• Question: whats the most exciting thing you have ever done?

    Asked by isobelmariko to Lidunka, Connor, Jillian, Sarah, Steven on 14 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by [▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿]#JoinTomBoy[▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿] TGS.
    • Photo: Lidunka Vocadlo

      Lidunka Vocadlo answered on 14 Jun 2015:

      A long time ago I was doing a competition to take an aerial photograph using only some bits and bobs from a hardware shop. We were in rural countryside, and the other groups all came up with a design that involved a mechanical hammer to hit the shutter release. I came up with the idea of a magnet which would be released by an electric switch. We would send the camera up on a kite using electric wire as the kite string, all attached to a switch. Hit the switch, the magnet drops hitting the shutter release. It was great fun haring over the countryside looking for shops which would sell us the parts (on a sunday morning nearly 30 years ago). And the best bit was that we took by FAR the best picture!!!!

    • Photo: Steven Thomson

      Steven Thomson answered on 14 Jun 2015:

      One of the most exciting things I’ve ever done was when I travelled on my own to Italy to present my work at an international conference. It was my first trip to Italy, and the way the flights worked out I had a day to myself before the conference started. I decided that, despite not speaking any Italian, I’d make the most of my time there and go out with my camera for a tour of the nearby towns and cities. I had a fantastic time, met lots of great people, took some photos I was really pleased with, even managed to learn some Italian from the locals I chatted to. It’s such a confidence boost to go alone to a foreign country, but it takes some nerve to work up to it!

      The conference itself was great too, but the standout memory for me from that week was of an evening when I found myself sitting on the banks of the Adriatic Sea watching the sun set on a glorious view, talking global politics with three other PhD students from Russia, India and Germany. I could hardly believe that a kid like me from a small Scottish town could end up travelling the world to give talks about science, meeting people from all countries and seeing amazing sights…if I can do it, anyone can. All it takes is a bit of hard work and some belief in yourself, and you can do it too!

    • Photo: Jillian Scudder

      Jillian Scudder answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      Aside from travelling to countries where I don’t speak the language for a conference, probably one of the more fun things I’ve done is go to a convention and sit in front of a room full of people and answer questions. Everyone was so delighted to be there that it was a true pleasure to be one of their experts!

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