorite shot from that morning! This a former Irving Oil aircraft that used to fly out of St. John New Brunswick. No more winters for her!

Well this is me doing what I get paid to do! Marlin was nice enough to snap a picture for me. My wife thanks you for that Marlin, me too for that matter. I spend so much time pointing the camera at everyone else I end up with only a few shots of myself.

Hey thanks for stopping by! I love to share my photo's and my stories. I also must plug my other site and Studio back in Canada. When you get a chance please have a look at our work at www.sophiephoto.com as well as our other blog.

It is with warm regards that I wish you well. Please stop by again!

Rob
One of the many barefoot pilots!

Big Visibility And Light Winds

Welcome to my Blog. Perspectives and images from my travels around the Maldives.

This past week offered amazing weather for my week of flying. Well to be accurate I only flew three days because my flight time in the last 30 day period was on the high side. So there were a couple of days where I was given the task of more earth bound activities. Oh well I am sure to fly next week!

As I said the weather was amazing and offered many photo ops and once again I am having a hard time deciding which ones to post. I hope to get another bunch ready in the next couple of days to make a second post before I hit the sky's next week.

I have just updated another blog I am doing for our SophiePhoto business as well I have redesigned a few aspects of the sophiephoto.com website. I would love for you to have a look at those two sites as well. As always any and all input is welcome!

I always have thoughts in my head, perspectives to offer but this time I feel a bit more reserved. I hope that the images I present will speak for themselves.

As I mentioned my flight time is quite high so on this morning I was on standby until my first scheduled flight at 09:00. To be honest I was little put out at having to be at the Dhoni for 05:00 but with a beautiful sunrise occurring I soon got over it. There will be more photo's to come!

One of the many local islands that dot the Maldivian landscape. This one is named Mulah and is located in the Meemu atoll

A local island named Guraidoo next to the resort named Kandooma located in the South Male Atoll.

I love this view. I know , I know I have said this before but perhaps you are a new visitor! In any case the visibility was superb and it was begging to be photographed. This is the North looking view of the South then transitioning to the North Ari Atoll. The local island of Dangethi is in the foreground.

Took this one while waiting at Constance Moofushi Resort. Classic living the dream shot! I am sure if I hadn't posted the next photo you'd think I had just pulled up on to a beach!

It is a tight spot to be sure but the Twin Otter is more than up to the task. I managed to get a night at this resort the other day. Simply fantastic experience. I saw a lot of smiling guest's and a lot of friendly staff. Not to mention the Manager was a tremendous host!

Now for shots from around the City of Male'. As I was walking back from the airport on Friday I cut through Sultan Park. There were some poster boards set up by the organizers of a Child Abuse Awareness day. Some very compelling images created my adults and children alike.

With so much concrete and traffic in the city it is nice to have this green space. It's actually quite peaceful. Just the odd Fruit Bat flying around! Let me tell you those things are quite big!

Some amazing trees that grow here. Love this perspective!

I interrupted these fellows conversation to ask if I could take their picture. They were happy to oblige! Just something in the way their bikes were positioned and the way they were standing drew me to them. Probably something I would have over looked in my pre-carry my camera everywhere days!

I will end this post with a couple sunset's I caught. Seems appropriate as I started the post with a sunrise!

A father and daughter enjoying a sunset in the south west part of Male. A nice scene,compelling, made me think of my boys back in Canada. Home soon boys, home soon!

All right then I hope you enjoyed!

Until the next time.....

Otters Made of Aluminum Over The Indian Ocean

Hey there,

Well I actually managed two posts this week! I made the extra effort because of the opportunity I had to capture some pretty amazing images while flying up to the Baa Atoll the other day.

Captain Rodney and his First Officer Marlin managed to catch up to us and fly alongside us for a few minutes. They came up on our right side because as Rodney so aptly pointed out it was the best side because of the position of the setting sun.

So after giving my colleague Didi a quick lesson on how to use an SLR, not to mention instruction on how not to lose the camera out the window, we were able to capture these fine images.

Job well done boys!

If you look closely you can see Rodney waving a little hello at us!

These opportunities do do not present themselves often. I am so glad I never leave my camera behind!

Okay that bit of fun is over. See you guys in the morning!

A big hand to Didi for helping me out! A good guy and pleasure to work with. He is soon to be given an upgrade to captain. I am certain he will be a fine one!

That's all for now. I thought I would leave you with a glimpse of the setting sun as seen from the resort of Medhufushi !

Till we meet again......

Rob
One of the many barefoot pilot's
barefootflyer@gmail.com