Abigale

The girl walked happily beside the road, a small spring in her step, looking first down at her feet then up at her umbrella and sideways to the larger hand that was holding hers. She grinned and continued looking around. That hand made her feel safe and secure, the surety of its grip keeping her from wondering what was up ahead, round the corner, just out of sight. She didn’t need to think about that, because when she was holding onto that hand she could walk onwards with all the confidence she had. Everything was fine, until the gust of wind caught under her umbrella and rattled it violently in her grip. Wrestling the errant brolly back under control with one hand (because she didn’t want to let go with the other hand), she looked up in irritation and stuck out her bottom lip. That naughty wind was causing mischief again!

She shouted at the wind to go away and play hide and seek. A rumble of laughter from above became audible when, to her surprise, the wind did die down.

“Well done, it seems that you’re the wind whisperer,” chuckled her dad. She smiled at that. She didn’t think she could really talk to the wind. Could she?

When it blew again, she thought it was worth another try. She screeched again, really telling the wind off this time, and once again it retreated. Perhaps she could control it?

For a while, they walked on in silence, both at ease, their umbrellas unshaken and keeping the drizzle off their heads.

“Where do you think the wind is hiding now?” asked dad.

Silly old dad, you couldn’t see wind. Surely he knew that?

“Watch out, it might be hiding round that corner,” he continued.

Now he really was joking, she knew that was a silly thing to say, until they walked round the corner and were suddenly buffeted by a tremendous gust! Cheeky wind! The girl stamped her foot this time as she shouted at the wind to calm down and hide again, but this time it didn’t seem to work.

“The wind must be seeking us,” suggested dad, “so perhaps we’re the ones who are supposed to be hiding?”

That did make some sort of sense, but why wasn’t the wind listening to her now? They hadn’t finished seeking the wind, it wasn’t allowed to change turns until she said. She thought the wind had been listening, but now it wasn’t doing what it was told. That wasn’t fair!

“No, it isn’t fair,” said dad. “But it does sound familiar. Can you think of anyone else that sometimes listens and then suddenly doesn’t do what she’s told?”

The girl shook her head with a lopsided grin. She wasn’t about to admit it.

Dad grinned and said, “Do you know they name storms? Perhaps we should name this cheeky wind?”

She smiled and nodded at that idea. But what should they call it?

“How about Abigale?” he said with a chuckle as they rounded the corner, their destination in sight.

This was a special exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford. They're showcasing the Hurricane, being the 'unsung hero' of World War II - the Spitfire gets all the adulation (but even in this Hurricane-centric exhibition there was a sneaky Spitfire muscling in on the action!!).

More photos of tanks and things here.

Robert and I went up on a Saturday evening to take photographs of the Hurricanes (and a few other planes), all lit up in various ways. It was a lot like the Tank Museum evenings we've been to. I thought the lighting set up was excellent here, and they varied the colours throughout the evening which made it interesting. The planes were a little crowded, making it difficult to get individual shots of some of them, but their wingspans are just so broad that you'd have to seriously reduce the number of aircraft if you wanted them more spread out.

Overall, it was a fantastic evening of photography and I think I got some really good shots. I should probably have whittled them down a bit more, but I enjoyed taking photos from different angles and playing with the shadows. So there are probably more photos here than there should be, but rest assured there are many, many more that I put to one side! We had 11 main aircraft to photograph, though we also had access to the hanger next door to have a look at some of the normal exhibits too (which was nice for me as I hadn't been to Duxford before).

The keen enthusiasts gathering in the hanger

ID's of all the planes being photographed

Outside shots - Nimrod Mk.1 & Fury FB.11

First off, we were given the opportunity to photograph a Nimrod Mk.1 and Fury FB.11. These were parked outside and the mood lighting as the sun set was fantastic - the shadows were changing by the minute. The guys at Duxford also did a good job wrangling everyone so they would shoot from the back first and then from the front, avoiding too much walking into other peoples shots.

The Hurricane Hanger, from above

We had the chance to take some photos from above to look down on the hanger full of Hurricanes (and a few other guest planes). This was a great vantage point to see from as there were a lot of planes in a small area.

The Hurricane Hanger, coloured lights

They started off using coloured lights on the planes - reds, greens and blues. It was great getting amongst the aircraft and trying to get some good angles. The coloured lights made some really interesting effects. I wasn't sure about the red lights at first, they didn't look so good on the little camera screen, but actually they came out really well.

The Hurricane Hanger, white lights

After the coloured lights, they illuminated the planes with white lights. This was a good opportunity to get some good details on them. Maybe less moody and interesting than the coloured lights, but good for seeing the planes properly.

Main Hanger

We had a little bit of time before the evening started properly, as well as some time during the evening, to go and look in the main hanger next door. This seemed to be a mass of various aircraft, all jammed in so there was something exciting everywhere you looked! There was a Lancaster, which was particularly great to get close to, as well as a Vulcan Bomber and Concorde - among many others. We didn't have time to go round the other hangers at Duxford, so there will definitely be a return visit at some point.