Monthly Archives: March 2013

Trump Tower

wpid5552-AU0E5496-Edit.jpgWalking back from Navy Pier, I came back along the river towards home. Since it was getting late in the afternoon, I was effectively heading into the sun. Not ideal for taking pictures but the reflective nature of the Trump Tower ahead of me seemed to be picking up light from all sorts of directions. It seemed like a good shot to take. Shooting the Trump is something that requires some thought. It is rather tall and fitting it in the frame without making it distort too much means being quite far away. I also played with a little HDR to see if that helped and it turns out it did!

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Getting up someone’s nose

wpid5616-AU0E6429.jpgI have shot many times at O’Hare over the years.  There are a few locations that provide opportunities but they do depend on the time of day and the approaches the jets are making.  I was out there recently and wanted to try something different.  I didn’t know how well it would work out but wanted to experiment.  I checked out what was due in and found a time in the schedule when nothing unusual was coming in.  Without the need to make sure I got something that was uncommon, I could risk not getting anything at all for a while.

wpid5618-AU0E6481.jpgwpid5620-C59F4692.jpgI wanted to get more directly under the approach path.  This is something that I have done before at Washington National but I have had less success at O’Hare.  I went out a little further on the approach.  The jets were a little higher but I wanted to see what I could get.  You end up with both a slightly more head on shot and also get to look right up as they pass overhead.  I like the view which is slightly less conventional.  Winter is probably a good time to do this since the sun is lower in the sky and the snow on the ground provides a bit more light on the underside avoiding the silhouettes more common in the summer.

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Navy Pier

wpid5549-AU0E5426.jpgOne of the nice things about winter in Chicago is enjoying the days when it is cold but clear and sunny. The combination of clear skies and the gentle light of winter is very attractive and when it happens during the weekend, it is a good idea to get out and have a walk around. Navy Pier is a very popular tourist destination so it is a place I rarely go. Winter, though, is a quieter time and it is worth wandering out since you won’t be fighting the crowds. You can also see how much ice has built up in the lake.

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The pier has a lot of touristy stuff to attract people. This isn’t really my thing. However, the Ferris wheel is something that makes me look for a little longer. Also, the end of the pier is the location for a large hall. I’m not sure what the hall is used for. It was locked up while I was there. However, it is a nice looking structure. It is also a nice spot to look out into the lake. The water culverts our outside the harbor wall and there is a lighthouse on the wall itself. A few things to take a look at while enjoying a good stroll.wpid5554-AU0E5436-Edit.jpg

 

Arghh!! Technology Hates Me!

Time for a quick vent.  It seems I have brought down upon myself the curse of technology.  Being a techie type, there are plenty of forms of technology in my life.  Recently, they have been conspiring against me.  I am not a superstitious type of person.  The world has more than enough of those so it doesn’t need me to add to the list.  However, even a rational person could begin to wonder.

First, the TiVo packed up.  It had been misbehaving for a while.  Finally, it gave up and could not be restarted.  It just kept running through the beginning of the start cycle but never got any further.  Time for a new TiVo.  I had been pondering an upgrade for a while so a repair did not seem the way to go.  Plus, I wanted to have TV back quicker than the repair would manage.  While working on this, I go to the computer to look something up and it is off.  It shouldn’t have been.  A reboot brings up a warning about the CPU fan failure.  Crap!  That is a lot cheaper to fix but still, CRAP!

Next day a new TiVo and a new CPU fan are in my possession.  I need cablecards for the TiVo and have two from the previous unit.  Only one is needed for the new one but it has to be the M-Card, not the S-Card.  I start thinking this is going to be the next problem.  I must have the old card type rather than the one I need.  A quick Google on my card tells me it is an M-Card.  Hurrah!  Plug it in and the TiVo is not so convinced.  I need an M-Card.  Quick cal to cable company says no problem.  Place isn’t open until tomorrow but it is an easy swap.  Meanwhile, I can replace the CPU fan.

Next day, a quick swap is performed and I have an M-Card.  The TiVo likes it.  I get some details and call to activate.  Done.  No picture yet but I’m sure it takes a while.  Later on, still no picture.  A call to cable company and we run through some stuff.  Should be working they say.  It isn’t.  All tricks tried.  No luck.  We’ll send out a guy – tomorrow.  Okay.

Next day guy arrives, tries all I tried and no luck.  He is confused.  Calls the office and they un-pair the card and my account and then re-pair them.  Bingo!  We have pictures and sound.  Something is working.  Shame we couldn’t have tried that yesterday but never mind.  Is everything working now.  Appears to be until, oops, a couple of days later, the website – this website – seems to have vanished.  A little tech support from the hosting company and it turns out the database password has miraculously changed to something different in one of the website config files and it is nothing like the password I set up years ago when I created the site.  (This is a password I have not needed since so do you think I know what it is supposed to be??  Of course not.)

All of these things are now fixed.  The question now is, what’s next?  Place your bets on the next thing to go wrong…

New American Livery – Not That Bad

wpid5626-AU0E7638.jpgHaving heard a lot of comments about people’s views of the new livery American Airlines has adopted, I was reserving judgement until I had seen it myself. When I first saw images online, I was not bowled over with it but I was not appalled as some people seem to have been. Given the boring nature of many liveries these days, I thought it was a little different from the norm and certainly not cause for offense. Of course, there were plenty who thought the exact opposite.

I have now had my first chance to see it for myself and I have to say my opinion is much the same. I was lucky in this instance that I got to photograph it just before the sun went down so it was bathed in some very favorable light. Even so, I think it looked okay. You will make your own decision of course. In time, we will forget this discussion ever took place!

Firefighters

wpid5528-IMG_1437.jpgI had a brief opportunity to head passed the field at McClellan, previously and Air Force base just outside Sacramento. This wasn’t enough time to have a good look around but more of a recce for a future visit. I knew of the Coast Guard and the Calfire facilities so I was looking to see what else was there that might be worth a future look. There were a few bits and pieces around. One thing that I liked was the collection of P-3 Orions in storage. They were operated by Aero Union on firefighting duties before the company went bust. No one has ought them yet. I grabbed a couple of shots over the fence. I might like to come back here to have a more detailed look around.wpid5530-IMG_1441.jpg

Back at the Hyatt

wpid5523-AU0E4830.jpgI wrote previously of a lift that took place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago. Erickson undertook this lift with the massively powerful S-64. However, they did not manage to finish off all aspects of the lift and a follow up job was required. Since the largest items had already been dealt with and the remaining items were either light enough for a smaller helicopter or could be broken down into parts that were light enough, the remainder was contracted to Midwest Helicopter with an S-58T.

wpid5525-C59F4047.jpgwpid5537-C59F4279.jpgI was planning to join them on the roof but it turned out that the team contracting the lift had already got one of their guys on a neighboring roof taking some shots and I could join him. This roof was higher and up sun from the majority of the action so a great spot. I gratefully accepted their offer. (I should note that I also tried something new this time. However, it didn’t work out as planned. I should write about it here but I think I will get it working properly before I tell the full story. Everyone prefers a happy ending and I am no exception.)

wpid5532-C59F4248.jpgThe lift went well and I got a lot of shots (and some video of which more another day). The same problem as the previous lift affected things with the wind meaning the helicopter was tail on to me most of the time. However, this time it was more than compensated for by the scenic background and chance for some nice wider shots. I was happy with the outcome.

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Early Morning City

wpid5515-AU0E4822.jpgAs you know if you follow this blog, the chance to be on the roof of a building for a helicopter lift is also the chance to get some shots of the city. We get into place well ahead of the actual lift and, while the guys are getting ready to deal with the loads, I have the time to get my gear ready and usually grab some shots of the view. High buildings have good views but not always photogenic ones. When you are above the city, you get a good view of cooling units, satellite dishes and all of the others things architects and building engineers hide on the roof out of sight of most people.

wpid5519-C59F3887.jpgHowever, all is not bad. Sometimes you just get a great view of the city from an angle that most don’t get. Being on the river opens up more options too. You are not closed in by surrounding structures – and you have a river! Not bad, eh?wpid5517-C59F3884.jpg

Some Long Line Work

wpid5505-C59F3653.jpgIt has been a while since I was up on the roof with the Midwest Helicopter team. A couple of jobs came up recently on the same morning and I went along. It was a great morning with lovely winter light and good skies, at least to start out with. Of course, these conditions in the winter also can mean low temperatures. It was 14F on the first job – not the coldest I have experienced on one of these lifts but quite close! However, when benefit of living in Chicago for a number of years is that I do have suitable clothing for cold weather.

wpid5511-C59F3753.jpgThe first job was a relatively simple one. The building was not terribly tall, maybe a dozen floors or so, and there were three cooling units going up and one old one coming down. A previous job had been done by the team on this building but this one required some adjustments. The location where the units were to be placed was on the other side of the roof and a lot closer to a far higher building. The normal 100′ line would not suffice and the 300′ option was required. This is a far rarer requirement so Jim, the Chief Pilot, decided to fly it instead of one of the other pilots since he hadn’t any experience with the 300′ line.

wpid5509-C59F3729.jpgwpid5507-AU0E4788.jpgI had plenty of space up on the roof to move around to shoot while staying out of the way of the crew. My job is to avoid them and stay out from under the loads. I do think Jim sometimes is playing a game with me as, on this job like some before, I ended up tight in a corner as it seemed like he was aiming for me! In truth I was well clear and he wasn’t chasing me but when you are looking almost straight up at the loads, they do look like they are closer than they really are.

wpid5513-C59F3812.jpgThe only disappointment for me was that the wind was coming from the west so the aircraft was tail on for most of the time. Since the light was at its best this early in the morning, that was a shame. However, not a bad start to the day.