Feb 7, 2022
I'm excited to introduce this week's guest, Hedley Thorne. The second time I walked the Ridgeway, I started to think about getting a drone. I love Iron Age hillforts, and I really struggled to photograph them from the ground. Upon my return, I started writing blog posts about hillforts and I discovered Hedley's Instagram account. I absolutely love his photography, and I still fantasize about getting a drone of my own.
Photography adds a new layer to our outdoor adventures, and drone photography adds a whole new perspective. I've really enjoyed seeing all of my favorite Ridgeway sites from the air. It makes it easier to really appreciate these ancient sites.
I hope you find this episode inspiring! Whether or not you're interested in aerial photography, it might help you to find new ways to enjoy your own outdoor adventures.
About Hedley
The basics:
Name- Hedley Thorne
Age - 46 (by the time of the podcast!)
Family - married, 3 teenage boys, living in Didcot
Occupation 1- IT Operations Manager/Controller for London Heathrow
Occupation 2- Aerial landscape photographer
Voluntary work - Chairman of 2410 Air Training Corps committee - Didcot Air Cadets
Hobbies- cycling (road or MTB), walking, UAV drone pilot (A2 qualified), aerial photography
Likes- F1, chess, music (I used to play piano and did my degree in music/Business), aviation, art
Fears- fish, being upside-down, claustrophobic and needle phobic
Dislikes- Bitcoin, politics, bad coffee, bad music (life is too short for these)
Background:
For 10 years I worked in Henley-on-Thames and road cycled between Didcot and Henley most days, sometimes doing between 60 and 90 miles on a work day which led to many foreign cycling group adventures in the Pyrenees, the Alps, Ventoux, Prince Edward Island in Canada, Mallorca and Teide in Tenerife, however redundancy struck a few years ago and I started working at Heathrow (managing and controlling the daily IT operation, managing major IT incidents that affected the airport etc) which halted cycle commuting and I then became quite unfit. The airport is 24x7 and so doesn't recognise weekends or times of the day so shifts are very long and at bad times, often overnight. Ultimately my big adventures dwindled and I had to replace the cycle commuting with something more manageable.
Introduction to photography of The Ridgeway:
I live in South Oxfordshire near to The Ridgeway long distance path and since working at Heathrow I started using my days off work to walk along it. The kids (teenagers!) were at school and my wife Hayley was working so I had some days to myself. As I walked different stretches of The Ridgeway my relationship with it grew and I started looking closely on the web at the areas I walked in - many results came back with pictures from renowned landscape artist Anna Dillon and I quickly became a bit of a fan of her work, sometimes using it to guide and plan my walks, which expanded out into The Chilterns, Berkshire, Hampshire and Wiltshire.
I found my walks (and more recently mountain bike rides) helped balance out work and then ultimately became a necessity- stress levels dropped and I had space to think. I tried to replicate some of Anna's artwork taking mobile phone pictures. Then, my love of anything that flies, led me to buying a drone (well, initially using one that I had bought for one of my sons!). The aerial shots of these areas added a really unique dimension to the landscape and I quickly realised that these were views that had probably not been seen before, and I was the first to witness them.
Partnership with Anna Dillon:
As I grew my Instagram and Twitter social media accounts using my new found aerial photography, Anna noticed one of my pictures of Wittenham Clumps and got in touch, asking whether she could commission it for a painting - I couldn't say "yes" fast enough! The originality of aerial landscape pictures along The Ridgeway became even more exclusive when distilled into a work of art and we both realised this through feedback. This ultimately led to our "Wessex Airscapes" exhibition at the Sewell Centre Gallery in Radley College through September 2021 just after lockdown restrictions eased in the UK, and the response to the exhibition, particularly our opening night, was terrific.
Leading up to the exhibition we teamed up with Pipstick Walks to lead a series of hikes around the Lowbury Hill area of The Ridgeway which has a very dark and rich history and formed the centrepiece of the show. We are now in the process of preparing for future events- notably a second iteration of "Wessex Airscapes" exclusive to Wiltshire, and to be held at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes in 2023, and before then Oxfordshire Artweeks at Anna's studio in South Oxfordshire. We also have other projects on the boil relating to Uffington White Horse Hill and Grim's Ditch.
Injuries, and areas of interest:
The last 2 years have been rough for me if I am honest. I suffered two injuries during my walking and cycling requiring extensive surgery on my wrist on 2 occasions (no general anaesthetic due to covid restrictions!) and also surgery on my knee for a snapped patella following a fall on White Horse Hill at Uffington - on this occasion the weather was terrible- I updated my situation live on Twitter and had company on there from many, and I was ultimately rescued by a group of brave local villagers from Woolstone (one of whom was an ex military medic with a Landrove Defender), and then I had to guide the emergency services using "What 3 Words".
These injuries, along with Covid restrictions and general lack of self-care led me to become overweight but I have a Mallorca mountain road cycling event next year to work towards and plenty of mountain biking to do over the winter! My favourite areas to ride and walk are The Ridgeway, Lowbury Hill area, Uffington/Waylands Smithy, Tan/Milk hill and nearby areas in Wiltshire, Wittenham Clumps and anywhere along The Thames. I am (as an amateur) interested in the history of these areas and I have become friends with many of the land owners, The Ridgeway Officer and people connected with The Thames from my photography mini adventures , exhibition, social media and picture sales.
My past, my work and my future:
Anna's mother has done a genealogy report on my father's bloodline and it turns out that most of my previous generations on that side of the family had strong connections with the countryside, working on farms throughout Berkshire, Hampshire and Wiltshire (with a nod to royalty going far back but that is yet to be confirmed!).
Last year I was supposed to become the Aircraft Operations Duty Manager for Heathrow Airport but unfortunately the airport was massively affected by Covid restrictions and went through large staff cuts, including the role I was moving into which disappeared right before my appointment. This stopped the intensive training that I was undertaking and led me to diverting my learning efforts instead towards developing my photography and learning about the RAF as part of my duties as Chairman of the local Air Training Corps committee (Air Cadets).
Looking to the future I want to walk or cycle the entire length of The Ridgeway in one go, produce the best pictures that I can for selling on my website and the exhibitions, and also focus on what I want to do in the future at Heathrow.
Beliefs and conflicts:
I sit in an awkward position which is constantly the "elephant in the room" for me - I love the countryside, its history and I am passionate about its preservation, yet I sit in the control room helping to run the country's largest airport. But knowing the remarkable people who work at the airport there is a huge and ongoing push towards sustainability that has been enhanced by the big operational reset provided by Covid.
I truly believe that those working for large organisations such as airports towards a more sustainable future are having more of a genuine impact on the environment than those throwing themselves down on the motorway in front of cars, who just seem to serve to make the public angry and detract from the very views they are passionate about. The green spaces around us are smaller than they were just 30 years ago, and yet in this high paced age of transport, industry, communication and construction they are more important now than they ever have been and those who enjoy their presence like me need to actively engage in their preservation.
Listen To This Episode
What You'll Learn
- How Hedley combines cycling, hiking, and aerial photography
- Why the Ridgeway is such a great place for drone photography
- How to get started with aerial photography
- Everything you need to invest in to get started
- Good starter equipment—and how to upgrade
- How to use Google Earth to plan your shots in advance
- Drone etiquette—where not to fly and what not to do
- Hedley's top tips for getting into drone photography
Things We Discussed
- Waylands Smithy
- Wittenham Clumps
- Anna Dillon
- Wessex Airscapes exhibition
- Lightroom
- Uffington White Horse hill
- Barbury Castle
- CAA drone test
- DJI Drones
- A2 CofC course
- Altitude Angel app
- DJI Mini 2
- DJI Air 2S
- DJI Mavic 3
- Earth Trust
- Brightwell Barrow
- Henley on Thames
- Lowbury Hill
- Pewsey Downs
Related Episodes
- 435 Chris Bedford ~ Adventures With Abandoned Railways
- 430 Sue-Ann Hickey ~ Adventures in Solo Cycling Tours
- 426 Doris Lance ~ Nature Bathing for the Five Senses
- 421 Cara Wilde ~ Adventures With Stone Circles
Connect With Holly
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