Monthly Archives: December 2013

Ryan ST-A

wpid8402-AU0E9082.jpgOur Schellville expedition brought me into contact with a type I have never seen before.  The Ryan ST-A is not a plane I was familiar with and, when one taxied out for departure, I was quite curious as to what it was.  A quick departure was followed by some passes over the field before the pilot headed off to the local area where we could see him carrying out some aeros in the distance.

wpid8404-AU0E9097.jpgA while later, while we were sitting eating some food, a guy came across with his lunch and joined us.  His name was Dave Masters and it had been him flying the Ryan earlier on.  We had a great chat about the history of the aircraft and how he had come to own it.  He also told us about a similar aircraft in one of the hangars which we made time to see in due course.

wpid8384-C59F0494.jpgA great looking aircraft design and two of them kept in wonderful condition.  This place is already looking like a great spot!

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Moon

wpid8446-C59F1813.jpgIt only seems appropriate that I should follow a sun posting with one about the moon.  Having lived for the last ten years in a place that faced east, I was used to seeing the moon appear and then progress across the sky.  Now I live somewhere that faces west so, when I see the moon, it is already on its way down.  Having the hills to the west of us means there is even less time to catch it.

I have shot the full moon (or very close to full) a few times before.  One evening I was beginning to think about turning in when I saw the moon was dropping down and it was substantially in shadow.  I thought it looked very interesting and, since the time of the movement is about an hour later each day, if I didn’t shoot it then, the following day would be a bit later, the moon would be a bit fuller and who knows whether the sky would be clear anyway.  I headed downstairs to grab some gear and set up some shots from outside the garage.

The sky is not the clearest and least affected by distortion where we are but it isn’t too bad.  I got a few shots and then ramped up the ISO a bit to make sure of getting something with a higher shutter speed.  For those of you that haven’t tried shooting the moon, it moves surprisingly quickly and the use of a long lens emphasizes this even more.  Therefore, you need quite a high shutter speed to make sure it isn’t blurred.  Fortunately, although it is dark where you are, the moon is in full sunlight so there is a decent amount of illumination to help you out.

I got a few shots, and then headed back indoors to bed.  Sometimes you just have to grab the moment.  As a related item, I also got some daytime shots as the moon got closer to full recently.

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Sunset

wpid8534-C59F1610.jpgSitting on the deck of our room in Albion provided a beautiful view across the Pacific as the sun was setting.  As is usual with sunsets, you never knew exactly what you were going to get.  One night it all looked quite promising but the cloud cover low on the horizon meant it all went dull rather than getting dramatic.  On another evening, though, we had some high level clouds that started picking up the low evening light very nicely resulting in some great skies.

wpid8538-C59F1637.jpgOne evening the sun set in front of us with nothing much to obscure our view.  While I was happy to be sitting on the deck watching it go down, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to grab some shots of it.  A long lens meant some bigger views of it as the atmosphere distorted the view of its last gasps of west coast light.  After that, someone else was getting the benefits.

wpid8540-C59F1646.jpgThe strange shapes the atmospheric distortion produces were really interesting to watch.  The roundness was replaced by all sorts of shapes including one that looked more like a Mayan pyramid.  It changed so often that I had to keep shooting.  Only as it was almost done did I realize that I really should have been videoing this as well to show just how quickly it retreated below the horizon and how much it changed apparent shape while doing do.  (As an aside, I do know that the refraction of the atmosphere means that I am seeing an image of the sun on the horizon when it has actually already fallen below the true sightlines.)

wpid8542-C59F1654.jpgHaving missed this video opportunity, I shall have to be ready to try that out in future.  Meanwhile, I shall continue to enjoy the memory of the speed and rapid changes that the sun went through in the last moments of the day.

Surfers

wpid8310-C59F0336.jpgThe bay in Santa Cruz was not only filled with wildlife.  It also had a fair number of surfers.  Since I was looking at a calm surface of water, I was not entirely sure what they were hoping for.  Then, all of a sudden and with no apparent warning, a wave blasted up the rock face below us sending spray above our level.  I was a touch surprised!  It seems that there are periodic waves that come in from offshore and funnel into the bay providing some surfable waves.  The guys were hanging around waiting for these.

wpid8302-C59F0246.jpgSince I was more focused on the wildlife, I wasn’t always paying attention to the surfers.  However, periodically I did see one of them getting ready to try and catch a wave and I switched my attention to them.  The angle often meant that they were getting obscured by the wave they were riding.  Some of them weren’t being too successful at catching a wave at all.  There were a few, though, who seemed to be a lot better at this and managed to get some decent rides in.  One even helped me out with a spectacular dismount!

Stearman Central

wpid8426-AU0E9289.jpgSchellville also seemed to have quite a few Stearmans around on the day I was there.  I think they were generally doing rides for people.  A nice day for some open cockpit flying so I hope the passengers enjoyed themselves.  Here are some of the shots I got of the Stearman.

Mendocino

wpid8481-C59F1198.jpgA weekend away after a bunch of home moving activities seemed like a great idea.  We had an invitation away for the Thanksgiving weekend which we would have liked to have taken but the travel involved meant it was not going to be a practical proposition.  Instead, we decided to drive a couple of hours north to Mendocino and have a short break there as compensation for the missed trip to friends.

wpid8473-C59F1180.jpgThis turned out to be a great idea.  We chose a weekend when the weather was gorgeous and the number of people was limited.  What a combination!  While we were staying in Albion, a little way south of Mendocino itself, we decided to head there on the day we arrived and take a look around.  It is a cracking little town.  It is a combination destination with people who are getting away from the hustle of life being there as well as city folks doing the same thing if only for a day or two.

wpid8489-C59F1311.jpgThere are lots of little shops to deal with the tourists and the place is very picturesque.  It is planted right on the coast and you can walk out onto the headland to see the waves crashing in while looking back at the town on the cliffs behind you.  Seeing as it was later in the day and the sun was low given the time of year, it all looked even better!

wpid8487-C59F1304.jpgOne feature of the town I particularly liked was the use of water towers.  You could see the evolution of the towers around the town.  Some of them were as designed with a timber framework holding up the water barrel.  Others had decided to enclose the tower structure to provide some additional room space under the barrel.  Then there were those that had gone the whole hog and got rid of the barrel and converted the tower into part of the home.  The distinctive shape was still there which is what gives it all away.

wpid8475-C59F1181.jpgOther little details of the place appealed.  The weathervane on the fire house was rather cool.  If you like chocolate, you would have several places to visit to sample their wares – something that made Nancy a lot happier than me!  All in all, a great place to wander around and relax in.

Cormorants

wpid8280-C59F0003.jpgThere have been a few cormorant posts of late on the blog so, if those were not your thing, look away now.  Santa Cruz may have had a large colony of pelicans as described here but it also was not short of cormorants.  They were busy zipping back and forth along the coast, sadly not often coming too close to our location but we did get an occasional look.

wpid8314-C59F0369.jpgMore fascinating was watching them land on the rocks.  The pelicans seemed to be clearly in charge of things but the cormorants did have some spots they were taking up.  However, good landing areas seemed in short supply for them.  Instead, they took a rather more direct approach.  They would fly right at the rock face and flare into what seemed like an impact with the rock.  In doing so, they would grab on to something and then clamber up the rocks to their colleagues.

wpid8276-C59F9967.jpgwpid8278-C59F9971.jpgIt all looked rather like hard work but, if you are lowing on the pecking order (and with a bill the size of a pelican’s, who wouldn’t be) I guess you have to be innovative.

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Flying in the Champ

wpid8348-AU0E9579.jpgWhile I was with Eric, he suggested we do a little flying in his Champ.  I haven’t flown a Champ before and Eric let me get some stick time.  Most of the aircraft I have flown over the years have been pretty benign in yaw with not a lot of need to use my feet.  The Champ is a different story.  Plenty of rudder is required to fly it properly and I did nothing of the sort.  A few turns later and I was starting to get a bit tidier but I certainly need a lot of practice to get comfortable with the aircraft.

wpid8352-AU0E9608.jpgEric also flew some more dynamic maneuvers while I was shooting.  I also grabbed some video clips.  They aren’t a complete story but just a few clips so go the video below gives you a quick glimpse of what we did.  Thanks Eric for a lot of fun and for reminding my stomach how long it is since I have flown anything resembling a dynamic maneuver!

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Pleasanton

wpid8256-IMG_1743.jpgJust a quick shot of our new location.  We don’t actually live in Pleasanton but in Dublin.  They are right next to each other and you would be hard pressed to notice the dividing line if it wasn’t an interstate and BART line.  However, downtown Pleasanton is – well, how better to say it – pleasant.  We stopped in town for a look at the farmers’ market and had lunch sitting outside a café.  A nice way to spend time in October when you have lived somewhere that is a touch chilly by this time of year!

Pelicans

wpid8262-C59F9758.jpgThe California coast provides a lot of different options for places to go to and things to see.  We decided to take a day trip along the coast south of the Bay Area and started out in Santa Cruz.  A little previous research had suggested some possible places of interest.  Unfortunately, the weather that had been forecast was a little optimistic.  However, even on a cloudy day, the ocean is a great place to be.

wpid8272-C59F9890.jpgWe arrived at one state beach and found an overlook that gave a view of the beach and a couple of rocky outcrops that were absolutely covered in pelicans.  Not only were they on the rocks but there were plenty of them soaring about the area as well.  Given how many were in the air, I suspect there wouldn’t have been enough space on the rocks for them all it once!

wpid8270-C59F9874.jpgThey would soar about in formation heading up and down the coast with our position being right under some of the flightpaths.  At a distance, gliding pelicans look great.  When they are just over your head, you become acutely aware of just how large they are and how, if they want to come where you are, you would be wise to move aside.

wpid8268-C59F9860.jpgThe formations flying around were fun to watch but almost as much fun was watching them landing on the rocks.  With a spot identified, a lot of wing activity was required to bring them to a halt where they wanted.  I could have stayed there for hours watching the fun.