I made a detour to the Excel exhibition centre to visit a friend from high school. He works there and was able to meet up and chat for a while. As I walked up the steps, I came to a sculpture that they have commemorating the workers that had made the docks the vibrant place they were for hundreds of years. I thought it was a pretty cool sculpture so here it is!
My visit to Myrtle Avenue proved to be a success, even if it had been a lot shorter than intended. As I headed back to the Tube, I was ready to call it a day. The arrivals had moved to the northerly runway and I figured that was not going to be practical to shoot. However, I could see the arrivals in the distance and decided to try one of the overpasses to see if I could get any shots. This location was not great but I decided to walk a little along the road to see whether there was anything better.
What I had not thought about was that, since I was on foot and didn’t have to worry about parking, I could really try anywhere. This worked out very well and I progressively made my way up the perimeter road trying out different locations that either had good angles or were closer to the approach path. The good news was that there was plenty of traffic and, while British Airways A320s were extremely prevalent, there was a lot of variety.
I am not sure the next time I will get to shoot an Iran Air A330 for example. I was also getting lots of arrivals of Middle East carriers as well as African airlines. All of this is a nice change from the regular traffic I see on the west coast of the US. I was also getting a few jets from airlines I meet see at home but not the types that I would normally see. All of this combined with the sun being particularly cooperative and I was quite happy with the conditions. I was mainly shooting stills but I did occasionally try a bit of video as you can see below.
YouTube is the source of information on so many things. One such thing is the re-purposing of old public toilets. I had watched a video about Attendant and decided we needed to check it out when in Town. We actually ended up meeting with some family in the West End and, since it was time for lunch, we went to check it out.
The café is set in an old, underground Victorian toilet. It looks virtually unchanged on the surface and there is not much change below the surface either. The urinals still line the wall but have been provided with table surfaces so you can sit in one like an individual cubicle. There are still cisterns mounted on the walls above your heads. It is a not a big place so you might find it hard to get a table on a busy day but we timed it well. Even so, we were a little squashed in to fit.
The food and drink was fine. It isn’t the greatest place we have ever been but it was good and the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. It isn’t a place you would end up relaxing for a long time but it has a unique vibe and a special look to it. Don’t go a long way out of your way to visit it but, if you are nearby, you might be interested to check it out.
Balloon flights in the area around Woodinville are very common in the summer months. It is not unusual to see balloons early in the morning as I head to work or later in the day after I have got home. They are usually not too far away but, as I was coming out of a place in the town after seeing some friends, I was rather surprised to look up and see a balloon right above my head. The phone was all I had to hand so I grabbed a couple of shots of it as it drifted south and down towards, what I presume was its landing site. A nice surprise for me!
Old English towns often have almshouses somewhere near the center and Winchester is no exception. We wandered under an archway and came upon some old places that definitely had the look of almshouses and turned out to be exactly that. Some maintenance was underway (which required some careful angling of the camera) but they seemed in good shape. It was a peaceful little space given how close it was to the center of the city.
I saw this jet on the flight line at Renton a while back. It is a 737-10 and is the first one to be in the colors of United Airlines. It will probably be their first jet in service (assuming the 737-10 ever gets certificated) but, in truth, the development jets are also going to United (again assuming that ever happens) so they are really United’s first jets. However, you get the gist of what I am saying.
We did some work on our backyard this year including replacing the grass. Previously, the rabbits had been giving free reign in the yard since the grass was in poor condition. Once we replaced it, it was time to stop them coming in and “spreading weeds”. We have successfully blocked most of the access points that they had but there are still some areas where they have been tenacious enough to find a way in. I stepped out on to the deck recently with camera in hand. There, right in front of me, was a rabbit. I was quite surprised and it looked pretty surprised by me for a moment too. I grabbed a couple of shots of its slightly startled look and then, as soon as I moved, it bolted. I encouraged it back out the way it had come and then replaced whatever it had pushed out of the way. The battle continues…
I have never shot an airborne K-Max. I have seen them flying – indeed one flew over the house during the pandemic and I looked out of the window as it came low over me but no camera was handy. It is a bit of a problem for me that I have not yet shot one flying. I did manage to get close to one recently, though. The Bolt Creek Fire broke out up near Index and a number of fire fighting helicopters were drafted in. They were based at Harvey Field in Snohomish so just up the road from me. I went up to see what was afoot. Sadly from a photographic point of view (and from many others too), the fires had resulted in so much smoke in the area, the visibility was too poor for anything to fly.
Instead, I was able to chat to the crews and walk around the helicopter as it sat on the field waiting to see what would happen next. The orange paint scheme is pretty conspicuous as if the unusual configuration Kaman knows best was not conspicuous on its own. The airframe is minimal – space for a pilot, engine, fuel and transmission and not much more. From every angle, it is a strange looking beast. However, it is so interesting. A few weeks later it had moved to Arlington from which it eventually ferried home. Of course, that happened when I wasn’t there so I continue to wait for the chance to shoot one airborne.
The River Itchen runs through the center of Winchester and, just downstream of the old mill building, the water is very shallow. The river bed provides a good location for a lot of weed to grow and the ducks seemed to enjoy feeding on this weed. However, it did require a fair amount of effort on their parts as the current was flowing fast in the shallow areas. It was fun watching them either paddling furiously or bracing against the river bed while dipping their heads under water to feed. The water would sometimes roll up across their backs while they fought to stay in place. After watching this for a while, guess what I chose to have for dinner!
If you were to ask people what characteristic Seattle would be known for, I suspect a fair few people would tell you it is rain. It is true that we have damp winters here but summers (while a little late in starting) are actually rather dry. However, we can still have some humid conditions which can be good for forming vapor and, if you watch the jets heading in to SEA, you will often see vortices streaming off the flaps and the occasional puffs of moisture above the wings.
Occasionally, the conditions are just right and you get a lot more vapor. Better still, if this happens in sunny conditions and the planes are slightly backlit, you can get some lovely rainbow effects showing up. I got lucky with one such day. Asiana had an A350 coming in at this time so I was treated to some interesting effects. A Lufthansa 747 and CargoLogic 777F also arrived but I decided to go with video on those to show off the fleeting nature of the vapor is it formed and dissipated.