Staring skywards in disbelief

2009.09.29

As I headed back home from school this afternoon there were some attractive clouds bubbling up in the sky so I decided to stop and take some photos of the Vandalian Tower, a folly which sits near the top of Harting Hill. As I parked my car I could hear the unmistakeable throb of a Chinook helicopter nearby but it flew off as I walked towards my vantage point. I started snapping away, capturing the tower and surrounding sheep and was absolutely staggered as the Chinook rose from behind the hill (like a scene out of war film footage but rather more rural!), headed straight towards me then proceeded to hover directly above the folly. I kept snapping away through this and captured the photo I’ve posted here. After a few seconds it disappeared behind the hill again and I started walking back to the car, satisfied that I’d captured a good shot for today’s post. As I did so it rose up again and flew straight over the top of me and off into the distance – cue for me to capture some more overhead shots. All the way home I pondered my encounter – it was so surreal – if it wasn’t for the pictures I’d swear I’d dreamt it!

It does have a kind of bizarre quality to it and this may be a ridiculous comment but the thing that sets it off for me is the single sheep looking at you like you are the most unusual element in the landscape. Super shot.

davids · 2009-09-29: 13:42