Author Archives: Rob

Departure of the USAF F-35A Demo

Being up the tower at BFI during Seafair was a fantastic opportunity. I have photographed a bunch of F-35A departures at Boeing Field in recent years, but an elevated location was hard to beat. The A and B jets were parked together on the far side of the field so a little distant for a clean shot but, as they taxied out, it was still worth a go. Passing the Golden Knights jumpship and all of the people watching from the ramp was also rather cool to see.

The takeoff is a brutal affair. The power of that engine is impressive and, as they got airborne and held it low, you knew that anyone at the north end of the field was in for a treat as they blasted across the airfield perimeter. Looking down on the jet was epic. I was taking a chance with some lower shutter speeds but letting the camera make up for my lack of skill by letting me have a lot of shots to choose from. What a moment of sensory overload!

A Gondola to Nowhere

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There is an interesting tourist attraction in Spokane that I hadn’t been expecting. A gondola ride starts up in the park area, drops down the hillside near the falls and crosses the river where it does a U turn and heads back the way it came. There are groups of the pods together on the wire and they slow everything down to board them. Consequently, you will come to a halt periodically during your ride while people embark and disembark.

The ride is never terribly high off the ground, so it comes right over you if you are walking around the hillside near the falls. A slightly surprising thing to see when you aren’t expecting it. I wonder whether the view of the falls from the gondola is impressive. This is the sort of thing that I would normally be expected to try. However, we only had a limited amount of time there, so I skipped it. Maybe I’ll find out some time in the future?

Embraer’s Colorful Demonstrator

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Embraer developed a new generation of their E190/E195 family to take advantage of the latest generation of engines. The E2 versions of the jets have been quite successful (while the smaller version hasn’t sold, and I think the program is on pause). Embraer has liked to market the jet as the Profit Hunter and has taken to painting their demonstrators up in dramatic liveries to reflect hunting. There was a lion, and the current version incorporates an eagle’s head around the cockpit.

They were taking the jet to Asia for some customer demos, and it routed through Seattle. Initially it came up from Mexico to Boeing Field before continuing on to Anchorage and then across the Pacific. The return came back through Boeing Field and on to Florida before heading home to Brazil. I managed to catch it a little but not always how I would have liked. Still, it was interesting to see it as a different livery always make an airliner look better and this type has not sold in the US, so it is a bit of a novelty for now.

The Neighbors Are Out When I Get to Work

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As the days get shorter at this time of year in the northern hemisphere, it means I start getting to work in the dark. One morning, I pulled into the parking lot and realized that some deer were munching on the bushes near the office front door. I thought the headlights of the car would startle them, but they seemed totally uninterested. Grabbing the camera from the trunk, I accepted that the dark conditions would mean very high ISO settings but who cares?

I took a few shots and then headed into the office. I figured they would scram as they saw me getting closer but was wrong. I walked right by them, and they only shifted a small amount once I was by. During the pandemic, the animals had taken over the area around the office again, but they have been out of sight for ages now. It was cool to see them back on that morning.

Flares Aplenty

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The USAF has started using flares more in some of their displays recently. I have seen shots of the F-22 Raptor demo pumping out flares at the top of a loop to great effect. The willingness to use flares is dependent on where you are – no point starting a wildfire for a display. Seafair is over water so no risk at all there. Consequently, The F-35A demo this year incorporated flares too.

I was pleased to get some shots with the flares being dispensed. They were not thrown out in quick succession, which was a shame as a closer spacing would have made for a better shot. Even so, having some flare shots was a nice addition. Seafair’s display axis is a long way from the shoreline, so things were a bit distant, but they were still not too bad.

The Northern Flicker is Bug Hunting

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I have written in previous posts about how skittish the local flicker population can be. These woodpeckers are interesting looking birds but hard to get shots of because they fly off whenever they see you. Nancy and I were sitting on our deck when we saw some movement under the eaves of the house behind us. At first, we couldn’t work out what it was. Then we realized it was a flicker. It was moving around under the eaves looking for bugs

A little while later it popped out and then started to move along the rooftop poking under the joints to see what bugs might be there. A progressive examination of the roof followed and then, once it had checked out all that seemed of use there, it moved to the next house to repeat the process. Strangely, it never seemed bothered by my presence watching it. Maybe the food was just so good, it was worth the risk of me being around. Video tells the story better than stills se take a look at some footage I shot below.

Helos at the End of the Day at Gateway

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During the visit Mark and I made to Mesa Gateway Airport, we got a couple of rotary visitors to the field as the day was winding down. The first to show up was a Bell 412. The Huey is a very different beast when it is equipped with the modern rotor and this one also sported a nice paint scheme. It looked pretty slick. A bunch of guys were dropped off and then the 412 was back on its way. No idea what they were doing and probably shouldn’t know either.

A short while later, it was an Astar that came in. Maybe not as impressive a livery (although it did look nice) but the evening light was getting better and better, so it did make for a nice image. Looking through the images, one of the passengers seems to be super excited. If I was running around in an Astar all the time, I guess I would be pretty pleased too. A nice way to wrap up a fun day.

Along the Potomac

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I had a brief work trip to the Washington DC area. Our offices are in Alexandria VA and I was able to meet up with family for dinner on my first night there. I did get there a little earlier than our reservation and took a little time to stroll along the riverfront in Old Town. It has been a couple of years since I was last there and a lot longer since I lived close by. It is a lovely spot to hang out on a nice evening.

Video of Overflying A380

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I happened to be out in the parking lot at work when I noticed the approaching contrail of a large jet. Being next to the car, I grabbed the camera with my longest lens and focused on what turned out to be an Emirates A380 heading to California. I grabbed a few shots as it approached but the view through the viewfinder was more interesting as I watched the contrails curl up in the trailing vortices from the wing. The motion of the ice crystals made me think that video was a more appropriate idea. The stabilization of my lens is so good that handholding this video at 800mm was not a problem and the video below is the result.

Rainbows Over the Neighborhood

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With the arrival of fall, we get rain showing up here in the Pacific Northwest. However, we can also get some sun breaking through at the end of the day – a bit of a feature of Seattle weather. When you combine rain and sun, it’s time for a rainbow. Twice in recent weeks, I looked outside the house late in the afternoon and saw impressive rainbows. The first time, I just grabbed some shots with my phone and stitched them together afterwards. The second time, I grabbed the main camera and took some better shots although the rainbow might not be quite so impressive.

There is something really cool about a rainbow. I may have seen loads of them over the years but they are still a little exciting!