Monthly Archives: April 2013

Pre-Dawn Over Tahoe

wpid5835-AU0E8795.jpgSome work commitments meant I was unable to get out of Sacramento on Friday evening as I had originally planned. Instead I had to come home on the Saturday morning. A direct flight was available at 6:30am which, while it meant an early start, did mean I had a good chunk of the day left when I got home. It was still dark when we took off and headed east. The route home takes you just south of Lake Tahoe.

wpid5831-AU0E8818.jpgAs we flew by, the sun had still not come up on the lake. One of the features of being at altitude is that you get sunrise before the ground below you. However, we did have some pre-dawn light on the lake and I managed to get some shots of it. It wouldn’t have been too long before the hardier skiers were out and about no doubt!

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Napa

wpid5841-AU0E8619.jpgA weekend break took is to Napa in the California wine country. This wasn’t a trip about wine (although a few glasses may have been consumed while we were there). Instead it was a chance to look around the area and enjoy some temperatures a little above those in Chicago in March!

wpid5839-AU0E8615.jpgNapa is a pretty little town on the whole. We had a good chance to wander around and to see some older buildings and some very attractive houses. The markets had great food and there were plenty of places to dine. A nice place for a weekend away and probably somewhere we shall explore further at some point.wpid5837-AU0E8603.jpg

Chasing a G650

wpid5823-AU0E8934.jpgToday is another tale of chasing a plane. As with my quest for a JetStar, this is another business jet that I wanted to shoot. Gulfstream’s latest product is the G650. It has not had a trouble free development program but finally has achieved certification and deliveries are starting. Since most jets go to completion centers to be fitted out, actual in service jets are still relatively uncommon. One of them came to Midway recently and I decided to try and get some shots of it.

wpid5825-AU0E9054.jpgIt was originally due to arrive a little while before sunset. Since it was a cold but clear day, this presented an excellent opportunity to, not only get the shot but, get it in very attractive light. It was is that convinced me to go in the first place. However, I was aware of the chances of arrival slipping and the jet turning up after sunset. I got to Midway in good time and was lucky to be there in time for a nice Global Express arriving. Was this the battle of the big jets? However, the 650 had been delayed leaving and was now scheduled to arrive at sunset. Given that the forecast arrival times is usually a little optimistic, I realized that things weren’t going to work out perfectly.

wpid5827-AU0E9234.jpgSadly, the lovely light disappeared and then the 650 called up on approach. There was still light enough to get some shots but not those that were what I had hoped for. However, in time to come, the 650 will become a lot more common so I guess I will get one in better conditions before too long.wpid5829-AU0E9266.jpg

What Motivates People to Justify Themselves?

Every once in a while, I take this blog totally off topic and just have a ponder about something. This is one of those posts. If you want pictures of something, today is not your day. See you in a couple of days or scroll down to some of the previous posts to get your fill!

This post was triggered by someone I vaguely know and who is a friend on Facebook. They posted a string of posts over a number of days about why they didn’t like soccer (football for the readers in any part of the world except the US). The posts laid out each reason why they thought “footie” was a load of crap and compared poorly to any sport they did like. Someone even chimed in with a comment about baseball having less action and got a response that seemed to be cognitive dissonance at its best.

Am I bothered that someone doesn’t like soccer? No – when it comes down to it I am not that bothered about it either. I played it endlessly as a kid and will still watch some of the major tournament games but fundamentally it really isn’t my thing any more. What I am perplexed about is why someone went to such great lengths to say they didn’t like it. Did it matter that much? Did they think that their damning indictment of the game was going to change the minds of a few billion people who would instantly see the light and cease to care about “the beautiful game”?

Instead, it seems to be another one of those times when people care far more about what their choices may mean in the eyes of others. This is a bit like the sort of brand loyalty debates you see. The Ford versus Chevy debate is one that constantly amuses me. It doesn’t matter whether one or the other is making good or bad products. You are a Ford or Chevy guy. (Unlucky Dodge!) There was even an ad during the Super Bowl that equated this to surviving the apocalypse! Bizarre.

In my little world of photography this is a common theme. Canon versus Nikon seems to be something that takes up an inordinate amount of time. If I bought one, maybe by showing how crap the other is I will somehow be a more valid person? What crap. Engaging in the discussion says far more about you of course. Supporting sports teams is even more of an example since someone can watch their team lose consistently for years and still declare them to be the best and their local rivals useless (despite them being two leagues higher!).

Politics has gone the same way recently. No longer can anyone disagree. Instead they are an enemy. You either agree or you are some sort of traitor/baby eating monster! This is nonsense. The team mentality also means you must concur with every point. Is it possible that any side can have a monopoly on being right? Sounds highly unlikely. However, once you have signed up to a side, you have to support every point irrespective of how much it might go against what you originally believed. This is a sad outlook for us all.

Am I falling into the same path here? I am writing this post trying to highlight what I believe about a topic. Am I no different to someone writing about why they hate soccer? Maybe I am. Maybe I am the one with a good case of cognitive dissonance. Oh well, I guess I am stuck with that. It’s like being too stupid to know you are stupid. Do you think it isn’t you or are you too unaware to know that it is you. You can never know the difference!

I promise I shall return to posting pictures after this. If you are still reading, thanks for indulging me. If not, it doesn’t matter what I write next since you won’t see it anyway!

Century Link Field

wpid5594-AU0E5588-Edit.jpgJust south of the station in Seattle is the pair of sports fields that house some of the cities franchises.  Century Link Field is the home of the Seattle Seahawks and the Sounders MLS team.  Beyond that is Safeco Field where the Mariners play.  I had a quick look at Century Link Field while I was passing.  Since the season was over, everything was very quiet.  The field was gated so I couldn’t go in.  There may have been tours available but I wasn’t there with enough time to look around properly.

wpid5596-AU0E5597.jpgThe field was quite open next to a large parking lot so getting a full view of it was not tricky.  The evening light was very directional with the harsh shadows but it was still not too bad.  I also climbed up the steps to peer inside.  You could see a good portion of the ground but the light was again quite harsh.  Below I also include an aerial view taken when I was coming in to Seattle.

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How to Use Speakerphone

Since my last post was a bit of a rant, I am on a roll so add another one today.  Hopefully, having cleared my system a bit, I will return to the photography topics soon.  Normal scheduled programming will resume!

I was waiting to board a flight the other day and the person next to me was on the phone.  No great surprise there since the airport is full of people on the phone including me quite frequently.  This person was doing something that I have noticed a few times of late.  They were using the phone in speakerphone mode but holding it up to their head.  They would speak directly into the phone and hold it back at an angle so that they could hear the message.  Of course, that meant that the rest of us could hear it too.

Why would they not just hold the phone to their head and have a normal phone conversation in this situation?  I readily accept that I may not have understood a set of circumstances that might make this the better way to use a phone but each time I have seen it I have been puzzled.  It certainly is a nuisance to everyone else who has to hear the conversation whether they want to or not.  Again, if you can explain this to me, please do leave a comment.

Seattle Union Station

wpid5590-AU0E5556.jpgThe main station in Seattle is King Street Station.  It is served by the Coaster commuter trains and the Cascades service that runs from Oregon up to Vancouver in British Columbia.  What I didn’t know is that there used to be another station nearby.  Union Station ceased to have rail service many years ago and deteriorated over time.  However, as part of a redevelopment program in the area, the building has been restored and now is part of a larger development area.

wpid5592-AU0E5568-Edit.jpgInside the station is a main hall that is really quite impressive.  It does not appear to be terribly busy.  A few office workers would transit through but a bunch of other people seemed to be hanging out inside since it was warmer than outside!  I couldn’t resist taking a few shots and also had a go at a 360 pano to boot.

The One That Got Away

No photo to show here.  This is about one that didn’t happen.  I was driving back towards the city just after sunset.  The Kennedy Expressway runs east towards the city away from O’Hare for a while and the line of the freeway is the same as the approach path for one of O’Hare’s runways.  As I drove down it, there was a line of aircraft on approach, each showing up with their landing lights on and with the closest aircraft showing clearly against the remnants of the light in the sky.

Add to this the enormous full moon that was almost perfectly in line with the planes and you had the sort of shot that you see online every once in a while and think how cool it looks and maybe it was faked.  This wasn’t faked.  however, my cameras were in the trunk and I was driving on the expressway so there was no way to get the shot.  You will have to take my word for it.  It was that good!

Cabs are Shrinking

wpid5569-IMG_1451.jpgWhen we arrived in Chicago nearly ten years ago, the cab fleet was almost totally homogenous. If you got in one, it was almost definitely going to be a Crown Vic. Over the years, a few Prius (should that be Prii) started to show up. Now the a Crown Vics are becoming a minority as newer vehicles that are predominantly hybrid take over the fleet. Having slightly smaller vehicles makes a lot of sense given that there are often few occupants. However, as I walked home the other day, I passed the lone of taxis outside the IBM building and the car at the front of the line caught my eye. A Ford Fiesta! Now that really is a shrink!

Seattle From Above

wpid5584-AU0E5551.jpgWhen the wind is coming from the south, the approach to Seatac airport between Seattle and Tacoma takes you almost directly over downtown Seattle.  We actually could see Everett off in the distance with a lot of large airplanes parked up awaiting delivery but that was too far off to get a usable shot, particularly with the lens I had fitted.  However, approaching Elliott Bay, we got a really nice view of the lakes and the downtown area.

wpid5582-AU0E5549.jpgCities always look very different from above.  What is large on the ground seems far more insignificant from above and what is a long journey on the surface is passed by in a heartbeat.  That is part of the fun of being in the air.  Of course, it does mean you have to grab the shot quickly!

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