Monthly Archives: September 2013

Clouds From Above

wpid7461-AU0E9856.jpgMy frequent flights mean I get to spend some time looking down.  Often when flying across the country, the skies are remarkably clear.  There may be a lot of haze obscuring a clear view to the distance but the amount of cloud is usually not much.  Then, when there is some, it tends to be thick cloud cover below.  No real shape and texture.  Consequently, when I see some cool looking clouds, I get a bit more excited.

wpid7457-IMG_1666.jpgThese are a few of the clouds that I have recently had a chance to shoot as we passed by.  If you are not a cloud person, they are very dull.  If you are, you can spend ages looking at the different shapes and shadows.  I hope you are a cloud person.  If not, maybe my next post will be more up your street.

More Cormorants and Swallows

wpid7512-AU0E8691.jpgHaving recently posted about both cormorants and swallows, it would appear a little repetitive to post about both together.  Oh well, that isn’t going to stop me.  While in Indiana for the powerboat racing, I was sitting on the harbor wall for a while.  This was a popular place for the local bird life too.  We had a cormorant swimming nearby and I couldn’t resist a shot of him (or her – I am not a specialist on these things).

wpid7514-AU0E8742.jpgAlso, the local swallows seemed to be enjoying the air currents over the waves.  When watching them, they seemed to spend a lot of time almost in one spot as they soared on the wind.  Of course, trying to get a long lens on them was less straightforward and suddenly it was apparent just how much they were moving.  Still, got a few shots off.  It certainly provided some practice time between the races!

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Sunset Into Midway

wpid7437-AU0E0348.jpgSouthwest Airlines and I are quite well acquainted.  I am on one of their 737s on a rather regular basis.  These days I am making the trip back and forth to the west coast a lot.  Coming back from there usually means me arriving back into Chicago towards the end of the day.  At this time of year, that can be around the time of sunset.  I tend to sit on the side of the plane that gives you a nice view of the sunset as we are getting close to home.

wpid7439-AU0E0368.jpgI don’t always have my camera with me (although I always have the camera in my phone) and the combination of light and clouds is not always ideal.  However, sometimes it just seems to work and give me something I am happy to remember.  These images aren’t something that is ever going to be a big deal to anyone else but they are nice for me.  No-one is going to want a wing and engine in the way either!  Since you can’t change position, the view is a variation on the same theme all the time.  That isn’t the point.  I just have to remember to look backwards sometimes to see what is going on.

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Cormorants – Not the Helicopter Version Though…

wpid7420-C59F2190.jpgWhile I would not describe myself as a bird guy, I do spend a fair bit of time trying to get photos of them.  I guess it is the “all things flying” part of my nature but they do make challenging subjects and also help with panning practice when I don’t have planes to shoot.  A species I have a particular fondness for is the cormorant.  I really don’t know why this should be.  Growing up by the sea I certainly saw plenty of them and their enthusiasm for bombing along at surface level over the water does fascinate me.

wpid7422-C59F2198.jpgCormorants in the US seem to be a lot happier to fly higher up than I remember in the UK.  While I was at Waukegan visiting the Warbird heritage Foundation, a pair of them blasted across the airfield.  I quickly tried to grab some shots as they flew over.  Nothing too special but something that pleased me all the same.

Baby Sloth Bears

wpid7359-AU0E7352.jpgLast in the baby section, at least for now, is the sloth bear.  One of the bears at Brookfield had a couple of cubs earlier in the year.  They are now out in the enclosure for the public to see.  Baby bears are really quite cute.  Lots of fur and everything else a bit undersized so they look very ungainly.  Add to that the typical youthful energy of young animals as they explore all of the new things on offer and you get a popular spot for visitors.  I can’t judge – we were there for the same reason!

WHF Day Out

wpid7411-C59F2218-Edit.jpgWhat seems like far too long a time had passed since I had last had a chance to head up to Waukegan to see the team at the Warbird Heritage Foundation.  A nice day and a break in my schedule meant that I was finally able to resolve that shortfall.  I headed up to Waukegan keen to see what sort of day was in store.  As with any collection of older aircraft, the chances of much flying are relatively limited since the planes are usually in need of some sort of care.  However, there were a few parked out on the apron when I got there.

wpid7397-AU0E5396-Edit.jpgSean and Mike were busy taking care of them as I wandered up.  The first thing Sean told me was that he had flown the Bird Dog that morning and that it was a shame I hadn’t been there.  Indeed so!  Telling me I have missed out on a great opportunity is just cruel!  Never mind.  I still haven’t seen the Bird Dog fly so it would have been good to see it let alone fly in it.

wpid7401-AU0E5417.jpgThe project for the day was the T-28 Trojan.  Not so long ago, this aircraft had an engine go bad.  The chip warning light came on while Sean was flying it and, since he was close to the field, he made a speedy descent to land.  The engine pretty much gasped its last as he taxied in.  A rebuild later and now the plane is flying again.  However, as with all engines after overhaul, it is going through a running in period.  This also requires a different grade of oil and a change of oil was the task for the guys.

wpid7405-AU0E5466.jpgWith the new oil in, the engine was run and the oil topped off.  Then it was time for a flight.  Jeff is a regular T-28 pilot and member of the Trojan Horseman and he came along to fly with Sean in the back seat.  Putting hours on the airframe is the goal but not going too far from the field in case anything goes wrong.  They did their duty flying patterns over the field and I grabbed some shots when I could.  Most of the time they were quite far away but, with the moon traversing the sky, a couple of opportunities presented themselves for shots with the moon in the background.

wpid7395-AU0E5379-Edit.jpgI also grabbed some shots of the aircraft on the ground while they were off doing their thing.  I haven’t got much before of the Bird Dog so spent a bit of time with it including getting some shots of the cockpit.  Harsh exterior lighting meant a but of HDR was required for some of the shots but hopefully it isn’t too obvious!  I have shot these planes a lot over time but there is always a chance for something new.  Good to see you guys again and hopefully it won’t be so long next time!

Brides on the Bridge!

wpid7386-AU0E5820.jpgPhotography can be a frustrating thing.  So often when you don’t have a camera to hand, you see something that would have made an interesting picture.  Then again, I have had many experiences when I was shooting something else that something came along which caught my eye and I could grab some shots.  Perhaps the lesson here is that there is almost always something interesting going on as long as you are looking!

wpid7388-AU0E5828.jpgI was actually shooting out of our window recently.  There was some helicopter activity over the area and this was my main target when I looked down at Michigan Avenue, a couple of blocks from us.  There were a bunch of women in bridal gowns walking along the street.  Looking more closely at the images, the women have red paint on their faces.  I have no idea what this meant since I didn’t get one of the flyers they were handing out.  They continued down to the bridge and across the river after which I lost track of them.  The people around certainly seemed surprised to have a pack of brides (what is the right collective noun for brides – a nightmare?) bearing down on them.  That is one of the cool things about this city.  Something always is happening!

More Cute Animals – Addax

wpid7321-AU0E6822.jpgThe baby animal saga continues.  The Addax group at the zoo have also had new additions.  A couple of babies in this case.  Probably not quite as cute as the giraffe but still pretty interesting.  I suspect the Addax enclosure does not normally have as many visitors as they are getting right now.  Babies of all species seem to have that effect on people!

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Helinet and Transformers

wpid7307-C59F2448.jpgEvery once in a while, I am reminded of something that has happened before and I realize that this took place in the days before I started blogging.  Then I have to decide whether it is fair to you, my dedicated reader, to roll out something that is several years old as a blog post.  If it is interesting enough, why not.  Besides, my life is not always so interesting so getting material is a case of taking it when you have it.

wpid7309-C59F2597.jpgThe subject in this case is a helicopter.  “no, surely not” I hear you cry.  It’s not like I ever write about or photograph helicopters.  This is true.  Indeed, this helicopter was involved in filming in the city which, as some recent posts will show, is not a particularly new topic either.  This film, though, was Transformers 3.  The filming of Transformers was a big deal in the city.  Major streets were shut for days at a time and set construction to make them look like they had been demolished was impressive.  As I think about it, I should probably post some pictures of that too at some point (note to self…).

wpid7295-IMG_8090.jpgAlan Purwin of Helinet was the pilot for the helicopter used for filming.  It was a Eurocopter Astar (Squirrel for those of you in the UK and Ecureuil for the French speakers).  It had a large camera mount on the nose to hold the cinema camera.  Until recently, it was relatively easy to tell movie shoots from TV shoots by the size of the mount.  Now film cameras are being replaced with such digital powerhouses as the Reds, the mount sizes are no longer so obvious.

wpid7299-C59F2302.jpgThere was filming day and night (including people skydiving into the shots from other helicopters and, if memory serves, the Trump Tower) and some pretty dramatic explosions.  The Astar would fly around the river a lot getting shots and sometimes the shots were of people on the buildings so it would be flying close to them.  All of this was a treat for someone like me.  Just watching it was great fun but I got some shots too.

wpid7303-C59F2351.jpgThe plan had been to write a piece on Helinet.  However, Paramount were not keen on having anything come out until the movie was released (a year later!) so the article stumbled a little.  Then, there was an accident on one of the sets out of the city in which a woman received terrible injuries and the whole production schedule changed and Alan headed off to other projects.  It would be nice to follow that one up again at some point.