Big Blue

Have You Ever Seen Anything Quite Like This?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I was privileged to share in many great experiences during my week in the Yukon, but a helicopter ride over Tombstone Territorial Park was the highlight of my time in Dawson City. Like everything else during my time here, this exceptional experience was organised by Yukon Tourism.

Our pilot was Brent from Fireweed, the well-known chopper company - and did he ever give us an experience to remember. You can see other photographs of the mountains, taken from the cockpit of the helicopter during that flight, on my post titled Climb Every Mountain. But I'd like to share these photographs as well.

It was Brent's first day flying out of Dawson City, but shortly after we took off, he mentioned that he'd heard the other pilots talk about an amazing blue lake among the mountains. Let me tell you, they weren't kidding.

I shot the first three images with my 300mm lens, to give you an idea of the unique colour. It was almost like looking at a coral reef, because the blue was so striking.

I took the first shot to capture the gentle ripples across the surface of the lake, while the second shot (below) is an interesting contrast between the deep blue of the water and the soft yellow-green colour of the surrounds.

Then I realised that despite the gentle breeze causing the surface of the water to pucker, there was a very interesting reflection to be seen. Take a look at the picture below and tell me if you can figure out the object that is reflected in the water.


Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Superman, perhaps? Put on your thinking cap, because I've given you a couple of clues already.

However, if you're ready to give up and you want the answer, here it is. I shot this final frame with my 18-125 mm lens.

Climb Every Mountain

Or Maybe Take A Fireweed Chopper Instead

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Sometimes when you're fortunate enough to be invited to a place like the Yukon, it's hard to pick one solitary highlight from an itinerary that includes many phenomenal experiences. But when Yukon Tourism organised a chopper ride out of Dawson City, I knew I was going to have a couple of hours I would never forget.

At this point, I'd just like to point out that snow-capped mountains have always been a part of my life, because I went to a boarding school in the Himalayan town of Darjeeling. But a chopper ride over the mountains is something else.

How often do you get to fly over mountains and photograph them, looking down from above? I was given the front seat, alongside the pilot - and I have to say I have never shot so many images in such a short space of time.

Give a man two cameras, two Sigma lenses, a chopper, a great pilot and a mountain range - and there's not much else that Nature can do to top that.

I was also extremely lucky with the weather. As all the locals told me, it was the first weekend all summer that the weather had been so clear right through. There were a couple of wispy clouds around the highest peaks, but they disappeared quickly into the clear blue sky.

Here's something interesting to ponder. I took both these shots with my 300mm lens, and when I reviewed the photos at the end of a very long day, I was intrigued by the very deep blue in the background of both images. The sky had indeed been blue - but it had not been the dark cobalt that you can see in the background.

Gradually, in the next few minutes, I began to realise what the answer was. We had been flying so high that I had actually been shooting downwards, onto the peak in the first shot and onto the ridge in the second.

You see, the dark blue (almost a midnight blue, if you ask me) was actually the foothills of the surrounding peaks.

That's what happens when you train your lens down on a mountain, instead of up towards it. Have a look at this final shot and you'll see what I mean about the varying shades of blue.

Sitting On Defence

Take That Helicopter Away, You Scoundrel

A British family is suing the Ministry of Defence for 200,000 pounds after a helicopter containing servicemen ogling a sunbathing au pair blew down part of their mansion. Hovering too close to the sprawling East Sussex mansion, the down-draught so badly damaged a 7m conservatory - the winner of an architectural prize in 2000 - that it needs to be pulled down. The ministry says the fliers could not have caused the damage, but George family barristers say the crew did not have permission to descend below 30metres.

FOOTNOTE: Hover crafty.

Going Like The Clappers

Give Him A Big Round Of Applause

A Chinese man whose clapping hands are nearly as loud as the roar of a helicopter is hoping to get into the record books. Zhang Quan, 70, of Chongqing city, had his clapping monitored by local environmental protection officials. His claps measured 107 decibels - only slightly lower than helicopter blades, which measure 110 decibels. Workers from the environmental protection bureau confirmed that technically Zhang could face arrest for noise pollution if he clapped too often.