Category Archives: photo

When It All Goes Wrong on (or off) the Bull

AE7I3897.jpgThe first few of the bull riders at Rowell Ranch Rodeo seemed to do pretty well and make it for the full duration.  It turns out that this was an aberration and the remainder of the riders seemed to have a lot of problems.  Some still went the distance but a lot of them were thrown off.  Getting thrown from a bull is a risky proposition.

AE7I3839.jpgLet’s put aside the problem with falling at speed from an animal.  Instead, contemplate being on the ground and a little disoriented when you need to get out of the way of a seriously pissed off bull that weighs a lot!  This is where the other people come in to play.  Their role is to distract the attention of the bull away from the rider while someone helps him get to his feet.  It is something that looks perilous and, I imagine, it is.

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AWACS Oddity

Scan 2-1594.jpgA number of different airframes have been used for airborne early warning requirements. The Boeing E-3 Sentry is the most well-known but there have been a number of other types over the years. SAAB developed a radar system that has been mounted on Embraer 145 jets, SAAB 340s and SAAB 2000s. The development of this system was started in the 1980s and a testbed was produced prior to the system appearing on a production airframe. This testbed was a Fairchild Metro turboprop. It made an appearance at the Farnborough airshow where I got some shots of it. It was camouflaged in what was then the standard Swedish camouflage scheme. This was a cool look for their planes and I do miss it.

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Vikingsholme

AE7I4172.jpgA trail runs from the highway above Emerald Bay down to the water’s edge of Lake Tahoe.  It is not a long hike but it is a steady grade.  At the bottom, you come across a house called Vikingsholme.  It is a curious mixture of styles.  Situated a short distance from the shore, this must have been a great place to live when it was a private residence.  Now you can tour the house if you are interested.  I was more interested in the outside than the inside.  The grass covered roof sections and the ornamentation of the roof lines and the woodwork were very cool.

Iraqi F-16s

B11I3768.jpgIraq places an order for F-16s a number of years ago.  The first aircraft were not initially delivered to the country but instead went to Tucson to set up a training unit.  There are still some aircraft there being used to train new Iraqi pilots.  Soon the remaining jets will head to Iraq following those that have already been delivered.  I hadn’t seen them before since this all happened since my last visit to Tucson.  They operate from Tucson International, alongside the ANG unit and the Dutch training unit.

B11I3570.jpgWe had a few movements of the Iraqi jets while I was there and these were, apparently, some of the newer jets to have been delivered.  They have adopted a different camouflage pattern to the normal F-16 scheme so it is easier to recognize it is them as they approach.  I doubt I will be back before they leave the country so this was one of the few times I will likely see these jets.

Riding the Bulls

AE7I3832.jpgMy visit to the Rowell Ranch Rodeo was the night of the bull riding.  I had never seen this in person before and was curious to see how things went.  It was an evening show and the clouds had rolled in so it was pretty dark, even early in the evening.  They had floodlights but they were not doing too much for me so I was really testing the high ISO capabilities of the camera for the first time.  I was often shooting at 51,200.  I have to say that, while the shots are not super clean, they are not too bad at all.

AE7I3860.jpgThe most dramatic moments seemed to be shortly after they came out of the chute.  The bulls leap into the air and the rider hangs on like crazy.  It seemed that, if they made it through the initial period, they often went the full time.  If they were unsettled initially, they were struggling from then on.  More to come of that…

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Transport for the Hawgs

AE7I5174.jpgAll of the A-10s coming in for Hawgsmoke need some support.  There were C-17s and C-5s on the ramp during the exercise.  While we were out watching the jets arrive, a C-130J came in as well.  It landed and then turned to taxi right back passed us.  I don’t know for sure whether it was supporting the A-10s from a unit or it was just a coincidence that it arrived at that time on another mission but I figure that it is a strong chance that is why it was there.

Emerald Bay

AE7I4147-Pano.jpgLake Tahoe is a pretty place wherever you are on the shore (assuming you exclude the casino resort area on the south end).  It is easy to get blasé about the great views as you drive around the lake.  However, get to Emerald Bay and you will definitely notice the beauty of the place.  The highway winds around the bay high up on the hills so you have a view down to the water below you.  We approached from the south and there is a viewing overlook as you round the headland into the bay.  This was absolutely packed with people so stopping was not really an option.

AE7I4170.jpgWe continued down to the trailhead and got amazingly lucky to find a parking space opening up as we arrived.  People were parked all over the place and along the road in both directions but we were exactly where we wanted to be!  Outstanding!  The view down to the bay is lovely.  There is a small island in the middle of the bay which makes it look evening more inviting.  The idea of staying on the shore, swimming out in the bay and across to the island sounds great.  Of course, this is snow run-off so I imagine the water temperature as a bit on the chilly side.

AE7I4261.jpgThe place was hugely popular.  Not only were people on the beaches along the shore but there was a steady stream of boats pulling in to the bay from elsewhere on Lake Tahoe.  I have no idea how busy this place gets in the summer but I imagine it is absolutely crazy.

Pan Am

Scan 2-1424.jpgSummer of 88 meant I had probably the coolest job someone like me could ever have. My summer break was spent working for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the UK. I was involved in noise measuring work around airports in London and the vicinity. I spent a few days inside the fence at Heathrow recording all sorts of things taking off.

Scan 2-1460.jpgI did get some photos while there when it didn’t interfere with making recordings of sound levels. In those days, Pan Am 747s were a regular at Heathrow and here are a couple of their planes heading back across the water. They also had 727s at Heathrow supporting routes to Germany. That was a hangover from the post war split of responsibilities and probably seems anachronistic now.

My Timing on the Bridge Was Off

AE7I4326-HDR.jpgWhile reading some of the material at the Donner Memorial, I saw some pictures of a cool looking bridge.  A similar style to the Bixby Creek Bridge, this one was above Donner Lake.  It is on the old highway which is now bypassed by the interstate.  We were heading off in a different direction but we were coming back to Truckee on another day for dinner so I decided to check this place out prior to that.  Since it would be early evening, the light should be in a good place too.

AE7I4336.jpgIt turns out I timed it just a fraction wrong.  The sun was low across the lake which did look very nice.  Unfortunately, the bridge was in the shadow of the surrounding hills so it was rather subdued compared the rest of the view.  A little earlier and it would have looked great.  Oh well, too late to change that.  Maybe if I am up that way again, I will plan a bit more carefully and see what I can get.

DM’s Museum Jets

B11I4056.jpgMany airbases have a selection of historic aircraft on display to show something of what has gone before on the base.  Sadly, they are often unavailable to shoot when you visit.  Davis Monthan AFB has quite a few different planes on display and, fortunately, the location of the Fallen Hawg ceremony during Hawgsmoke was in front of the display A-10.  While everything was being set up, we had some time to kill and I was allowed to wander around the other planes.

B11I4070.jpgThe selection included some obvious DM aircraft like the A-10 and A-7 (even if it was actually a Navy A-7E that they had repainted).  A U-2 was a slightly more surprising one to see.  I’m not sure how that qualifies but I wasn’t complaining.  The F-105, F-100 and F-4 all looked good too.  Not only was it nice to be able to shoot them but it gave us something to do since we had got in place pretty early!