Tag Archives: rain

Rainy Pegasus Takeoff

I have shot KC-46s in bad conditions more often than would seem probable. I got one in conditions so dark it was like a night shoot. This time it was heavy rain. Of course that can mean vapor. The matte gray of fuselage actually looks better when it is wet. I had hoped the inlets would fog but that didn’t happen. However, the flat light helped the fuselage a bit which often gets too contrasts. Besides that it throws up a ton of spray behind it as it accelerates down the runway. Rotating in front of me meant I was rather happy with the result compared to what I expected.

Stormy Narita

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The day I was flying out of Narita was not a good day for weather. Another typhoon was approaching and the rain ahead of the storm had reached us. I did initially visit the viewing terrace in the terminal but, as the rain started, I decided to head inside and go to the Delta lounge which has a great view of the runway and the ramp. It wasn’t long before the heavens opened. Departures reversed direction as the wind shifted.

The arriving jets were now throwing up huge clouds of spray as they selected reverse. Combined with the heavy rain already, they were pretty obscured. Editing the photos allows you to do a lot of work with the contrast to bring out more of the detail but the real view was surprisingly limited. Some of the shots are so hidden by rain that there is little that can be done with them. Departures also did a good job throwing up lots of water in their wake.

The amount of moisture in the air meant the inlets would often be fogged, even for the jets that were landing. Trailing vortices were showing on climb out and there was lots of vapor over the wings after takeoff. The only downside to all of this was that the cloudy background makes it harder to apprecaite the effects that were on show. It does show, though, that a rainy day is not necessarily one to be ignored from a photography perspective. You can sometimes get some interesting shots in conditions that seem very unappealing. (It doesn’t hurt to be shooting this from indoors in a warm and dry room with a ready supply of food and beverages.)

It’s Raining on Us Only

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A trip to Snoqualmie Falls ended up being on a day that was not the greatest weather. We were hoping that it wouldn’t rain. When we got to the top of the Falls, it was getting pretty wet. However, it wasn’t raining. Instead, the spray from the glass was being driven up the cliff face towards us by the prevailing wind. It was then dropping on us. Head off down the trail a short way and we were dry again. Of course, that was little compensation when you were getting drenched at the overlook points!

Storms Over LAX

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When you first think of Los Angeles, you think of sun and warm weather. It is true that a lot of the time, this will be what you get in Southern California, but it is not always the case. On the first day of my trip down to LA, I had intended to get some flying in. The weather had other ideas. The cloud base was low and waves of rain were coming through the area. Just when the sun came out and you thought it was okay, another bunch of clouds would roll in and, if you didn’t get under cover quickly, you would get drenched by some torrential rain. This does, of course, provide for a shot of LAX that you don’t normally get!

Sure, Wait for the Storm

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When the weather starts to turn, you can assume that whatever you are waiting for is likely to show up just after it gets bad. In this case, a KC-46 Pegasus was on its way back to Boeing Field and the clouds were rolling in. Things were getting darker and it looked like the clouds would open. Meanwhile, the KC-46 was still a distance away.

Sure enough, the skies opened. By the time the jet was on final approach, the light had disappeared and the rain was belting down. I got some shots of it but, even with a bunch of exposure compensation, the jet was more of a silhouette than anything else. A little post processing help brought out the detail but this was not an ideal shooting situation. A dark grey jet in dying light is just what you want!

Is Shooting in the Rain a Good Idea?

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It might be sometimes, but this was probably not one of them. The forecast was for wind and rain which was suggesting that SFO would be using reversed operations to normal. I thought it might be worth a shot. The rain was obviously a concern but I was hopeful, as I have been in the past, that it might make for some interesting shots. I had underestimated just how wet it was though.

The cloud base was very low. The jets landing on 19 were barely visible until they rolled out. The ones taking off were also heavily obscured. The rain was really making things difficult to see and a lot of adjustment in post is necessary to get anything. Only one jet seemed to perform well for me. The Singapore A350 must have gone in a gap in the conditions and it seemed to be the one that was cleanest when I looked at the shots. I won’t give up on things like this but I know the odds are not great.

Rainbow Falls Doesn’t Work in the Rain

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We were heading out of Hilo and starting back in the direction of where we were staying but our route took us almost directly past the Rainbow Falls. Having already seen some good falls on this day, we were curious but not determined to see these falls. Moreover, it was looking a bit overcast as we drove up. This was the beginning though. As we pulled into the parking lot, the heavens opened. It was hammering down. Having got there, I figured I would take a look anyway although Nancy was quite happy to wait in the dry. Your intrepid photographer had to bear witness though.

Rainbows require two ingredients. Water vapor and sunlight. Without the sunlight, there was not going to be a hint of a rainbow. The falls were pretty cool looking though. I bounced around the perimeter checking them out from various angles while getting progressively wetter. It wasn’t just wet, though. The wind was really picking up so combine and damp and cold guy in some low light with a lot of wind blowing and getting the shots was beginning to be tricky. Instead, I took a good look at the falls and then admitted defeat. Back to the car to peel off the wet jacket and try to dry off on the drive back across the island.

Deception Pass

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We made a transit from one location to another that involved two ferries. It was necessary to drive across Whidbey Island to get from one to the other and, aside from the weather meaning there was no action at the Naval Air Station for me to see, it also meant that we would cross Deception Pass. I had no idea about this pass before we drive over it. As we did so, we could see that it was a pretty dramatic spot so we quickly turned around and parked up.

I decided to cross the first bridge to get to the viewing area in the middle. It was raining quite hard but it seemed like it was worth getting wet for. What I hadn’t thought about was my queasiness with heights. While I have no issue with flying and I’m quite happy to sit in the open door of a helicopter while photographing something, I do have an issue with heights in certain circumstances. Walking across high bridges while very close to the edge is one of those. This bridge has a sidewalk but it is not wide and you have traffic very close so you don’t have much scope for staying away from the railings.

My logical mind knows there is nothing wrong and that I am not going to spontaneously flip over the railing but that doesn’t stop me feeling very uncomfortable. However, just like being on the top of high buildings in Chicago for photo shoots, if I want to get the shot, I am going to have to suck it up. It was worth it. The viewing areas in the middle provide some great looks at the structure and the colors of the bridge were enhanced by being so wet. The water below certainly looked turbulent and I can imagine how happy everyone was when the bridge was originally built.

Rainy and Dark at SeaTac

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In the past I have been able to get some reasonable shots of departing aircraft at SeaTac from the pier of the terminal that Southwest operate from while I am waiting for my flight. I was heading home in the evening and thought I would have little luck because the sun would be on the wrong side. Turns out, the sun was nowhere to be seen – this is Seattle so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Instead, it was raining (shocking news) so, even though the light should not have faded, it was pretty bleak. Normally, I would have thought this meant I would no be getting any shots. However, I decided to have a go anyway. Sometimes, the bad weather shots can come up with something a bit special. I did not anticipate getting this but it would have been frustrating to watch and miss something cool.

As it turned out, things weren’t too dramatic. I did get a few shots of the jets and turboprops as they headed out. Sometimes there would be puffs of vapor over the wings or clouds in the inlets but nothing too good. An Emirates 777 took off which meant a fair bit of spray behind it as it powered away. Sadly it rotated just as it went out of sight so the real clouds of spray were not visible from where I was.

Is There a Plane in There?

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Sometimes you find yourself right in the middle of a storm of epic proportions. I was at O’Hare getting a few shots of the aircraft operating on the southerly runways. I later found out this spot is one that the local businesses do not like you using so I won’t be heading back here again. At the time, I had no idea that was the case and no one come out while I was there although the storm might have been a factor!

A 747 freighter was lining up to depart and I was ready to get some shots just as the rain arrived. It absolutely hammered down. I got very wet very quickly and, since I was now already wet, I figured I would try and get a shot anyway. This is the result. Somewhere in that murk was a 747 – I think!