What A Difference A Few Minutes Makes

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Paine Field is getting rather full of spare 777X airframes.  They are getting stored in all sorts of locations and a recent spot for them is alongside the main assembly building at the north end of the field.  I was using the long lens and so, rather than change lenses, I shot a few images to make a pano.  It was a little dull but more of a record shot.  A few minutes passed by the the clouds behind me had moved on and the light on the airframes had improved significantly.  I reshot the scene before it changed again.  Looking at the two shots, it is hard to believe that they were only a few minutes apart.  What an impact a change in lighting can bring to a shot.

Snow Geese Taking Over

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The snow geese are a famous feature of Skagit County in the winter.  They migrate through the   area and feed well on the local fields.  I wasn’t looking to get shots of the geese while I was up there but the view across the fields was dominated by them.  I figured a little video was more appropriate to show just how many of them were there.  They were a bit distant but that might actually be the better way to show just how constant their movement was.

This Is Not What You Expect To Find in Washington

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I was doing a favor for a friend from the Midwest a little while back that involved visiting someone north of Seattle who owned a jet that the friend was interested in researching.  The documentation was the main reason for the visit, but we also took a trip to his hangar to see the jet.  While we were there, he showed me another jet that he has.  If you go to a random hangar in Washington, are you expecting to find a pristine MiG-23?  He had told me he had it so it wasn’t a surprise at that point, but it was in excellent condition.  It hasn’t been re-assembled since it arrived, so the wings are off and the engine is out.  However, it was freshly overhauled before he took possession, and the engine has zero time since overhaul too.

Tucked alongside it in the hangar are the various parts that are removed.  I don’t know the status of any of the weaponry, but I am told it has no hindrance to being made airworthy again.  He has no interest in doing that and I don’t think he has any plans to dispose of it so it may sit there for a while yet.  MiG-23s are impressive jets when airborne and I would love to see this one fly again.  The engine is huge and the only time I saw one fly a display at RIAT many years ago, the plume of the afterburner made quite the impression.  Maybe one day…

Container Crane in the Mist

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As I was looking out over the water from Fort Casey, there was a lot of haze which was obscuring some of the more distant sights.  Through this, I could just make out a container crane.  I couldn’t see lots of them so I wasn’t sure it was a major port.  Instead, it seemed like it was a lone crane.  I’m not sure what it could be but I liked the slightly mysterious nature of it.

MD-10s Quietly Bow Out

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FedEx acquired a large fleet of DC-10 freighters over the years and, more recently, put them through an upgrade program to make the cockpits common with their MD-11Fs.  They were renamed the MD-10s.  However, they were old jets and their time was coming due.  New jets have been added at a good rate with FedEx taking 767-300Fs new off the line at Everett.  With a downturn in business for FedEx, the fleet needed a trim and the MD-10s were the ones to go.  Here are a few that I have shot over the years.  They certainly provided good service.

Swans On The Move

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As we headed down one of the roads in Skagit County on the lookout for the owls, we came to a field that was full of swans.  I’m not sure what was interesting them but there seemed to be a steady stream of them taking off and heading south of where we were.  A few of them took off directly towards us.  The head on view of them getting airborne was really cool.  Of course, as soon as I had the camera ready, they were taking off from other locations and not coming towards me.

I was still getting some shots of them as they gained speed if not much altitude.  The great thing was that they were keeping it low and building speed before they gradually climbed away.  As they crossed the road, they could still be pretty low.  I figured a little patience would work in my favor and, sure enough, it wasn’t too long before some of them were taking off towards me.  They clearly weren’t coming directly over me as I guess we were enough of a distraction.  However, they were coming head on for a while.  I missed quite a few shots unfortunately but you only get to see the ones that worked out!

Many Magisters

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After checking out the graveyard for Gulfstreams at California City, I headed over to the main airport building.  The ramp around the parking area had a bunch of Magisters parked up.  A variety of colors but all of them in great condition.  Some had covers fitted but, as I walked around the corner, I saw more parked out on the main ramp.  The Magister is a neat little jet and one that used to be a regular at air shows when I was a kid.  It was fun seeing so many of them together.  If only one would fly.  Well…

Forklift for the Boats

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The marina at Edmonds is a regular source of interest for me.  They have racks on which the boats get stored in multiple levels.  This requires a method for moving and lifting the boats and this is a bunch of specialist fork lifts.  They have very long arms to support the boats and a high extension to get the boats to the upper levels and also provide clearance over the racks when maneuvering the loads in tight spaces.  They must be pretty heavy to provide sufficient balance when picking up the boats.  Watching them wobble around is a little strange but entrancing.

SOFIA On The Ground

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The aerial display by the SOFIA was a high point of the Antelope Valley Air Show 2022 at Edwards AFB.  When it finished, it landed and taxied in to it parking location.  I was at that end of the ramp so was able to watch it come in and position prior to being maneuvered into its final position.  Being that close to a 747 is always pretty impressive since even the SPs are large jets.  Everyone was crowding to see it come in and it was drawing attention away from some of the flying display!

Waiting for the Eagle to Come My Way

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I was waiting on one of the boardwalks at Juanita Bay when an eagle caught something and took it to eat on the post out in the water.  After it finished its food, it headed to one of the logs in the water to clean itself up in the lake water.  Having watched this routine a number of times, I figured that it would finish cleaning and then fly towards the trees near where I was standing.  I figured that, rather than try to get closer, I should wait where I was and have the eagle come to me.

Sure enough, the behavior was as predicted.  The eagle went to log and spent a bit of time cleaning itself up after devouring the catch.  The only tricky thing with this position was that there is a very cluttered background.  If I was shooting with my older DSLR, I would have been using a single autofocus point which would be very effective as long as I kept it on the subject.  The mirrorless cameras are much cleverer but also like to look for subjects and, if something is against a busy background, the camera might not recognize the target.  This had been an issue in a similar situation before.

This time, the contrast was sufficient to allow me to track the eagle effectively.  It came straight towards me as it headed to the trees to relax and digest its dinner.  I managed to get a few good shots of it as it got airborne and came my way.  Sadly, the conditions were rather dull and, while I got some shots, they weren’t quite as dramatic as I would have liked.  Still, head on with an eagle is always good.