Tag Archives: photo

NEO Versus Not-NEO

For some reason I was thinking about the comparison between the neo and classic versions of the A320 family and it got me wondering whether I had any shots that would provide a good direct comparison between the old and new versions. The answer I came up with was shots of American Airlines’ A321s departing LAX. They provided the combination of reliable lighting and similar angles on the climb out. I was able to put the two together in one shot. Externally, the differences are there to be seen but, if you are not knowing what to look for, you probably wouldn’t tell them apart. Given the significant performance increase the neo brings, it would be easy to miss.

This Turtle is Not Like the Others!

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There are loads of turtles in Juanita Bay and, on a sunny day, they will be out of the water and sunning themselves. I saw a bunch of them on the shore and was not bothered since this is hardly a new shot. Then I noticed something that seemed outsized. I couldn’t make it out exactly but took some shots to review later. Turns out to be a different species of turtle to our regulars. This fella is way bigger than the rest. I don’t know if they are common in Lake Washington or whether this is an unusual visitor, but it certainly was large. The other turtles didn’t seem bothered, though.

Sunny FCLP With a Color Jet

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With a nice forecast, the wind in the right direction and an indication of some operations, I figured a day off was worthwhile and headed up to Coupeville to see if I could get some Growler operations. I was pleased to see the fire trucks getting ready when I arrived, and that the meatball was at the north end. Looked like I was going to be in luck. Yes and no! I did get some ops and plenty of patterns but only a couple of jets actually showed up. Fortunately, one of them was a squadron color jet so I was able to get a bunch of shots to play with. I also shot a load of video so here is the edit of that too. Could have been a busier day but they finished up and the crews headed off so I did the same.

A Street and Houses Perched on a Manmade Cliff

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The terrain around Bristol is pretty undulating. Houses are built up the sides of hills on streets that are rather steep. However, the buildings up in the Clifton area of town seem to have made better use of the land than might have seemed likely. From low down beneath them, they seem awfully precarious but, since they have been there for well over 100 years, I guess they are reasonable solid. The road in front of some of the buildings clearly seems to have been built up from very little with the arches supporting the roadway built on to the cliffs. It all looks rather dramatic. I suspect if you are up there, you are not as aware of what is beneath you but you will have little doubt of the vantage point you have looking across the surrounding countryside!

Another Delta A350 – This One From TAM

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Delta acquired a bunch of A350s when airlines were disposing of them and they have progressively been heading from storage at Victorville to Singapore for reconfiguration. I have posted about these already with a couple of LATAM jets having come through. The most recent one I saw was actually an ex-TAM aircraft. Again, not the best of conditions for shooting its arrival but it was still fun to see something you would normally never see at SEA. It was a bit damp so there was a little vapor over the wings which was nice. Next time I see it, it will be indistinguishable from the other Delta A350s.

Sea Lions Off Fort Casey

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I was strolling along the ridge above the beach at Fort Casey when a group of people ahead of me called out to each other about some sea lions off the shore. Sure enough, there they were when I got to the edge and I could see three of them swimming around. Looked like a male and two females from a distance. I was heading down to the beach anyway so wondered if they would still be around when I got down there.

It turned out that they were not moving too far, and they were close to the shore as I walked by. The sun was almost directly behind them, so it wasn’t an ideal time to be watching the wildlife, but I sometimes found myself offset enough to get a glimpse of them. Of course, when you are close to sea level, your ability to track them and get good shots is a bit limited but still worth a go.

United’s Oldest A320 Heads West

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I was reading a couple of articles that were discussing old jets getting retired. The original MD-11 was retired by FedEx and, when I checked my catalog, I didn’t have any shots of it. United has retired its oldest A320 so I looked for that one too. Turns out I did shoot it once. It was arriving at O’Hare and was painted in the colors of Ted – United’s short-lived low-cost airline. I guess the jet lasted longer than Ted did!

Birmingham Trams

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The tram system in Birmingham was built after I had last been there. We were staying in the center of the city so I didn’t need to use it to get anywhere but our route from the hotel to the evening’s entertainment took as past some of the route. I noted this for the following morning when I took a little stroll around the city which was much quieter on a Sunday morning than it had been on a Saturday night. The tram service was clearly less frequent too. However, I did see some of them come through and wasn’t going to miss a quick shot while I was at it!

Floatplanes Since I’m In Vancouver Anyway!

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Our November visit to Vancouver was about us doing some fun stuff with friends and enjoying what a great city has to offer. However, when staying so close to the waterfront, it was improbable that I wouldn’t spend a little time watching the floatplane operations. Even non-enthusiasts find the floatplanes enjoyable to watch so I am not standing out too much here. The weather wasn’t ideal and the early evenings meant flying would be curtailed before it got too dark but I was happy to get a little bit of flying to watch as part of my weekend away!

Who’s Attacking Who?

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There are plenty of great blue herons that hang out in Juanita Bay. While they are quite calm most of the time, they do get a little aggravated if they intrude on each other’s turf. If one flies close to another, a little spat will ensue. What is hard to tell is who is the one that is the aggressor and who is the one on the receiving end. A pair of them ended up circling and wheeling around over the water one evening. I wasn’t entirely sure how it had started but they were coming around on each other repeatedly. Eventually they went in different directions and it was all over. I’m not sure if either of them ended up in the space that they were fighting over!