Category Archives: photo

Bandon Beach

We did a bit of a road trip while in Oregon. I was interested in seeing Bandon Beach again – we went there about ten years before but I didn’t remember much about it – and it was a couple of hours down the coast but we had a day when the weather was forecast to start out average and get better. Therefore, a road trip seemed like a good idea. It was quite fun seeing the different scenery as we headed down the coast but, after a while, the highway moved inland and we were getting a different type of view (or none at all for some parts of it).

We got to Bandon and checked out the view from different parts of the coastline. However, while the light was pretty good, I had not anticipated just how windy it was going to be. As I stood on the overlook checking out the beach, I was getting absolutely pummeled by the wind. It was hard to stand upright let alone hold the camera steady. Of course, if the picture ends up being sharp, there is nothing in it that would indicate how the conditions were.

Bandon is like a lot of the Oregon coastline in that it has large rock stacks sitting on or just off the beach. These make the area rather popular with landscape photographers. An early morning start and the use of tripods and strong neutral density filters is going to be pretty common here I would imagine. That was not what I was here for. I didn’t even venture down to the beach. Given how hard the wind was blowing, it didn’t seem like it would be the relaxing beach stroll that I would have liked so I was content to enjoy the view from up on the bluffs. Besides, we had the drive back to consider as well.

Antonov Hanging Around on the Ground

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I have shot a lot of AN124 Ruslan movements in recent years whether in the Bay Area or now we are in Seattle. I am still happy to see them, of course, but something a little different is welcome. When I arrived in LA, there was one parked up on the ramp near the museum. I figured it would be gone by the time I was back for my helicopter flight but I was wrong. It was still there. Consequently, I was happy with a few new views on a familiar beast.

My Friends the Eels

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Nancy thinks I am nuts (probably for many reasons) but one of them is because I find eels fascinating. Most aquariums seem to have some eels on display and I love to look at them. Very often they are pretty reticent about coming out, preferring to stay in their crevices keeping an eye out for something tasty. However, at the aquarium in Newport, the eels were a lot more active.

They were either swimming about (including clattering in to each other) or they were in a hole but coming out of it regularly to see what was going on. I have never seen them so active. Needless to say, I got a bunch of pictures as well as trying some video of them. Not often that they are so mobile.

Salty Dog Hornet Goes Tanking

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The never-ending test program for the KC-46 Pegasus involves testing with a variety of receiver aircraft. Recently, the Navy has deployed jets to Boeing Field to work with the tankers. While I was there, it was a Boeing F/A-18D Hornet that was sent across. Operating with the call-sign, Salty Dog, the Hornet blasted out of the field ahead of its tanker. They were scheduled to be up until after dark so I didn’t hang around for their return.

Trestle Out of Use

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The east side of Lake Washington used to have a lot more train traffic. A line ran up that side of the lake but the railroad closed it down and then the interstate was rebuilt and went over the previous right of way. In Bellevue, the tracks crossed a valley on a large trestle bridge, the Wilburton Trestle. This wooden structure was modified at some point to allow an expansion of the road that ran underneath it but, once the railroad was closed, it fell out of use.

For the longest time, I didn’t even notice it. While it is close to the interstate, it is off to one side at a time when you don’t have much time to look around. When I finally noticed it, I was amazed I had driven by so many times. Even then, I never got a chance to take pictures. I was hoping for better weather but winter has not really helped in that regard so, one afternoon, as I was heading back from Bellevue, I stopped off to check it out.

Wooden trestle structures are a curious thing and very typical of old American railroads. The dull light may not have helped emphasis the structure much but it does reduce the contrast you can get with something so sheltered underneath. Even so I used HDR a bit to help manage the exposure range. Supposedly, the future for the trestle will be as part of the expanding trail network for the eastside. It is suggested that it will reopen to trail users by 2020. I think I shall ride down to it at that point to check the view out. I imagine it is pretty good from up there.

Most West Coast??

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The merger of the Virgin America operations into Alaska Airlines means combining the Airbus fleet with the Boeings. Virgin America had ordered some A321neos and these are in the process of delivery just as things are being merged. Alaska chose to change the livery on the next one off the line and adopted a scheme designed to reflect the number of flights they now operate on the west coast. The Most West Coast jet has not been popular since it seems to lack branding of either airline. It was at the gate when I landed in LA and I saw it taxiing out later that morning. I wonder how long it will last in this form?

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

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Yaquina Head got two visits from us during our stay in Oregon. We were in Newport on one of our early days and headed up to see it. Shortly after paying to get in to the park, the rain started to come down. I did a quick recce of the place but rapidly became more interested in the interior of a warm car (which Nancy had wisely elected not to leave in the first place). The entry was good for a few days so, with better weather forecast for later in the week, we decided to come back.

The weather dutifully obeyed and improved and we returned on our next trip to Newport. When its not raining, things definitely take on a more appealing feel. We wandered up to the lighthouse and took a look around it and out to see where some gray whales were passing by, if a little distant and happy to stay below the surface most of the time.

From the headland, there were stairs down to the beach which, when the tide was out (as it was while we were there), revealed a lot of rocky tidepools. People were encouraged to explore the tidepools to see the wildlife that is within. You could go quite a way across them but, given the number of creatures that were clinging to the rock surfaces, I was a bit reluctant to go trampling across them. Instead, I maneuvered around on the edges where I could avoid crushing some poor creature.

Plenty of things were living in the pools. While the crustaceans were everywhere, I was particularly drawn to the anemones. The way in which they close up when out of the water, keep themselves damp internally and then open up once they are back under water is impressive. They are also so varied in their colors. They are quite the interesting creature.

Wamos – A New Airline for Me

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There are many airlines around the world so plenty that you probably haven’t heard of and may never see. Finding one in your backyard is a surprise though. There I was hovering over LAX in a Robinson shooting pictures of the arriving and departing jets and a 747-400 appears on the approach. Since they are becoming fewer and further between these days, this was a good thing. When I saw the name on it, I had no idea what it was.

Wamos is apparently a Spanish airline. They have been operating some flights to LA but, up until this point (and the subsequent research I did), I had never heard of them. I guess we just never crossed paths. A new airline and a 747 was a pretty sweet combination. I was definitely on a roll on this flight as I got a number of treats.

Juanita’s Resident Eagles

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The presence of the eagles on Juanita Bay was something I have seen before but I had not been out with the camera before to catch them. I saw one eagle hunting out on the water as I moved towards the bay and this startled the wildfowl as I mentioned in a previous post. The eagle involved then flew back to one of the trees on the shore and perched there for quite a while. I got to one of the boardwalks in the park where I could sit it waiting, a little far away and almost directly in the sun. Time to wait.

I hung around for quite a while hoping this eagle would make a move. It seemed to have more patience than me. Meanwhile, I was looking around to see whether anything else was on the move – the swans perhaps. Then my eye caught some movement coming across the bay towards me out of the background of the hills opposite. I suddenly realized that it was another eagle. It was already climbing as I realized and I tried hard to get the camera up towards it despite having the monopod attached. I got a focus on it just as it reached the tree branch it was aiming for. A great flare of wings and then it was perched, almost directly above me.

I got a bunch more shots of it as it found a comfortable position on the perch and there is remained. I was getting pretty cold and the light was fading so I decided to head back around the park. The last I saw it was still up there.

P-8 Heads Out on Test

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Every once in a while, you just get lucky. I happened to be at Boeing Field on a sunny day with operations in a southerly direction and a bunch of cool traffic. Most of the traffic shows up on Flightaware so you have a clue it might be flying but my recent experiences have been that the P-8 test flights have not been listed. Consequently, I was a little surprised when a P-8 pulled out of Boeing’s military operations ramp and taxied for departure. It came right past me as it made its way to the departure end. A short while later it rolled.

The sun was out, the light was nice, they rotated at a good location to get some nice shots and then, as they climbed out, the clouds were really nice providing a mottled sort of background. The colors looked great behind the grey jet. What a great combination!