Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Burning Rubber

When an aircraft tyre doing 250 kilometres per hour (135 knots) or so hits a runway that isn't moving at all, there is a bit of friction. Some days I go out to the airport and photograph for the hell of it, in eternal pursuit of the perfect shot. I was out there one day last winter and noticed the late afternoon sun was catching the tyre smoke just so, and the light winds were letting the smoke hang around for longer than usual, so I started going for the artistic angle and shooting that instead.

All at Wellington International Airport, 30 July 2009.

Air New Zealand Boeing 737
Enlargement of the above. I love digital....

QANTAS B737. I like the way the slipstream has started to curl the smoke here.
Air New Zealand Airbus A320.
QANTAS B737

The airport being so close to Cook Strait means you can frequently compare ancient and modern means of getting around the place. I liked the idea of getting them both in one shot.

2 comments:

Maria said...

This is a great photo sam!

Off-Black said...

thanks :)