Category Archives: Travel

Century Link Field

Just south of the station in Seattle is the pair of sports fields that house some of the cities franchises. Century Link Field is the home of the Seattle Seahawks and the Sounders MLS team. Beyond that is Safeco Field where the Mariners play. I had a quick look at Century Link Field while I was passing. Since the season was over, everything was very quiet. The field was gated so I couldn’t go in. There may have been tours available but I wasn’t there with enough time to look around properly.

The field was quite open next to a large parking lot so getting a full view of it was not tricky. The evening light was very directional with the harsh shadows but it was still not too bad. I also climbed up the steps to peer inside. You could see a good portion of the ground but the light was again quite harsh. Below I also include an aerial view taken when I was coming in to Seattle.

Seattle Union Station

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The main station in Seattle is King Street Station. It is served by the Coaster commuter trains and the Cascades service that runs from Oregon up to Vancouver in British Columbia. What I didn’t know is that there used to be another station nearby. Union Station ceased to have rail service many years ago and deteriorated over time. However, as part of a redevelopment program in the area, the building has been restored and now is part of a larger development area.

Inside the station is a main hall that is really quite impressive. It does not appear to be terribly busy. A few office workers would transit through but a bunch of other people seemed to be hanging out inside since it was warmer than outside! I couldn’t resist taking a few shots and also had a go at a 360 pano to boot.

Seattle From Above

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When the wind is coming from the south, the approach to Seatac airport between Seattle and Tacoma takes you almost directly over downtown Seattle. We actually could see Everett off in the distance with a lot of large airplanes parked up awaiting delivery but that was too far off to get a usable shot, particularly with the lens I had fitted. However, approaching Elliott Bay, we got a really nice view of the lakes and the downtown area.

Cities always look very different from above. What is large on the ground seems far more insignificant from above and what is a long journey on the surface is passed by in a heartbeat. That is part of the fun of being in the air. Of course, it does mean you have to grab the shot quickly!

Snowy Mountains

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One thing I don’t seem to give up on is the hope of getting a good shot out of the window of an airliner. My experience has been that it is hard to do. The quality of the windows is not great and the distance is sufficiently far that haze and other issues can result in something that just looks a bit washed out. Post processing to try and overcome that has limited results. Translating what you see into an image on the screen is rather tricky.

However, I don’t give up. Even if the shots are not the greatest, they do show a view that you don’t normally get and are worth having just for that recollection. Snowy mountains, however, do seem to translate better. Maybe it is because you are slightly closer to the peaks or maybe it is because they are almost a gray-scale anyway that color shifts are not a problem but they seem to reproduce better. I was flying across the Cascades recently and grabbed these shots as we went.

Unplanned Sunrise

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Through 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.

As 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

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While 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.

The 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.

SF City Hall

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A meeting in the heart of San Francisco meant a bunch of our team were meeting downtown. A few of us got there a little head of the meeting and, with a couple of minutes available, I wanted to check out the City Hall building since it was only a couple of blocks away. As an old City, San Francisco has some classic architecture and this is no exception. For some reason, despite the numerous times I have been to the city, I have never been to City Hall before.

A group of school kids were playing some orchestral music in the main hall and plenty of family members were there. I wandered around taking a look. Since I didn’t have my normal cameras, the phone had to serve duty. Fortunately, that also allowed me to try another one of the 360 panoramas. I suspect I shall be carrying another camera with me when I am next in the area.

Oakland tree lights

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Downtown Oakland is an interesting combination of old buildings and newer structures. It has some appealing parts and some that are a little less attractive. However, one thing did catch my eye once I had checked in to my hotel. A neighboring building had decorated a tree in its grounds with some great lights. These lights had a rippling effect which looked really great. Video is the only way to give an impression of this so here is a clip to explain what I mean.

Natomas Evil Sky

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You are always supposed to have a camera with you so you can be ready when the shot presents itself. Sadly, there have been far too many times when I have failed in that regard and this blog has plenty of entries describing exactly that. However, in this case, I was actually prepared. The view out of the office window was suddenly filled with some very ominous clouds. This would have been good on its own but the sun was still on the shops that are next to the office. The contrast was pretty dramatic and made the clouds look even more impressive. We even had some birds flying through the scene that caught the light too!

Oakland Skyline

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There are many cities that you might be interested in checking out when looking for a skyline shot. However, I suspect that Oakland is not the first that would spring to mind. However, some work commitments meant that I found myself in Oakland recently and I was staying in a hotel that had a reasonable view across the city. My floor was pretty low but the elevator lobby had a good angle so I figured a trip to the upper floors might be worthwhile. Facing towards the bay means that the morning light is behind you.

The result was actually not too bad. True, a view across a container port is not quite as impressive as some city skylines, but I thought it was actually quite impressive. You can judge for yourself.