2nd June
Starting the new month
off with a splash of colour! Yesterday we visited Milntown
House on the outskirts of Ramsey for an excellent lunch in the cafe
there, followed by a leisurely stroll around the gardens. It's amazing
how they have come on since we stayed there at the end of April and a real
tribute to head gardener Adam and his team, who are playing 'catch up'
after the Covid lockdowns earlier in the year. We were also privileged
to meet and have a long chat with sculptor John Mulvey who is based there
and whose works grace the gardens. Panasonic TZ200 1/6/21
    
    
    
    
3rd June
After leaving Milntown
we headed into Ramsey for a bit of shopping, but conditions were great
for flying the mini drone so before setting off for home I did a flight
over the harbour area, where almost flat calm conditions were making for
some great reflections. DJI Mini 2 1/6/21
    
   
Interactive 360 degree
panoramas. I shot four with the intention of using two, but in the
end couldn't decide between them so here they all are!
   
4th June
A visit yesterday afternoon
to the beach at Lhiannag, on the west coast between Peel and Kirkmichael.
A warning about the caves I walked through at the south end of the beach
- at high tide they completely fill with water and cut off the beach to
the south, so you really need to be aware of tide times before entering.
Panasonic TZ200 3/6/21
    
    
    
5th June
A trip to the seaside
on the Steam Railway yesterday afternoon! There are fifteen new Railway
pictures in Railways 2021
Pt 3. Panasonic TZ200 4/6/21
    
Port Erin
    
    
7th June
Castletown Aerial on
Sunday morning - DJI Mini 2 6/6/21
Thank you to the people
who made this flight possible: Firstly to the IOM Civil Aviation Administration
for the required Permission To Fly within the Isle of Man Airport 5 Km
Drone restriction area which then allowed DJI to unlock the 'GEO-
Fencing' that would normally prevent the drone from flying here. Finally,
a huge thank you to the Air Traffic Control guys at Ronaldsway for facilitating
me flying so close to the airport. The main purpose of the flight was to
provide some picture for a future Loaghtan
Books production, but I'd also wanted to try some closer shots of Castle
Rushen and the interactive panoramas.
    
Four 360 degree interactive
panoramas of the area from different angles.
   
8th June
These pictures were
from the second flight on Sunday morning, also for Loaghtan
Books. I was trying to replicate an old picture of King
William's College, but unfortunately couldn't get the same angle as
it would have involved actually flying over the airport. Although
I had Air Traffic Control clearance for the flight, to fly over the airport
would have required even further permissions and a lot more insurance coverage!
DJI Mini 2 6/6/21
    
  
There are three new
Aircraft pictures taken at Ronaldsway in Aircraft
2021 Pt 2. Panasonic TZ200 6/6/21
  
9th June
Aerial pictures from
the third and final flying site of Sunday morning at Port St Mary.
This had been my back up location in case Ronaldsway ATC had been unable
to approve my Castletown flying locations. Interestingly, due to
the standard nature of the DJI
Geo-fencing for Ronaldsway, I was unable to take the drone any higher
than just under 200 ft above sea level, despite the fact that the TV mast
just behind the town goes up to 350 ft above sea level and aircraft should
pass over the town at around 1,000 ft or 500 ft minimum. No problems
though as 200 ft was quite adequate! DJI Mini 2 6/6/21
    
  
10th June
Some pictures from a
walk along the Marine Drive on Monday afternoon, walking from Keristal
to the Arches and back, a distance of just over five miles. It was a bit
hazy so I decided to concentrate on the flora and fauna for photographs.
Panasonic TZ200 7/6/21
    
    
    
    
    
    
11th June
The weather over the
last few days on the island has been strange, with low cloud, fog and rain
affecting the south and east of the island, but reports of sunshine from
the north and west. Yesterday afternoon we were still in the clouds
at home so I ventured out to the west coast between Peel and Kirk Michael
and sure enough it was much nicer there, even sunshine at times.
As I drove back afterwards, the cloud soon enveloped me again! Panasonic
TZ200 10/6/21
    
    
    
  
12th June
Another visit yesterday
afternoon to the west coast between Peel and Kirkmichael. The weather
had looked nicer but unfortunately for most of the visit the sky remained
overcast, muting the colours somewhat. Panasonic TZ200 11/6/21
    
    
   
13th June
We had a great time
yesterday afternoon at The Isle of Pride festival held in the Villa Marina
gardens. A great show with loads of friendly people having loads
of fun. I wasn't really there for photography, so these are just
a few random pics taken on compact camera and phone. Panasonic TZ200
& Galaxy A71 12/6/21
    
    
    
19th June
We're not long back
from a 'staycation' here in the Isle of Man, staying at the super Close
Taggart Holiday Cottages in Ballaugh Curragh, run by the very friendly
and helpful Shirley and John Kneale. We had a great time staying there
over four nights. Panasonic TZ200 & DJI Mini 2 13/6/21
  
    
    
    
   
Interactive Panoramas
 
20th June
On day two of our staycation
at Close Taggart Holiday Cottages
we walked from the cottage around one of the Ballaugh Curragh walks in
the afternoon.
Nikon D7100 14/6/21
  
    
   
21st June
Day three of our staycation
at Close Taggart Holiday Cottages
started bright and sunny and I decided to do a quick flight to capture
some aerial pictures
of the nearby Close
Sartfield Nature Reserve. Unfortunately, by the time I was ready
to fly a thin layer of cloud had covered the sun! I took some more
pictures
of Close Taggart at
the same time. DJI Mini 2 15/6/21
    
Interactive Panoramas
of Close Sartfield
   
Close Taggart
  
Interactive Panoramas
at Close Taggart
 
Continuing with staycation
Day Three, later in the morning we went to the gardens at Milntown House.
I had though of concentrating the photography on the sculptures of resident
artist John Mulvey, but the colourful flowers and insects they attract
got the better of me! Panasonic TZ200 15/6/21
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   
22nd June
Day three of the staycation
was a busy one! After Milntown Gardens and lunch in Ramsey we drove back
to Close Taggart and then walked first to the orchid meadows at Close Sartfield
before extending our walk into the curragh. Nikon D7100 15/6/21
    
    
    
   
    
23rd July
The weather on day four
of the staycation wasn't so good, quite dull and overcast with occasional
light rain, so after spending most of the morning at the cottage we headed
down to Peel for lunch and a stroll around. Panasonic TZ200 16/6/21
 
After lunch at the Bowling
Green Cafe, we had a stroll around town, ending up in St German's Cathedral
where I took these pictures using my phone. The wide angle lenses
on it do introduce quite a lot of angular distortion but I've corrected
it to a degree in Paint Shop Pro. Samsung Galaxy A71.
    
The weather had improved
by the evening and I shot these two pictures using my phone from the cottage
at Close Taggart. Both of the cottages have an
office room instead
of a second bedroom, ours had this rather nice view over the fields towards
Jurby. Samsung Galaxy A71.
 
Next day was departure
day for us from Close Taggart.
We had a super time there and hosts Shirley and John really go out of their
way to provide everything that you might need for a lovely stay.
They had been very kind to let us have a late check-out so no rushing to
pack up and after we had done so we had a last stroll around the gardens
before heading on our way, initially just down the road to the Wildlife
Park. Panasonic TZ200 17/6/21
    
    
24th June
A set of pictures inspired
by a request for some aerial photographs of the new nature reserve in Laxey.
The reserve is on private land managed by the Ballanette
Trust and was only opened for public access last month, when I took
some ground
level pictures there. Much of the site is on land reclaimed from
the old Laxey Dump site, which required clearance, including several motor
vehicles! It's quite early days for the reserve but a lot of grass
and wildflower seeds have been sown there so it will look a lot greener
next year. I also took some extra shots of the Great Laxey Mine and
several panoramas. DJI Mini 2 19//6/21
    
 
    
    
Interactive 360 degree
Panoramas
  
  
26th June
An update to the 1940s
ATC History section.
I've managed to find
out some more information on the Training Flying Control Centre that operated
at Ramsey Grammar School from 1943 to 1945. It was a truly pioneering
unit and led to the concept of the present Air Traffic Control Centres
that control traffic over a large area. The TFCC only provided a
service to training aircraft, but looked after the aircraft from ten different
airfields and covered a huge area, as can be seen from the maps below.
It had a staff of over 200.
 
The
1940s ATC Pages
28th June
Some aerial photography
in Douglas yesterday morning. The real intention of the flights was
to produce some 360 interactive panoramas, which appear as usual at the
end, but I also shot some more straightforward views and also had a bit
of a play with some unusual processing of a couple. DJI Mini 2 27/6/21
   
   
  
  
 
29th June
Some more aerial pictures
taken on Sunday morning, starting with Douglas Head and the bay, then taking
a look at the promenade works.
DJI Mini 2 27/6/21
    
    
  
    
  
30th June
Yesterday afternoon
we went on a walk from Scarlett, just outside Castletown, along the coast
path to Poyll Vaaish, going as far as Poyll Richie before heading back
to the car. Total distance was just under five miles and it's a lovely
walk. Panasonic TZ200 29/6/21
    
    
    
    
   
1st July
Three stitched Panoramas
from Sunday morning's flying at Douglas that didn't get included in the
original selections.
DJI Mini 2 27/6/21
There are ten new Aircraft
pictures in Aircraft
2021 Pt 2. Panasonic FZ72 & TZ200 29/6/21
    
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