Category Archives: Travel

Shooting the Tight Shots

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One camera was set up for the eclipse with the 500mm and the 1.4x teleconvertor.  This was the one I was aiming to get the detail shots with.  I had a solar filter mounted on the lens and had experimented a little with exposures in the days before the eclipse.  A few trial shots showed that the exposures were not too bad and I bracketed everything anyway to be on the safe side.  This set up was very sensitive to the progression of the sun across the sky so, I had to regularly reset the location.  I wished I had a different head on the tripod but the ball head was okay, just a touch sensitive to adjust.  A cable release meant I could stand and watch while triggering the camera without having to be distracted.

From first contact to totality took over an hour.  At times, it seemed to be moving quickly and at others you felt like it hadn’t moved at all or you even imagined it had retreated.  Of course it hadn’t, but you could imagine all sorts of things while waiting.

As the level of obscuration increased, it was interesting to see how little some things changed.  Indeed, even when the sun was almost totally gone, the ambient light levels were actually very high.  There was something about the quality of the light that was different though.  We didn’t have a lot of wildlife nearby so some of the things that we had heard about in advance didn’t affect us.  (The mosquitoes certainly were happy judging by the number of bites on my legs!)  As totality approached, we did see a bunch of vultures flying high above us and I wondered what they were about to do when they found themselves in the dark at altitude.  The drop in light levels was rapid and staring around as it happened was very weird.

When totality hit, the last hint of the sun disappeared through our glasses and we took them off.  The view that greeted us is something I shall never forget.  The images are a great reminder but I had seen shots of previous eclipses plenty of times.  Seeing it in person was a rare time when the word awesome truly deserved to be used.  I looked up at the corona and was overwhelmed.  It was stunning.  I felt like it couldn’t be real – like someone had created a CGI effect in front of me.  I can’t imagine what the effect on people was in centuries past.  Since you can’t look at the sun directly and the light doesn’t change too much until the last minute, this would come as a hell of a shock to someone unprepared.  The corona that is left would make you think something apocalyptic was happening.  Knowing it was coming, I was unprepared.  They must have freaked out!

The light on the horizon meant you could still make things out.  It wasn’t totally dark which is what I had anticipated.  I also think some of the high-level cloud was making the corona look a little diffuse.  For a couple of minutes we just stared.  I remembered to take the filter off the long lens but forgot about it on the time lapse camera initially.  I also didn’t change the exposure on that camera even then although more on that another time.  After just over two minutes, the sun peeked back out and everyone cheered for some reason we probably couldn’t explain afterwards.  The light levels rapidly came back up and suddenly it was over.  Sure, there was another hour or so as the transit completed but somehow it was done.  We weren’t in a hurry but people around us started to pack up and leave and, in due course so did we.  As we got to the car, we took one more look through the glasses at the still partially obscured sun and then we started the trek home.

Planning for the Eclipse

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A couple of years ago I started thinking about the total solar eclipse.  We were living in California at the time and I had not long before been to an aviation shoot in Madras Oregon.  Madras was almost directly on the centerline of the path of totality so I thought about booking a hotel.  However, I didn’t do it then and time rolled on.  This year we moved to Washington so now Madras was a bit closer – just over five hours away if traffic is flowing freely.

As things got closer, it was time for a more thoughtful approach to what might be involved and this is where Nancy played the leading role.  She was not particularly interested in the eclipse but she knew I was.  Indeed, at one point in the run up she actually asked me if I would prefer to make the trip alone.  I can tell you that, having witnessed everything, she is really glad I didn’t want that!  Salem was the closest place with a good position for the totality.  Situated on I-5 south of Portland, that also meant a lot of other people were going to be going there so that was a non-starter.  Madras is further east which adds a bit to the drive but we focused on that.

We decided to stay in Portland the night before and set out early.  Plenty of people had been flooding in over the previous few days but, no doubt, others would be doing the same as us.  We also chose not to go to Madras itself but to go to Warm Springs just north of Madras.  This is a Native American reservation and they were welcoming people to the baseball fields to watch the eclipse.  The area is very dry so the chances of cloud obscuring things were a lot lower than closer to the coast.  To get there should take just under two hours from our hotel near Portland’s airport.  We decided to leave at 3am to give ourselves plenty of margin.

We did have a Plan B.  While there was a lot of time in the schedule for traffic, if it got really bad, we might just find ourselves on the highway when the eclipse happened.  As long as we got south of Mt Hood, we would be in the path of totality and, if you looked at the charts for timing, you didn’t have to get too far in to have a reasonably long period of totality.  We packed plenty of food and water and assumed, if it was totally congested, we would be with a huge bunch of people on the road and would enjoy it all together.

Getting up just after 2am, we checked the traffic reports online.  Everything was currently clear.  Good news but not necessarily to be relied on to last.  If we were leaving then, how many others were doing the same?  We put our stuff in the car and off we went.  The roads were pretty open and, as we got onto route 26, we were in a steady stream of cars but nothing that would slow you down.  We headed off into the wilderness.  This is a trip that takes you through some great scenery – if it is light.  Instead, we were out in the pitch black.  The stars around us were amazing to see since there was no light pollution if you weren’t looking ahead in the path of the headlights.

The traffic never materialized.  We got to Warm Springs in an hour and fifty minutes, arriving at the parking area fifteen minutes before it was due to open.  We met the nice people looking after things and they informed us we were the first to arrive and to park at the end of the row (which was hard to see in the pitch dark).  We parked up and had a few hours to kill so set the seats in the car up as a sofa and took it easy.  Nancy couldn’t sleep but I dozed off a few times.  Meanwhile, more cars arrived and people started milling around as it gradually got lighter.

Once the sun was up, we went off to look around the town and stretch our legs.  Then we set up our spot for the viewing.  I had brought two main cameras.  One was the longest lens combination I could get and the other had the 100-400 on it which I was planning to use for a time lapse.  I had bought solar filters for both a while back and B&H had shipped them with loads of viewing glasses.  We had shared some with friends already but we carried loads of spares in case anyone needed some.  No-one did though.  Everyone around us was well prepared so our spares stayed in the bag.  Meanwhile, I set the time lapse camera at an angle to see if I would track the path of the sun across the frame.  (I got this wrong as I did not have a steep enough angle.  I tweaked it a couple of times but it wasn’t ideal.  It worked but was a bit wonky!)

Lastly, I opened up the Solar Eclipse Tracker app on my phone which provided an audible guide to what was coming up and we got ready.  The skies were pretty clear initially with a hint of wildfire smoke in the distance.  As the time got closer, some high-level cloud did come in but nothing too significant.  Then it all started.  More to come…

Logging on a Big Scale

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Before tourism became a big feature of Snoqualmie, it was a logging town.  Much of the Pacific Northwest was in the lumber business providing vast amounts of timber to the country as a whole.  Lumber is still important but it is nowhere near the business it once was.  The trees they were cutting in those days were very old and had grown to significant dimensions.  As they cut through the growth, the trees they were cutting were getting smaller.  In the center of the town they have an exhibit that includes a stand that was used for cutting the timber.  In it is included a log.  This thing is huge.  Bear in mind that they were often much larger than this and you will see just what sort of trees they were cutting in those days.

Cliffwalk – A Feat of Engineering

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One more post from our visit to Capilano.  The deep valley that the river runs through and that the bridge crosses has some steep, rocky sides.  These have provided another opportunity for the owners to add some interest.  They have mounted a walkway along the cliff face.  I don’t know what inspired this but if you have seen the walkway at the Grand Canyon or the glass boxes on the Sears Tower (watcha talking about Willis) then you see a similar them.

These paths run on structure built in to the cliff face.  They are shaped so, while you have normal width handrails, the foot section is narrower so you have a more obvious view downwards.  You have no doubt how high up you are.  Meanwhile, you get to see the mounting points that have been driven into the cliff face to support all of this.

One section of the path is a semi-circle that is suspended by cables mounted on the cliff face.  It is a dramatic part of the structure and everyone is fascinated by it when they get there.  Don’t anticipate moving through this section too quickly because it does tend to back up a bit.  A little later I walked above this section and found a spot where you can look directly down on the curve and it takes on a whole new perspective.  I think it is quite beautiful.  Winding your way along the face of the cliffs on these walkways is very cool and is definitely not to be overlooked if you visit.

Snoqualmie Historic Trains

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Snoqualmie has an active historic railroad.  While we were at the falls, a couple of times we saw a tourist train running along the opposite side of the falls taking visitors on a trip.  We never got too close to the train itself while we were there but we did walk past one of the stations.  It was a nicely restored building and contained some exhibits on the old services that used to operate there.

Also, parked out of the back was an old locomotive.  It wasn’t going anywhere anymore but it did provide a great example to the visitors of the sort of steam loco that used to operate.  Now it was possible to get up close and look at the amazingly complex mechanisms it included.  Just outside town was another exhibit.  This was a snow clearing machine for the railroad.  Rather than a plow, it had a cutting head mounted on the front of the vehicle and a blower that could throw the snow in either direction as required.  This example had been rebuilt a number of times prior to retirement but now it sat by the road for visitors to check out.  (Being a black vehicle on a high sunny day meant it was also a pain to photograph!)

Capilano Suspension Bridge

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The arrival of some family members in Vancouver as part of a vacation gave us a reason to make a day trip up to the city.  It is a pretty easy run to get there so we were pleased to head up.  Since the visitors were on vacation, they were keen to explore different things so we decided to head across the Lions Gate Bridge and visit the suspension bridge at Capilano.  This was not something I had been aware of before we planned this.

The bridge has apparently been there for many years.  It is suspended across a deep valley with a river running through the bottom.  It is a very popular attraction and, while we headed there in the morning, we were certainly not alone.  The people that own the bridge have expanded the facilities to include a number of other attractions and these will get their own posts in the coming days.  However, this is just about the bridge.  As it covers quite a distance, the bridge has quite a drop between the ends and the middle.  This makes each end of it quite steep.  Combine that with the number of people crossing, the desire everyone has to look around/get some pictures, and the amount it moves around which unsettles the first-time user and it takes a while to get across.  It is interesting to see that the return journey is a bit quicker!

Being on the bridge gives you one perspective.  Looking down into the valley below is a different point of view.  At various other times, you get a chance to check the bridge out from a distance (when you see how long it is and how many people are on it at any one time) when it also seems rather dwarfed by the surroundings.  You even get to walk underneath it at one point and then it has a very different feel.  If you are spending any time in Vancouver, I do suggest you head to North Vancouver and check the bridge and its associated attractions out.

Erickson Super Puma

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Erickson is a company that you certainly associate with helicopters but normally you would think about the Skycrane.  They also use airframes from other manufacturers.  This Super Puma was sitting on their ramp at Medford.  I’m not sure whether it is used for heavy lift work, firefighting or a bit of both.  It was not what I expected to see though!

The Constellation in the Inner Harbor

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The USS Constellation is the last sail powered warship built for the US Navy.  She is now preserved in the harbor in Baltimore.  I saw her a few times from a distance while I was in Baltimore but I didn’t get a chance to take a shot until I was walking back from a reception.  By that time it was dark and, since I only had my phone with me, that had to suffice.  The phone on the camera has a wide angle lens so, even though we were quite close, the ship is a little small in the original shot.  However, she still looks pretty impressive.  I imagine she would have looked even better when under sail!

Camden Yards

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I last saw Camden Yards over 20 years ago when I was living in Washington D.C.  At the time, the trend for developing baseball stadiums back in downtown areas was only just getting going.  Camden was a trendsetter.  Now, many cities have gone down the same route and baseball stadiums are in the cities whether it is the majors or the minors.  I was heading to get the train back to the airport at the end of my work visit and the route took me right through the middle of the complex.  A game was due later in the day and some visitors were already taking tours while the vendor staff were just getting ready to serve the crowds that would come later.  However, it was still nice and quiet as I passed through.  It was also going to be a warm day so I imagine that the vendors were going to have a busy day keeping everyone refreshed.