[Leica] Helicopters, Hasselblads and Leica

["Gary Todoroff" <datamaster@humboldt1.com>]

Yesterday was my longest flight yet, with 4.1 hours in the helicopter,
along with my Hasselblad and Leicas. The crew brought sack lunches for a
picnic at Pt. Arena (about half way between Eureka and SanFrancisco), but
it was completely fogged in. So we headed about 15 minutes east to Ukiah.
If we had been driving the winding road below, it would have taken almost
an hour and a half.

I've burned up film almost as fast as the Dolphin burns aviation fuel.
Between transects photographed in stereo with the Hasselblad, I have had
lots of time for "scenic" shooting out the open door, as well as candids
around the air base. Those donated Cibachromes to the base really
established credibility. Now I can point a Leica at just about anybody with
no complaints. They either smile or just go about their work, and pilots
are easy about taking small scenic detours  We are planning a slide program
in the next few weeks at the base.

Today in the air and on the way home, I suggested a tour past the nearby
Lighthouse Ranch, an old Coast Guard station on Table Bluff where I lived
with 200 hundred others in 1971-72 when it was one of the early "Jesus
People" Christian communes. It sits on a bluff about 200 feet above the
ocean. Work was done and the pilots seem to enjoy a good excuse to stay in
the air awhile longer anyway. We were flying north along the beach at about
100mph with the ranch coming up on our right. What a feeling as the pilot
put on the brakes, and we sauntered by at about 20mph, allowing me to shoot
about 10 shots out the open door with the M6 and 50mm Summicron from about
100 yards away.

Yesterday, I had the 21mm Elmarit on the CL as were landing in pea-soup
fog. On the radio, the Sky West passenger flight had just been diverted to
Redding (45 minutes east and in the sun) after two or three attempted
landings. That means ceilings were less than 200' by the coast. The
helicopters are allowed to land with 100' ceilings tho. From the back seat
I had the CL held high above the pilots heads and clicked just as the
airport lights appeared as if from out of nowhere just below and in front.
Exposures was just a wild guess, but if correct, it should be a dramatic
shot.

Most fun today was "cloud surfing" thru scattered clouds, down deep valleys
and skimming ridge tops. Fantastic light, changing at a pace that's hard to
adjust to - "decisive moments" compressed to several per second, with
visual riches that still overwhelm my senses. I think I'm getting addicted.


Regards,
Gary Todoroff
Tree LUGger