nature, Photography

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge

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Many thanks to Beth at Wandering Dawgs who is hosting this week’s lens-artists photo challenge: wings.

Arctic flying: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

As a pilot, wings have obviously been a large part of my life, something that started with watching birds when I was very young and wishing I could fly like them. So herewith are a few of my favourite “wings” photos – of both aircraft and birds.

A juvenile yellow-headed blackbird.
Royal Canadian Air Force’s military aerobatics flight demonstration team.
Swans. I didn’t capture their landing, unfortunately.
As the sun rises, takeoff from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories over a frozen Great Salve Lake.

I very much enjoyed this challenge; I had fun looking through my archives and then finding photos I had all but forgotten.

If you want to know more about the Lens-Artists challenge, please click here.

61 thoughts on “Lens-Artists Photo Challenge”

  5. That lake is huge! I too forgot that you are a pilot, Lynette. I’m no aircraft mechanic, but the covers over the mechanisms that move the flaps are very different looking. Happy Tuesday!

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    1. It’s the 10th largest in the world but nearby Great Bear Lake is larger and stands as the 8th largest. Those are fowler flaps and are actually part of the flap mechanism rather than fairings or covers. They provide excellent lift characteristics. Cheers.

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      1. I have seen those lakes on a map somewhere, it must be amazing to sail them or use a powerboat! I wonder where the name Slave Lake came from. I’ve never heard of Fowler flaps, I’ll look them up. Thanks Lynette!

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        1. You can look them up on Google maps to get a sense of size. Lots of people do sail them in the short summers with the midnight sun overhead. Quite an experience.

          The name comes from the Cree word for the Dene, which in French was “esclaves” (the first European explorers in the region were French) and eventually was translated into English as “slave.” I used to live and work in the area and there still can be tensions between the Cree and Dene as historically they didn’t like each other much. I’m really surprised that the name hasn’t been changed yet.

          Fowler flaps are used a lot on Airbus and Boeing aircraft as well as on many regional aircraft also. They can look somewhat different depending on design but all function in the same way. Cheers.

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          1. Wow, thank you for the history, Lynette, very interesting. Its sad that those people still dislike each other.

            I looked up the different types of flaps, there are at least four different types. I have seen the very large flaps with the open space between the metal before and other kinds on my flights.

            I love to fly, its the physics that get me!

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          2. You’re welcome, John. Yes, some people can carry on with very old grievances …

            Yes, there are four main types of flaps with the fowler the most common. The physics of flying can be demanding and math wasn’t my strong suit, but I pushed myself through it and in the end, very much enjoyed it. Sometimes we are told that something isn’t our strong suit and we crater ourselves by believing it. I did have plans to become a federal accident investigator but was derailed by a divorce. In life, stuff happens.

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          3. Its amazing that an aircraft full of people and the aircraft can climb to 8 miles about the surface! Stuff happens for sure, you might know that I’ve survived three divorces. It took time but my dignity and self respect/esteem came back.

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          7. I just heard that there is a go ahead to change the name but now they need to find something both groups will agree on. Could take a further 18 months the report said.

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  9. One can feel the arctic winds on the first photo, such a nice shot! I didn’t know you were a pilot, I’m sure you had a different and unique perspective from the top🥰

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    1. Thank you very much, Christie. 😊 That was an extremely cold day; -45 but except for the wind kicked up by the props there was none at all. It was one of those days when your eyelashes freeze in seconds!

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      1. Haha.. brrr, no thank you😍
        You must have had amazing experiences, you have to tell us some stories someday, like what was your best memory from your years of piloting? What did you like the most? Maybe you already posted and I missed that..
        Have a lovely day!🥰

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  13. Lynette, beautiful post. Thank you for this great response to the wings challenge. I really enjoyed your aircraft and bird photos. The images over the arctic lake are stunning. I can’t even imagine flying those freezing conditions

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    1. Thank you very much for your lovely comments, Beth. The frozen lake pictures were taken in March, 2022 when we were beginning to have some length again to our Arctic daylight hours. Yes, the weather can be a challenge but there are many protocols and practices in place for safety. Cheers.

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    1. I think any of us who have experienced a frigid prairie winter or have lived north of 60 will automatically recognise a picture of the cold (yes, by Canadian standards) , especially when it gets down into the -40s!

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