Category Archives: Bay Area

Reverse Ops While I Am Waiting

As some recent posts have covered, I made a visit to SFO recently to go up the old tower before it was demolished. I got to the airport a little ahead of time so had some time along the bay shore awaiting my time slot. I got some shots of operations while I was there. The wind was out of the south so reverse operations were in effect which is always an interesting change to things. The departures to the east are busy and a little different while the arriving jets come closer to you as they touch down and roll out.

The light was a bit subdued but there were a few heavies arriving. A couple of 747-400s including a Qantas jet and an ANA 777-300ER. However, the sun did pop out briefly as a Hawaiian A330 departed (presumably for Hawaii). The sun caught it quite nicely as it climbed and, in the background you could see one of the jets lining up for arrival on the 19s.

Departing the Bay at Sundown

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This post may seem a bit symbolic but it is a bit of a cheat. I flew out of SFO heading up to Seattle to go to my new place. The flight left around sunset and, as we climbed out above the bay, I got some lovely views of the water, the city and the cloudscapes with the last light of the day. As the sunset on my time there, it was rather appropriate. (The reason it is a cheat is that I came back a few days later and left again by car. That wasn’t so dramatic so I shall stick with this version instead.)

Qatar Amiri Flight 747-8 BBJ

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Just a quick post this time. No big description. While up the old tower at SFO, the Qatar Amiri Flight Boeing 747-8 BBJ was parked across the runway. As private jets go, this is pretty well up there. I haven’t been inside so I don’t know whether it is luxurious but I am willing to bet it doesn’t have a utilitarian feel in there. I doubt I will get to find out though.

Sailing Ship in Oakland

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A pair of sailing ships had been in Oakland earlier in the year but I didn’t get around to seeing them while they were there. However, I had lunch with some colleagues in Jack London Square a little while later and saw that one of the ships (or another similar ship) was tied up on the dock. Unfortunately, the sun was behind the boat so it wasn’t an ideal time to photograph it but, with something that unusual, I figured I shouldn’t waste the opportunity.

FAA Jets With Extra Bits

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The engineer in me is always pleased by a plane with extra bits added. This Learjet 60 was departing San Jose. As it taxied out, you could see a lot of extra probes on the front fuselage and some antennae on the fin. It is a Federal Aviation Administration jet, hence its abbreviated registration number. I assume it is used for flight checking services when the performance of things like instrument landing systems is calibrated. Whatever it does, it has a few added extras compared to the average bizjet.

Tri-Valley Haven 5k/10k

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A shelter program in the Tri-Valley area held a fund raising run a little while back. A few of our friends had decided to participate so I headed along to get some shots of them running. There was both a 5k and a 10k to choose from. The 10k was the first to head out. This meant they could get away rather than conflict with the 5k runners and would hopefully avoid any 5k runners being directed off on the longer route by mistake.

A few minutes later, the 5k participants lined up and were sent on their way. They headed through the park and off to the trail that would be their out and back route. They needed to cross a road so the volunteers were out to manage the traffic and allow the runners to cross without having to stop. (Most drivers managed to handle this concept but I saw one dope that didn’t seem to think the stop signs meant anything.)

Everyone seemed to be having a good time when they headed out. The return meant some of them looked a little less perky but they had done well and supported a good cause. Well done everyone.

Air China A330

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Boring paint schemes are far too common these days on airliners. The all white plane with just a hint of color is a little too much of a feature of things these days. A few airlines break the mold but not enough. One of the boring ones is Air China. They are not at all interesting for most of their fleet. However, some of their Airbus A330s are painted in a livery that is a bit more interesting. Sadly, I had never seen one. They fly in to San Jose but almost always they bring a jet in plain white. However, they changed it on a day when we were going to San Jose for some shopping so I added a small diversion.

This scheme is not the most dramatic and shooting it in the middle of the day is not going to emphasize it in the best way but I wasn’t going to miss the chance. San Jose provides a great location for getting close to the jets. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one interested in it coming. A few people showed up just before arrival and left straight afterwards. I just wish more airlines would adopt interesting colors. The planes are not very varied so the liveries are all that is left to mix it up.

Hangar 1 on a Misty Morning

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When I am on a shoot, the main focus is on the subject that you are there for. However, I have rarely had a shoot when I didn’t get some pictures of something else while I was there. The problem comes when I am going through the shoot. I need to get the shots I am going to use selected and edited. The other shots are put to one side and, it is really easy to forget about them when the next shoot needs to be worked through.

While this is a bit annoying, it does mean that you periodically come across something long afterwards when you are running through images for another reason. This shot of Hangar 1 at Moffett Field is just such a shot. I saw the shots while looking for a shot of an IL-76. I quickly realized that they were shot to be a panorama and had never been tagged as such. This time I ran it quickly through the pano function and got the shot out. It was shot early in the morning awaiting the departure of Solar Impulse and I like the misty look in the air.

Amtrak Over the River

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Having watched a guy walking across a narrow railroad bridge over the Alameda Creek in Fremont as you can read about here, a train was now coming across the bridge. The train was a Capital Corridor service heading to San Jose. I am currently working on a project to acquire new locomotives for Caltrans that will see service on the Capital Corridor and will replace borrowed Amtrak locomotives. This train was being hauled by one of these Amtrak locomotives. All being well, this will soon no longer be a regular sight.

Avaya Stadium for a Pre-Season Game

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I was down in San Jose and I ended up getting some lunch next to the Avaya Stadium. This is the home of the San Jose Earthquakes, a Major League Soccer side. They were having a pre-season game and a steady stream of people was showing up. The stands didn’t look like they were filling up to much. I don’t know whether the Quakes get a good attendance or not or whether being a pre-season game made a difference. Either way, some of the fans up at the top of the stand were certainly making their presence felt. I decided to shoot a pano sequence of the stadium for fun. Blending it proved a little difficult because of the constant movement of vehicles and people in the foreground but most of the odd artifacts will probably not be too obvious.