Planes and stuff

On the same morning of the Transavia crew shots I finally managed to get some neat shots of the Aeroclube da Madeira's Tobago on its new colors. They went to Porto Santo for a Touch&Go and with runway 23 in use in the morning, the terminal's balcony was just the right place to be.... Taxiing to runway 23 They went up in the air quite early and came in over the runway, low-level, before pushing up and to the left, on a great take-off sequence, even more with Madeira's background....

This morning went for some spotting with the intention of getting the Bulgaria Air new livery and the Air Berlin 's A330... Well after all, the stars of the day were this fantastic pilots crew from Transavia ! Was in front of the Transavia taking some shots to PH-HZO, while they were waiting for the push-back clearance when I noticed that the pilots were interested in me.... Quit friendly, both the Captain.... and the F/O They were really amused inside the cockpit and after a moment noticed them again.... (LOL...would be hard not to notice....hehe!!!) After some side to side compliments and me asking for a take-off on the right spot all with gestures, the push-back clearance finally arrived... A final wave from the F/O before they taxi to runway 23... and a take-off right on the spot, as asked...LOL!! Tks a lot guys!   Love these pics with the dark sky on the back and the sun hiting right on the plane.... Hope you had a great trip back to AMS....and expect to see you a

This week, another pic of the Rotores de Portugal as Photo of the Week . Was going to choose some other pics so you would't get  photos of the Rotores 2 weeks in a row but, today, the number 2 (Lt. Paulo Melo) and the PR of the Rotores shared at Facebook an Air Force video regarding the presence of Rotores the Portugal at Madeira, during PoAF Celebrations 2010 . Check the Video HERE , at PoAF Webpage

Acabei ontem de o " Guerra sem fim ", de Dexter Filkins. Relato das vivências de um jornalista premiado com o Pulitzer na cobertura das Guerras do Afeganistão e Iraque. Decididamente um livro recomendado, pela forma como nós dá a conhecer as diferentes perspectivas destas guerras e permite conhecer e eventualmente compreender situações que nos entram casa a dentro, nos telejornais do dia-a-dia e que apesar da distância, acabam por ter implicações no presente e futuro do mundo global em que hoje vivemos. No decorrer do livro, chamou-me à atenção a existência de um foto-jornalista de origem portuguesa, o João Silva, colega de trabalho do autor, no New York Times . Infelizmente hoje esse mesmo João Silva é ele próprio notícia, pelo facto de ter ficado ferido, ao pisar uma mina, no Afeganistão.... Esperemos que os ferimentos não sejam demasiado graves e que possa recuperar totalmente... Notícia AQUI Entretanto, ontem estava na FNAC e reparei que já lá tinham "O Anjo

WOW! This must be one of the most amazing low-passes I've ever seen..... Beja Air Base....

Unfortunatelly looks like Hamburg International is another one that didn't made it.... Too bad, indeed.... Some pics to remember....

I used to go to the port shooting the ships and cruise ships that scaled Madeira. With the port works and new security measures, became more and more dificult to go there, near the ships and I lost much of the interest in it... Today, when heading to work, decided to make a quick stop at the old wharf for some pics of Costa Luminosa, it was all illuminated, with some great reflections in the sea and with a nice sky in the back, it was really "asking" for a few shots.... As it was 8 a.m., Lobo Marinho, the ferry that connects Madeira to Porto Santo was leaving...an extra... Had to rise the ISO up to 800 but with this camera, oposite to the old 300D, it's almost unnoticeable... Heading to Porto Santo... An almost clear Costa Luminosa.... The Catamaran in front makes daily sea trips alongside the Madeira coast.  Tomorow will be the premiere of Queen Elisabeth. Cunard's newest cruise ship... Probably won't be at the arrival (7 a.m.) but I'll try to take

This week had really decided which would be the Photo of the Week ... Nothing was ringing a bell... Then, when I came out of work, remembered to pass by the Av. do Mar and check the presence of Heliatlantis Helicopter . It was there. Didn't stop for pics but decided to share this one. During the PoAF Celebrations at Madeira , Sqn.552 had one Alouette III operating flight baptisms and other flights from Avenida do Mar, at Funchal downtdown. That's something you didn't get to see many times, an helicopter operating from the side-walk, specially an Alouette III from Portuguese Air Force ....

Like I posted yesterday, today was the return of Cimber Sterling . Like I was guessing, I couldn't manage to go there but curiously the season's premiere for this airline was made by the same plane that made the airline's premiere at Madeira, last year. You can check the post I've made then HERE

Tomorrow will be the return of Cimber Sterling to Madeira. The schedulle is quite thight for me but let's see what will they bring...maybe there's still an oportunity to get some old Sterling livery...

Just got the portuguese aviation newspaper Take-off. One the articles was about Helicopter companies in Portugal, which included one of my pics....

One of the reasons I created this blog was to have the freedom to share whatever I believe it was worth showing. Aviation photography sites have very strict rules and after a while I found myself shooting just the way they wanted, missing many other interesting stuff. This one is quite a nice example, was just rejected at Jetphotos because the plane was too far away...well that's the main point of interest of the pic, a large overview of the short final, not the plane itself. I've been trying to correct myself on the habit of focusing too much on the plane, ignoring so much else...enjoy it...

The first time I flew an helicopter was during the Portuguese Air Force Celebrations 2010 , that took place at Madeira. In a fantastic oportunity given by the PoAF, we managed to be on board the EH-101 that was providing SAR following to the ferry flight of the Rotores de Portugal, from Madeira to Porto Santo. This was also the helicopter used by PoAF media to register the trip....the first one made in AL.III between the two islands. The EH was the 19605 After take-off (and a nice departure, nose down into the runway), we proceeded to an orbiting patern, abeam the airport, while waiting for the departure of the 3 Alouette's of the Rotores de Portugal. Nice banking...check the artificial horizont While waiting took the oportunity for some shots of the airport.... We made the all flight in formation with the 3 Alouette's of the Rotores the Portugal but, during almost all the flight, the main doors were open for the fotages of the Air Force media department and we had

Yesterday was Tuifly day. Still wasn't the day to get the Golden Haribo but it wasn't that bad. On a couple of quick stops at the airport, manage to get the landing of the Tuifly / Hapag-Lloyd D-AHLK and the Blue Haribo push-back for departure.... It's been a long time since I last caught these two, specially the one with the Hapag-Lloyd titles... The one with the Hapag-Lloyd titles, despite the livery almost identical to the old one, it has a few diferences, anyway, it still brings some nice memories....

Cumprindo a já tradição de lançar um livro por alturas do meu aniversário :)) o jornalista e escritor José Rodrigues dos Santos prepara-se para apresentar mais um livro, desta feita sobre Moçambique e a guerra do Ultramar. Segundo o DN Madeira: A apresentação da obra, que estará a cargo do jornalista Joaquim Furtado, está marcada para sábado, dia 23 de Outubro, às 17 horas na Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, (Rua das Portas de Santo Antão, n.º 100, ao lado do Coliseu dos Recreios), à qual se seguirá uma sessão de autógrafos.