Category Archives: Pacific Northwest

Silk Way West Can’t Avoid Me Forever

Having been operating 747 freighters, Silk Way West, an Azerbaijani cargo airline that is upgrading its fleet with 777Fs. They took delivery of their first one a while back and there was no time when I could be anywhere close while the jet was on test or being delivered. I was a bit annoyed to miss it, but these things are part of the process. When a second jet came off the line, I was similarly unable to get anywhere near it while it was on test. However, the delivery flight did coincide with some free time I had.

I headed to Everett with the hope of catching it leaving. Delivery flights are not always reliable. The timing of getting airborne can move and sometimes odd things happen and they don’t go at all. This is not the norm, though, so I was hoping it would all work out and I was lucky. The flight was direct to their home base so, while the jet had no cargo in the hold, it was going to be heavily fueled up so I was hopefully of a reasonably long takeoff run. It rotated in a good spot for getting some shots but was still quite well off the ground when it came by me. Still, not a bad location for some shots. I wonder if/when I shall next see this jet!

Mission Hills Winery

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During our visit to Kelowna, we stopped off at a winery in the city that produces wine we have had before and that we wanted to get some more from. It is called Mission Hills and is on the hillside overlooking the lake. It isn’t a long drive from the center of the city, and you approach it through a residential area. After passing through the main gate, it all still looks rather anonymous.

However, walk from the parking lot and things open up considerably. The architecture is styled to resemble an Italian villa. There are some colonnaded areas, a large chapel type building, the main building in which the wine tastings and sales are handled and a carillon. Being up on the hill, this all has a lovely view down to the water with some vines on the slopes below.

It was a rather overcast day so not ideal for photographing it, but I had the phone with me, so I was not going to let the visit go unrecorded. There were a few other people wandering the grounds, but I managed – on the whole – to exclude them from the shots. Getting the whole carillon in the shot from close up required a little contortion to get the phone on the ground and looking at the right angle. I think it worked out okay.

The location is very nice, and the wine is even better. If you are in Kelowna, I do recommend a visit.

USAF Moose Low Over Canada

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The air show at Abbotsford has the conspicuous backdrop of Mt Baker. For the evening show, the light was really nice on the mountain and I think I have already posted about that. Some of the display aircraft would make turns in front of the mountain. Most are too small to be obvious in a shot but something the size of a C-17 Globemaster is going to show up. The USAF Moose was one of the display and here it is as it reverses course back towards the airfield.

What a Selection of Fungi

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The colder, damper conditions that fall and winter bring have resulted in plenty of fungi appearing and that seems to have been reflected in the blog recently. I seem to be adding pictures of fungi a lot. This time they are from the areas around where I work. At lunchtime I walk down the hill to get something to drink with my lunch and, with these guys springing up along the sidewalk and close by, it was time to get the phone out and capture some shots. Modern phones are so useful in situations like this.

Great Access for the Ameristar Jets

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As some previous posts may have indicated, I have not had the best of luck with Ameristar DC-9s in the past. They never seem to move when I am around. I heard that some were coming in to Paine Field and, again, I wasn’t going to be around when they got there. However, I was up there a little while afterwards and, after getting the shots I came for, the evening light was looking nice so I figured I would head around to see if there was a good shot of them on the ramp.

When I got there, I was disappointed to see some vehicles parked up inside the fence and in the way of any shots of the jets. Rather than give up, I headed in to the FBO to see if they would let us outside and they were very helpful. Turns out one of their team is a keen photographer himself and he was happy to escort us out. The two DC-9s were sitting on the ramp in lovely light. What more could you ask for? There was a medical helicopter crew getting ready to depart and we had to stay well out of their way but this did not impact what we were after. A great opportunity to get the jets in nice conditions.

A few days later, one of the jets was heading out. It was a northerly flow and, given the ability of the original short body DC-9s to get out of shorter fields, it was going to be pretty high when it came by me. That wasn’t going to stop me getting a shot, though. Got to make the most of it when the opportunity presents itself. When DC-9s were everywhere with operators like Northwest, it was easy to ignore them. Now they have rarity value, it is a different story!

No, This is Not an Optical Illusion – It Fell Over

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This barn is just south of Mount Vernon WA and very close to the interstate. As I had driven by, it caught my eye and I resolved to head back before leaving the area. The way in which the building has just slumped down looks almost fake and it seems like the image is somehow distorted rather than being a true reflection of the way the barn has collapsed. What a fun looking thing!

Shooting Just Before Sunset at SEA

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With some nice autumnal light and a northerly flow at SEA, I was going to stay around to see what jets were heading out as the light was starting to be at its best just before it disappeared completely. At that time of year, there would be a number of widebodies heading out to Europe and the Middle East that would be close to sunset. In the weeks afterwards, they would all be after sunset! I decided to see what I could catch.

The light got better and better, so it was pretty straightforward to catch some really nice images of the big jets (and some smaller ones) as they climbed out of SEA on their way back to home base. Just looking through the viewfinder, I knew that I was going to be very happy with the results. Then, the sun set, and the light changed dramatically. However, some of the shots I got after this time will justify their own post.

F-35As Departing for Their Veterans’ Day Flyover

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The UW Huskies had a home game during the weekend of during the weekend of Veterans’ Day. The USAF provided a flyover for the start of the game with a couple of F-35As from Luke AFB making the trip up to Seattle to do the honors. The sun was a bit erratic on the day of the game, but it wasn’t too bad and the trees around Boeing Field still had a little fall color in them. Both jets launched for the flyover.

I watched them taxi out from the Modern ramp and head to the departure end. I knew that they would be airborne well before they got to me, but I was hoping that they would keep it low. The first of the jets obliged keeping nice and low at least for a while allowing me to get a shot with the ground in the background. The second jet was a little more eager to climb and it was well skylines by the time it got close to my spot. They were planning on some time in the local area before the flyover so now it was time to wait.

Butterfly on the Lavender

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While playing with the macro lens, I have spent plenty of time watching the insects in the back yard as they feed on the flowers. The butterflies are quite fascinating as they have a proboscis that they curl up when they are not using and then extend to extract the nectar from the flowers. As I was observing them at work, it occurred to me that the stills didn’t really give a good way of seeing what they are doing. Instead, I switched to video and filmed them as they fed on our lavender bushes. Here is some video of them busily getting fed!

https://youtu.be/OpzZAb30sZs

So, What Really Happened With This Jet?

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Titan Airways provides jets for some high end tourist programs. I have shot their older A321s before, but they recently took on an A321neo that had previously been used as a transport for the UK government. On a flight, it had issues with windows that were not sealed, and the plane was not pressurizing properly with a load of noise. When they investigated further, it turned out it had been used for filing work and the high intensity lights had damaged the window seals.

With the windows repaired and a test flight undertaken, it was back in service and its next trip was to Seattle. I caught it landing at Boeing Field. It arrived at the worst time of day for lighting but, with something unusual like this, I decided to make the best of it. It turned out okay and I was quite pleased with the results, as was one of the pilots!