Author Archives: Rob

Closest Encounter Yet with a Shortie

I was not intending to get photos of owls when we passed through Skagit, but I ended up getting some of the closest shots yet. There were some owls on the ground pretty close to the road. I am not sure whether they were guarding food or just contemplating their next moves. However, one of them took off and flew around very close to where I was and, for a brief moment, it flew straight towards me. I grabbed a few shots and then it was gone and shortly afterwards, so were we. A lucky break for sure.

It Might Have Been Green but the Light Was Excellent

Leave a Reply

An Air Tanzania 737 Max 9 made its initial flight from Renton and was due into Boeing Field at the end of the day. The timing of its arrival was looking promising. However, I was dealing with something else, and it was a higher priority. If that could be completed in time, the Air Tanzania might just work out. Having shot their 767 freighter, I was hoping that it would already be painted. That was not to be the case with only the rudder and winglets showing the colors that are to come.

The evening light was developing nicely so the green of the protective covering really looked pretty good. However, the real benefit was once the plane had passed me. The sky to the east was developing a really cool purple hue. The evening light was working wonders with the clouds over there. Stick a green 737 in front of that and things really did look good. I hope I get to see it once painted before it heads off to its new home.

Experimenting With Enhance Levels in Lightroom

Leave a Reply

In one of the bigger updates of Lightroom and Photoshop, Adobe introduced the Enhance functions adding either resolution or noise reduction. The noise reduction has been very effective for some of the shots I have taken with very high ISO levels. I decided to edit a shot with varying levels of noise reduction to see how things look. Since I had a bunch of cheetah shots taken in low light, I figured that would be a good subject.

You can vary the noise reduction level from 1-100. I made five edits with one unchanged and the remainder at 25, 50, 75 and 100. I then layered them in to one file to show the comparison. The unchanged edit is on the right while the 100 noise reduction is one the left. I felt like my previous experience had been that a level around 50 was a good outcome for much of what I had shot. When I looked at these results, I again concluded that the middle level was the best compromise. The 100 was just too much and 75 looked like things were a bit smudged. You can judge what you think. I shall experiment with levels each time I use it but it does give me a good idea of what to start with.

Endeavour Assembled in the Construction Site

Leave a Reply

I made a big mistake a decade back when the Space Shuttle Endeavour was moved through the streets of LA from the airport to the California Science Center where it has been on display ever since. I was in California and could have made a trip down but, for various reasons, didn’t end up doing so. I have regretted it ever since. The beginning of 2024 was the time when they relocated the shuttle from its horizontal position to a new installation where it is stacked on the external tank and boosters in the launch position.

I had a work trip in January that took me to LA and I was really hoping to see the stacking because the external tank was due to be lifted into position between the boosters. Sadly, there was no spare time from arriving to departing and I didn’t get a chance to see it other than a brief glimpse from my Uber as I drove to and from the airport.

A couple of weeks later, I had to go back again. By this time, the shuttle orbiter had been lifted into position on the stack too. It is wrapped up to protect it from the weather since the whole stack is outside until they finish constructing the rest of the museum around it! On the final day of my trip, I was heading to the airport in the morning. I figured I could just squeeze a quick detour down to have a look at the shuttle before I went to the airport.

It is quite surreal seeing a stacked shuttle in the middle of a park. It is even more strange because there is a lot of construction all around it obscuring your view of the subject. I walked all around the area (at least where it was possible to go given the ongoing construction) looking to see what I could see. Some of the angles had a better view but these were also backlit. I ended up trying hard to find ways to let the tank block the sun! I also was surprised to come across the lifting frames for the orbiter which, having served their purpose, were now sitting on the ground by a fence. Not sure what happens to them now!

Construction of the museum will continue through this year. I read somewhere that the structure will be completed by about July but I am not sure how accurate that is and whether that includes all of the fit out. When it will be possible to visit the finished exhibit, we shall see. It should be something to see when it is done. I have seen Atlantis and Enterprise so, after this, I just need to get to NASM to see Discovery.

Cutting Open a Tank

Leave a Reply

When Paul Allen died, there was some debate about the future of the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum at Paine Field. The onset of the pandemic meant it closed down and most of us assumed it would never reopen. With everything sold to one of the Walton family, a move across country was then seen as the likely next step but it turns out, for now at least, that the museum is back open and running. Consequently, I stopped in to have a look at what has changed.

In previous visits I have checked out their main battle tank that is cut in half. Apparently this was a gift from Jordan. The vehicle has been cut lengthways giving a detailed view of the interior layout of the vehicle. You can walk through the middle to check things out. On this visit, I was playing with some wider lens shots and, while I have taken images of this exhibit before, I paid it more attention this time.

Even with it cut in half, some of the exposed spaces that the crew inhabits seem ridiculously small. I can’t imagine how cramped they are in real life. Being stuck in such a small space when in genuine peril and with limited options for escape should something go wrong must be quite focusing for the mind. Not hard to see how I didn’t end up as a tank crew member.

Is Crossing the Runway Now a Good Idea?

1 Reply

At the fly in at Concrete last year, I was looking up the runway at approaching planes. There are designated crossing points for the runway but people are able to cross elsewhere if they like. I saw a guy with canes heading towards the runway. He was not moving fast so I figured he would wait for the landing aircraft. He kept moving but I was sure he would check whether it was safe to go. Nope, he just kept on going while a plane was on short final. At some point he must have realized that crossing a runway can come with some peril and he suddenly started moving a bit faster – not fast, but at least faster. Meanwhile, the pilot on approach either didn’t see him or decided he would miss him so didn’t go around. The whole thing was one of those that you witness with a little incredulity.

iPhone RAW Image Exposures

Leave a Reply

When RAW capture first became available on my phone, I started to use it. Initially, I had to use a third party camera app which was fine but it did have some quirks about it and some things that just didn’t work right, despite some extensive communication with the developer. Then the camera app of the phone got updated to allow RAW capture and I have been using that ever since. There is something very strange about it, though. When I import the images in to Lightroom, they are always about one stop overexposed. I am curious whether this is a function of the raw format for Apple in order to preserve details in the shadows or whether it is a weirdness with my phone. Included are two images – one with the base settings after import and one edited. This is representative of what I get. It doesn’t hurt the end result but it is rather strange. Anyone have similar results?

Comparison of Two Globals

Leave a Reply

When Bombardier launched the Global 7500, I was quite keen to see them. My friend was the engineering director on the project and, despite me giving him crap at every opportunity, I think he probably did a good job on this one. Sadly, I haven’t shot as many 7500s as I would have liked. Global 6000s, on the other hand, I have shot plenty of. There have been a few, though, so I decided to see what the obvious visual differences would be.

With some bizjets, counting windows is the way to know. That rarely helps me out as I can never remember what the appropriate numbers are. For the 7500, though, I think the windows look very different. They seem to be a lot larger and squarer. That is a bit of a giveaway. Then there is the fin top. The 7500 has a more angular top to it which actually looks a bit like some of the CRJ versions. Last, there are the flaps. The 7500 flap system seems to be more complex than that of the 6000. I have included images of NetJets and VistaJet examples of both types at similar angles for comparison. See what other differences you spot.

Don’t Stand Under the Heron Rookery

Leave a Reply

The south side of the locks at Ballard has an area of trees along the water which is a heron rookery. I have been there once when the herons were roosting. That is not an appealing experience. The herons are directly above the path and a lot of adult and juvenile birds in their nests results in an almost constant stream of “material” falling onto the bushes and path below. It is perilous, the odor is intense and the ground underfoot is not as grippy as you might like.

In winter, the herons aren’t roosting, but the area is surprisingly unpleasant even then. Some cormorants were up in the trees using it as a good spot for picking out their next fishing trip. They did also imperil those below a little but not to the extent that the herons do. The cold weather was doing a good job of suppressing the smell and also the slippery nature of the paths. I took some images of a bench and the bushes which show just how much falls from above. Heron chicks might be interesting to see but visit this location only when you know what you are letting yourself in for!

F-35A Snorting it Up at Abbotsford

Leave a Reply

I saw the USAF F-35A demo at SeaFair in 2022 and it was impressive but, unfortunately, a bit distant over the lake. Abbotsford in 2023 was my first chance to see the performance closer in and that combined with the evening show to give good lighting conditions. I was not disappointed. The demo was a great routine, and it really tore up the skies as the pilot wrung the jet out for our entertainment. The honking great engine means it is never quiet and, while it might not be as agile as an F-16, there is plenty of control authority for some rapid changes of direction. The evening light made the airframe look even better. These are some of my favorite shots from the display.