So much fun at the Regatta is people watching. I have a friend who says he avoids the Regatta as if it were a Superfund Site. Our strategy is go early and leave early before the big crowds arrive. Here are some street shots from the day.
On Saturday we witnessed our first Flugtag which was held at The Pittsburgh Regatta for the first time. Flugtag means flight time in German.
It is an event event organized by Red Bull in which competitors attempt to fly home-made, human-powered flying machines. They are size-limited to around 133 feet and weight-limited to approximately 330 lb. A team of four pushes the pilot and vessel off a pier and in Pittsburgh over the Allegheny River. Well actually into the river because most of these flying machines rarely fly at all.
The world record for the longest flight is 258 feet. In the Pittsburgh wind yesterday the longest flight was 121 feet. The event raises a lot of money for charities around the world and it is a hoot to watch. Each team does a silly performance before their flight and crafts are designed with the area in mind. Yesterday there was a Pirogi Plane, a Flying Kielbasa and Mr Rodgers themed craft.
A lot of people visiting Florida think these birds are Flamingos when they see them in flight. Flamingos are not as common in Florida as many may think and are more native to South America and Central America. The spoonbill though is common in the southern United States. Mostly you will see them wading in wetlands but when they fly they truly look strange. These were photographed on Captiva Island in Florida.
I think we all have a fascination with flight. We dream about it. We study birds, build aircrafts and ride rollercoasters and other rides just to experience the sensation of flight. Wealthy people spend a lot of money to go up into space to experience free fall and hell people even jump out of plane to skydive and jump off of cliffs to experience the sensation of flight.
Looking through my images I realize as a photographer I have long been fascinated with the concept of flight. Here are a few of my favorite images on the subject.
I am going to be posting images that I may have posted before with a candidate # thereby collecting a list of what I feel would be likely candidates to print for a gallery show of new images of only digital photography. Right now I am reviewing images that are scenic or from nature. This is the silhouette of a pelican over the Gulf of Mexico taken at sunset on Sunset Beach Florida.
If you read this blog regularly you are probably saying, ok enough with the pelicans already! Well as you know I like these birds but I promise that these are the last for a while. I have been going through my images getting ready to clear the decks for our fall trip to Europe. I found these two images and thought they were too good to keep to myself. They were taken during February 2016 in Madeira Beach Florida at John’s Pass.