Tag Archives: california

Osprey Checks Us Out

One fun aspect of shooting by San Francisco Bay is that you get a lot of wildlife while you are killing time. Roger and I were sitting by the shore waiting for a few movements when a bird started flying in our direction. We both paid attention when we realized that it was not a gull as is normally the case. Instead, it was an osprey. They are not a rarity but they are still noteworthy. It certainly wasn’t bothered by us as it flew right over us as it headed along the shoreline. Looking up you could stare straight into its eyes as it surveyed the scene looking for its next snack. Sadly, nothing was nearby for it to dive onto and it flew off. Even so, a brief moment like this with such a cool bird made me happy for a long time afterwards. Actually, I am still happy when I think about it.

Wow (and I Mean That Literally)

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Yes, no exaggeration in this case. It really is Wow! Of course, Wow is an airline, not something so unusual. They are a low cost airline operating out of Iceland and they have started direct flights to San Francisco. I hadn’t managed to see them since they started service. They come in on certain days and later in the afternoon but had not been helped by air traffic delays in Iceland which had meant the flights were arriving late on a regular basis. I did finally get to see one of their A330s come in – late but not as late as had sometimes been the case.

The light at this time of year is not so easy. At the end of the day, the sun angle actually moves sufficiently far around to be on the nose and then even slightly backlit. The late arrival exacerbates the issue but the sun was still slightly on the right side when they came in. It does result in quite some contrast between the nose and the fuselage sides which, with a dark color like they have, makes for a more difficult exposure. I want to visit Iceland at some point so having a direct flight is definitely something to consider for me.

Latest from Cars and Coffee

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I have had a few visits to Cars and Coffee over the last few months. Plenty of cool vehicles to check out and justify getting up early on a Sunday morning. This time I figure I will just share a bunch of pictures of what has been there. Of course, these are but a small fraction of the total number of cars appearing but they caught my eye.

Cormorant Takeoff Run

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My like for the cormorant is no secret if you read this blog. I think they are a cool bird with a prehistoric look to them. One thing I enjoy when seeing them is watching the way they take off from the water’s surface. They run across the water getting some speed up as they flap. I have wanted to get good shots of this for ages but they usually do it a fair distance from the shore. When they onshore, they launch from whatever they are on. Fortunately, when out whale watching, we got a cormorant that was very close to the boat before it decided to take off. I happened to be looking the right way at the time and got something close to what I had been after. It was backlit but still close. I’ll still be hoping for something better but this was a good result for me.

Shipwreck

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I stopped off at Coyote Point in the Bay for a short while. It hasn’t been so long since I was last there so the new addition I saw must have occurred pretty recently. It appears that someone has had a little incident with their sailing boat. I don’t know whether they had a problem making it into the channel to the marina or whether the boat broke loose from a mooring somewhere else in the bay. Whatever the origin, it is now lying on the rocks just outside the marina. I didn’t get closer to see how bad the damage is but I am guessing that it is not in great shape!

Who Do You Want to Rescue You?

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Two rescue helicopters were on show at Heli Fest. The 129RQW from Moffett Field had brought along one of their Pave Hawk helicopters while head the other way up the peninsula and you get the Coast Guard based at SFO with their MH-65 Dolphins. If you find yourself in need of helicopter based assistance in the Bay Area, one of these units will probably be sent to help you. The Coast Guard unit will be the first to respond. However, if you are further offshore, the Pave Hawk may be the one tasked. If they are training nearby, they may just be the easiest ones to send.

Whichever unit and aircraft it is, you will, no doubt, be really pleased to see them. Both helicopters were popular with the visitors. They had long lines of people waiting to take a look and talk to the crews. I was chatting with the Coast Guard guys about their planned departure time. They were way too optimistic. The line of people was still big when they originally planned to go. Eventually, they had to put someone in place to mark the end of the line. They were still turning people away but they needed to clean up, check the airframe and get going at some point!

The Pave Hawk did a nice job of taxiing out of the confined space in which it had been parked. Both of them made nice passes prior to heading off. The Dolphin is a sleek looking airframe so it looked pretty cool as it made its pass. Good job by both crews for having dealt with so many visitors during the day.

Sunset Over the Central Valley

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While out shooting the aircraft in the evening at Eagle Field, I also got to enjoy quite a nice sunset. The sky was turning a variety of lovely colors and, once the sun had dropped below the horizon, things really did light up nicely. Whether focusing in on a distinct part of the sky or going for the wider scene, it was a nice place to be for a while.

Cottonwood and Truckee at Night

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We headed back in to Truckee one evening for dinner. We were eating at a restaurant called Cottonwood. It is only a short distance from the center of the town but it is up on a hillside so has a great view down to the main street. The sun went down while we were having dinner which was taken out on the terrace. The restaurant has a cool sign that illuminates when it gets dark. Meanwhile, the town lights up beneath you. It was a bit chilly – they didn’t turn on the outdoor heaters – but you could have a blanket if you wanted. We did fine without but, if it had got much colder, I might have taken them up on the offer.

Some Nice Evening Light on the Planes

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During the evening of the Eagle Field fly-in, there was a dinner held in the hangar. I took the time to wander around outside as it had become a lot quieter and the chances to shoot the aircraft had improved. As the sun went down, things got considerably better and the evening light was lovely. Not all aircraft were well oriented to take advantage of it but there was still plenty of scope.

Park at Your Own Risk

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Pacifica is a town built on cliffs that are not terribly resilient. The water progressively eats away at the base of the cliffs and, inevitably, things end up falling in to the ocean. I recently heard about a couple of apartment buildings that have been evacuated because of their proximity to the edge. I passed a building that had signs up in the parking lot advising you to go no further. As I got further around, I could see why. You can park there I guess but you might not have a car to come back to!