Tag Archives: sunrise

Mt Rainier Just Before Sunrise

I was heading east for a work trip that needed an early start.  We got airborne from SeaTac before the sun came up and turned to the east after departure.  We were heading towards what I thought should be Mt Rainier.  However, I couldn’t see the mountain.  I could see a cloud that was above the majority of the cloud bank which I assumed was the mountain but I couldn’t be sure.

As we came around the south side I was able to see that the cloud was indeed once that was forming over the windward side of Mt Rainier.  The east side of the mountain was uncovered and, even though the sun had not yet come up, the early light was enough to give a view of the mountain.  I was using the M6 which is not so great in low light but, even so, I was able to get some shots of the mountain as the plane headed on its way.

Tankers at Sunrise

Boeing started delivering KC-46s to the USAF as I covered in this post.  However, it didn’t take too long before the Air Force found various items of tooling in the aircraft that shouldn’t have been there and stopped taking delivery.  Consequently, rather than delivering the backlog, it has continued to build.  Paine Field had well over a dozen aircraft in various locations when we were there including three over by the Heritage Flight Foundation’s hangars.  Here three were illuminated nicely by the sun as it rose across the field so a pano seemed in order.

My Convair Up Close

The Convair CV580 has shown up in a couple of posts at least so far.  Getting to Everett early one morning prior to heading to Whidbey Island, it was a pleasant surprise to see it out on the ramp.  It was even nicer to see the door was open.  Before too long the giant square blades of the props started to turn and they were heading off.  They did turn the opposite way to what I was hoping for when they taxied but nothing to sniff at.  We decided to see whether we could get to the end of the field before they did but they must have taxied smartly and got a quick take off clearance because they were up and away as we drove towards to the runway.  Still, a nice start to the day.

Mesa Arch at Canyonlands

I was watching a YouTube video recently where they discussed photographing Mesa Arch in Canyonlands. This is one of my shots from my visit there and, while I had some similar experiences to the guys on YouTube, I also had a great overall experience.Mesa Arch is famous for the sun rising through the arch. I wanted to be there for that so an early start was required. Getting there requires a reasonable drive from Moab but we were staying a bit outside Moab anyway so we had a longer drive. I wanted to get there in plenty of time so we started out very early.

As we drove into Canyonlands, I could see some large taillights ahead of me. It looked like a coach and where else would it be going at this time of the morning. Sure enough, we followed it in to the parking lot near the arch. The coach disgorged a group of tourists from Japan and we followed them up the trail.

At the arch itself, a ton of people were lined up directly in front of the arch. We decided to hold back a short distance and see how things played out. Everyone was waiting for the sun to appear over the horizon. The good thing about shooting landscapes instead of aircraft is you know what time things will happen. Sunrise is never late and, while it might be overcast, the sun doesn’t go tech. Up it popped. What followed was quite funny. There was the sound of lots of shutters clicking as soon as the sun popped up. I’m sure it wasn’t immediate but it then felt like everyone turned and walked away. About fifteen minutes later there were probably half a dozen of us with cameras and tripods left alone. The group worked well together moving around and giving each other space and time.

Here is the best bit. The sunrise was okay but nothing special. However, after about fifteen to twenty minutes, the light started to really illuminate the rock surfaces around us. The walls and the underside of the arch were glowing. It was infinitely better than when the sun came up and hardly anybody that had trekked out early that morning saw it. They had all gone. Those of us that remained had a great time. If you ever go to Canyonlands, be patient!

Medusa Flight for the First Delivery

Finally, the first Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tankers were delivered to the USAF.  Not one but two tankers were delivered in the ceremony, a nice effort at a joke by Boeing having left everyone thinking it would only be one.  Then again, when you have that many of them sitting around, I guess it should have been even more!  The ceremony took place on one day and the delivery was the following morning.

The jets left from Paine Field just after sunrise.  That is sunrise if you don’t have clouds on the horizon.  The sun had barely squeaked above those when the two jets took off as Medusa 1 and 2.  They were preceded by a McConnell AFB KC-135R – the aircraft that they will be replacing.  It got airborne in very limited light and headed for Kansas.  Then the two new jets lined up in turn and departed.  No flybys or wing waggles.  Just gear up, switch to departure frequency and off into the steadily brightening sky.  Avoid the traffic inbound to SeaTac and off you go.  Lots more should be following soon while efforts continue to fix the issues with the camera system and the underwing hose and drogue pods.

Early Morning Over the East Bay

When flying to the east coast, the combination of flight time and time zone changes means that an early start is a good idea.  My flight took off from Oakland just after the sun came up so the view across the east bay was one full of warm morning light and long shadows with the occasional scattered cloud or fog bank.  It looked really cool.  I was only shooting with my phone (although sometimes this is actually better since the small lens can fit between the distortion of the average airliner window) but you could still get a good idea of interesting variation in light that the hills get that early in the morning.  The lakes scattered throughout the hills also would reflect dramatically at that time of day so it all looked rather appealing.  There is something slightly ironic about seeing everything look so nice when you are leaving!

Sunrise and Moonset

C59F7452.jpgWe live to the east of some hills that border the San Francisco Bay area. On a number of occasions when I have been heading to the bay, I have seen the moon setting over the hills and thought that it would make a good shot. Of course, at those times I either don’t have the camera or I am not in a position to take a picture. I regularly use an app on my phone called The Photographer’s Ephemeris that gives information on sun and moon angles for any location. The shot I was after was to have the full moon setting behind the hills just after sunrise with the early light on the hill tops.

C59F7470.jpgThis happens once a month but having it occur when I am not constrained by work requirements is a different thing. It turned out, though, that the combination I was after was going to occur on the morning of Thanksgiving. Excellent. Of course, did I remember to set an alarm? Nope. I woke up and realized I had missed it. The following day the conditions were similar but an hour later. I decided to give it a go anyway. The result is not quite what I wanted but it is okay. However, the sun was way too high by the time the moon hit the tops of the hills. I will definitely try and do this again some time.

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Unplanned Sunrise

wpid5238-AU0E1908.jpgThrough an unfortunate set of circumstances, I happened to find myself parked up at an interchange along I-80 early one morning.  I had the misfortune to be just behind an accident on the interstate and ran over the bumper of the car that had just crashed in the dark ahead.  This did not please two of the wheels on the car and I had limped off an exit road to sit and wait for the tow truck to come and rescue me.

wpid5240-AU0E1920.jpgAs I sat there, in my wing mirror I saw a hint of morning light in the sky followed by the appearance of the sun through the trees.  I had my camera gear in the trunk so went to grab it.  As is the way of these things, the sun moves quite fast and by the time I had got my stuff out, the image had change a bit.  However, it still looked basically as I envisaged it so I got a few shots before it had risen too far.  Then i hopped back in the car (it was a bit chilly) and resumed my wait for the tow…

Misty Morning

wpid5232-AU0E1862.jpgWhile on the road, I often stay at the same hotel.  It is across from a lot of open fields and, when I have left just after sunrise, I have been impressed by the low lying mist that hangs across the fields.  I tend to notice this as i am driving out.  Thinking clearly early in the morning is not always something I can be relied on to do but one morning I had some forethought and a little time and decided to wander out with the camera.

wpid5234-AU0E1898.jpgThe mist was a little deeper than in some previous mornings so less was obviously poking out of the top of it but it still was quite attractive.  The fields are flat as a pancake so there are none of the little dips that can make a shot like this more interesting but it still worked out reasonably well.  While I was shooting, the sun came up behind me and started to color in the scene with some really warm light.  I grabbed a few shots before heading back to the hotel to start the day for real.

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