Monthly Archives: September 2014

Air-to-Air With Some Raptors

wpid10720-AU0E5037.jpgDay two of my Red Flag visit was to involve a trip in one o the KC-135 tankers supporting the exercise. After the troubles of the previous day, it wasn’t entirely clear whether it would go ahead but we turned up at the allotted time and were escorted to the tanker ramp area. A few confused conversations took place with our escort and the crews but it all got worked out and we were briefed on the flight. We were the Blue tanker and were supposed to be refueling F-22s and F-16s, supposedly from Aviano with the Shaw F-16s (which are almost always out of bounds for photography) supposedly going to the Red tanker.

wpid10724-AU0E5221.jpgWe waited in the ops building for as long as possible before heading out. It was very hot on the ramp but even hotter in the jet. KC-135s do not have any air conditioning while parked on the ground and are painted dark grey. Consequently, the back of the hold (where we would be) is about as hot a place as I have ever experienced. We got there and it was time to sit very still and wait. Also, rationing the water was a good idea since we would be flying for about three hours.

wpid10718-AU0E4942.jpgWe taxied for takeoff and, once airborne, the cooling started to work and the temperature became reasonable. We agreed a rotation for everyone to get into the boomer’s position to get shots as the aircraft refueled. There are a couple of windows on each side of the jet too so we agreed to allow everyone get a chance with those too. Soon our first traffic appeared. A group of F-22s from Tyndall AFB came into view. Quite an impressive sight they make as they hang on the wing tip of the 135. They then take it in turns to drop under the jet and hook up to the boom before sliding out to the other side and waiting for the rest to finish. With some encouragement, they might make a more aggressive departure from the boom which is nice.

wpid10716-AU0E4891.jpgOur next traffic soon showed up. These were the F-16s but not from Aviano. They were Shaw jets and so out of bounds for photography. This was a big disappointment. We could take shots but they would be subject to scrutiny by the security team so would probably be deleted. I took a few but deleted them myself to speed the review process. They were cool to see even so. Lying beside the boomer and looking straight down into the cockpit of the jet below while the pilot looked up at us was an interesting experience.

wpid10722-AU0E5087.jpgWe had more F-22s while we were there but it didn’t seem that long before we were heading back down again. We strapped in for landing and then had an extra moment of interest as the aircraft had to carry out a go-around. There was a strong tailwind so, as we were looking like we would land long, a go-around was the safest bet. Once back on the ground, we handed in our cards for review. Waiting for them to be mailed back seemed like an eternal wait as I was keen to know whether I had got anything worthwhile. The summer sun was a bit harsh and there was a lot of fluid on the boomer’s window but I still ended up with a few that I am very happy with. Thanks to the team at Nellis AFB for making I work out.

wpid10722-AU0E5087.jpg wpid10726-AU0E5311.jpg

Red Flag 14-3

wpid10684-C59F4260.jpgThe Global Aviation Resource team put a concerted effort into the coverage of the Red Flag 14-3 exercise. Paul Dunn and Chris Wood both traveled out from the UK and I headed down from California to cover the events. Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan. We took part in the interview panel with some of the participants in the exercise and that went well. Then we all headed out to a location between the runways to prepare for the launch and recovery of the aircraft. We got there ahead of time and saw a few movements, mostly unrelated to the exercise.

wpid10698-AU0E3900.jpgJust as the time was coming for the launch to commence, we got the word to get back on the bus and hold in place. Something was going on and we had to be together while it was established what the issue was. After waiting for a while and as the first of the aircraft were taxiing out to depart, we were told that we were heading off base. We started o drive out just as the B-1s were taking off. Pretty soon we were back at the gate and were told that we wouldn’t be going back. From what we have heard since, there was a suspicious package on the ramp and that was the cause of the alert. The launch went ahead anyway. We headed off base to shoot what we could but a combination of the harsh lighting and some cloudy skies meant we didn’t get anything like what we had hoped for.

wpid10702-AU0E4440.jpgI did manage to grab a couple of shots out of the bus window as we were still between the runways so what you see here is a combination of that and what we got off base.

The article itself was written up by Paul this time and it can be found here.

Hercs

wpid10674-C59F3895.jpgDavis Monthan was not just a hive of A-10 activity. We also got a couple of Hercules while we were there. The first to show up was the one I was particularly pleased with. It was a Japanese forces aircraft and looked very nice in its pale blue colors. The other was a based aircraft which was an EC-130. We actually got to see it twice. Once it was flying around DM itself but it also flew an approach while we were at Tucson shooting the F-16s. A nice addition to the trip!

wpid10678-C59F4107.jpgwpid10676-C59F3922.jpg  wpid10680-C59F4123.jpg

Taking Your Tern Fishing

wpid10736-C59F8615.jpgSitting on the (dock of the) bay watching the world go by, there were a few birds out fishing. A pelican was fishing a bit too far out for the lens I had. However, a tern was coming in a lot closer to the shore in search of food. He kindly dived in for a catch right in front of me. As he flew away, there was clearly a meal in his beak. Terns are a cool looking bird. The shape of the coloring on their head makes them look even sleeker than they otherwise do.

wpid10738-C59F8617.jpg wpid10740-C59F8624.jpg

Above Yosemite

wpid10732-IMG_2089.jpgI was on a flight back home recently and our course took us almost directly over the top of Yosemite. I was on the right hand side of the plane which happened to be the side with the view of the valley. I only had my phone with me but here are some shots anyway of a view you don’t normally get. I could clearly see El Capitan. Interestingly, the most famous view of the valley is Half Dome but, from this angle, you were behind it and it wasn’t very obvious at all.

wpid10734-IMG_2091.jpg

Tucson F-16s

wpid10658-AU0E1998.jpgA trip to Tucson means a chance to shoot the F-16s that operate from the international airport there. This is an Air National Guard unit and it also includes the training unit for the Netherlands Air Force. I have shot there before and posted about it in this post. It is a place for morning shooting. The light is right at that time and the heat has not got too bad. Near the end of the runway is the favored spot and you can get the aircraft just after they lift off as they head straight out. The morning launch is often quite busy so you can get a steady stream of aircraft.

wpid10654-AU0E1869.jpgWhat goes out is usually coming back and the recoveries mean time to move. This time they actually caught us out a bit since some of the early launches came back in less than an hour so were recovering before the others had launched. This actually provided a chance to catch them as they turned off after landing so some ground shots were available although the heat haze was starting to be a problem. I then headed to the other favored spot that puts you inside the final turn. Depending on how tightly they fly the turn, you can either see them a reasonable distance away or they can feel like hey are right on top of you.

County Fair

wpid10788-AU0E9642.jpgAside from the bike jumping and the pig racing, the rest of the Alameda County Fair was fun to look around. One thing a fair like this has (other than a ton of things to eat) is livestock. We wandered through the halls to see the various animals that were competing (although they didn’t seem terribly aware that they were competing). There were plenty but here are a few of the cuter ones!

Night Star Trails

wpid10634-C59F2512.jpgMy buddy Paul was in town and we had a day of shooting and exploring planned. However, we wanted to have a go at star trails in the evening as well. Consequently, we set up at Schellville as the sun went down to shoot the trails around the Douglas DST parked on the field. I set up two cameras at different angles and with different lenses to try and maximize what I got. The sun was still going down when I started so the exposure was varying a bit more than I was prepared for but a little tweaking in post got things back together. We also did some light painting on the airframe in a couple of frames to make the scene pop a bit more.

wpid10636-AU0E9010.jpgThe biggest thing I learned during this was to start when it is darker and to take mosquito protection. I got badly bitten during the early part of the shoot and the bites reacted quite severely! Also, doing this in the winter so you don’t have to wait so late for it to get dark might also be a good plan. However, it went reasonably well and I have a few things I will know to do differently next time. I might also try a trail on one camera and a time lapse on the other.

Negative Scanning

I have a lot of negatives and transparencies from my days of shooting film and various of them have been scanned at times either for projects or just because I wanted to have them as part of my digital library. For a long time, I have made use of a Minolta Scan Dual III film scanner. While it doesn’t appear to like modern operating systems, a few tweaks to the config files make it run with Windows 7. However, it is not a totally smooth process and the scanner has a habit of hanging at odd times which requires a lot of fiddling to recover.

When I built my latest computer, I didn’t bother to install the drivers and the box is sitting on a shelf. I was figuring I would come back to it if I needed to. Recently, I needed to scan a single strip of film and wondered whether I had an alternative. I do have a flatbed scanner that has a film scanning capability. I had previously dismissed flatbeds for film scanning since they were seen to be inferior to dedicated film scanners. However, my film scanner was pretty old and gave me mixed results and my flatbed is relatively new. Therefore, I figured I ought to give it a go.

First, the limitations. It will scan a strip of film of shots but you have to move a small device between each shot between scans. No scanning a full holder of film or slides. Big scanning jobs are therefore a lot less practical. As for the image quality, I have yet to find a way to have much control. A preview scan is done but if it comes out with a poor exposure, for example, I have yet to find a way to adjust it. The dedicated film scanner allows all sorts of tweaking. Then there is the speed. If I go for the highest resolution, the scans take many minutes for each exposure. I can wander off and do something else but, if you have more than a couple of images to scan, this is a slow and inefficient process

As for the output quality, it is a mixed bag. The scans are not too bad. Despite the lack of control, if the original is a straightforward image, it comes out okay. Large areas of a similar color such as a sky are subject to banding. I suspect this is a problem all of the time but most pronounced on large areas of one color.

So, am I going to make do or is the film scanner going to be resurrected? I think I will get it back off the shelf. The time and quality issues are sufficient to make the flatbed not helpful except for odd individual scans. It does a nice job on documents but that is it. Now I shall have to find a location for the film scanner and sort out the config files again.

Elephant Seals

wpid10834-C59F1631.jpgEarlier in the year, I took a trip to Ano Nuevo State Park to photograph the elephant seals. This was a photo tour early in the morning in the middle of the mating season and you can read more about it here. Nancy and I decided to make a second trip out there more recently. This was a normal day at the park but there were plenty of males back on the beaches including both immature ones and some of the larger guys.

wpid10818-C59F1300.jpgMost of the action was taking place on the beach furthest from the center. While a few seals were dozing on the beaches closer in, a lot had gathered to play. They were sparring both on the beach and in the water. Initially, it looked as if they were fighting but, as you watched further, it became clear that they were really going through the motions. Having seen the real fights, there was none of the true violence in these encounters. Moreover, one of the docents pointed out that males of very different stature were sparring with each other. The large males would never even bother to engage the smaller males if it were for real. However, in this environment, they were all just getting some practice in.

wpid10816-AU0E8464.jpgOut in the bay is an island that is no longer occupied by humans. I made a panorama of it but I was hoping to see some of the wildlife that is out there. At that time of year, Steller sea lions were out on the island. Sadly, they rarely come ashore but the males of this species are absolutely huge. We could actually see the outline of some of them out on the island. They looked like huge boulders but then you could make out their shape. Quite an impressive creature! I also shot some video while I was there and you can see the result of that below.