How Could I Avoid Stanley Park?

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I had a work day up in Vancouver.  I finished up in the office at the end of the day just when rush hour traffic would be at its worst.  The sun was out and the temperature was still nice so I figured I might delay my drive home for an hour or so and head to Stanley Park.  It is a nice place to hang out, there is always plenty going on in the harbor and the floatplane departures might have factored in to my decision making.

There is a bit of an evening rush of departures but, with the days getting shorter and floatplane operations being a very visual thing, I figured they wouldn’t be going out too late if they were to be back before dark.  I was actually pretty lucky as there was a wave of departures shortly after I got there and then, when I thought it had all wrapped up, another burst of flights headed out.  Meanwhile, there were arrivals coming overhead for landing.  It killed a bit of time and made for an easier drive home when I headed back south again.

Farewell Nine-O-Nine

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A text message from a relative let me know that the Collings Foundation’s B-17 had crashed in Connecticut.  Such a terrible shame for those who died or were injured and those associated with them.  The loss of an historic airframe is also very sad.  I have seen the Collings Foundation tour on a number of occasions are different locations including earlier this year.  I hope they will continue with the other aircraft because it brings so much joy to so many.  Here is a selection of my shots of Nine-O-Nine.

Alfa Romeo C6

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During the Italian car day at Exotics@RTC, all of the focus was on the selection of cars inside the mall area.  I did take some time to wander out in to the parking lot to see what other cars had shown up that day and hadn’t been “worthy” of a spot inside.  As I was strolling around, something unusual showed up.  I had no idea what it was but it was clearly pretty old.  As it pulled to a halt, we got a chance to take a look around.

It was an Alfa Romeo C6.  I asked the guy driving it why he was outside when this would clearly have been something that would have got a prime spot.  He wasn’t bothered about all of that sort of thing and was happy to roll up when he wanted and to have those outside check the car out.  The restoration had been undertaken in the UK and I imagine it hadn’t been cheap judging by the condition of the vehicle.  It had that swoops look that cars of its era sometimes had and was a fantastic looking machine.  If I had gone out earlier in my visit, I would have missed it completely!

Spanish EAV-8B+ Display

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The Spanish Navy Harriers have recently become the darlings of the UK air show scene.  The retirement of the UK’s Harriers left a feeling of longing for many air show attendees and the recent return of the Spanish Navy has made a lot of people happy.  They brought two of the jets to RIAT this year.  They put on a nice job of displaying with both aircraft flying giving some formation work and some faster stuff.  Plenty of hovering of course.

They seemed to be leading a charmed life with the sun seeming to appear whenever they were flying.  Given how the weather was over the weekend, this was no mean feat.  One day I spent down near the ramp when they were operating from so I was able to get some closer shots of them as they taxied out for departure and when they returned.  Harriers are still relatively accessible in the US but it won’t be too long before the F-35B consigns them to history too so it was nice to get some Harrier time again.

Coast Guard SR-N6

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The Canadian Coast Guard has operated hovercraft for many years.  As a school kid on work placement at BHC, I saw one of their AP1-88s under construction.  These have since been replaced but they were, in their turn, replacements for the original SR-N6s.  They have an operating base alongside Vancouver International.  Despite having been to YVR on a number of occasions, I had never been out to the Coast Guard base.  On our way back from the city one weekend, I made a short diversion out to see their gate guard.  It is behind the fencing but you can shoot it from an angle over the fencing.  It took me back to my childhood riding these things from both Ryde and Cowes.

Kenmore Air’s Base of Ops

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With a friend visiting from the UK who was keen to experience some float plane flying, we booked ourselves on some flights with Kenmore Air.  Having spent a fair bit of time over the last couple of years photographing their planes in service, it was nice to be actually experiencing their flying for a change. It proved to be a fun time and I will cover more bits of it in coming posts.  Today I am focusing on their base.  They were happy for us to wander around while we waited for our flight which was a lot of fun.  Plenty of aircraft up on the land awaiting their next flights so here are some shots.

Polarizer Effect on the Water

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If I remember – which I frequently don’t – I take my polarizer with me when I am going to photographing scenery.  With our trip up into the Cascades, we went to the overlook of Diablo Lake and the sun was reflecting off the surface of the lake waters.  I took two shots – one with the polarizer rotated to remove the glare and one with the glare in full effect.  I was interested to see which of the shots I preferred when I got home.  The color of the lake is very nice but sometimes the reflections are more interesting.  I include both here to show just how much of a difference the polarizer makes and for you to decide which is to your taste.

Dreamlifter Video

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Here is a bit of video I shot of a Dreamlifter heading out of Paine Field.  I was there with a visitor who wanted to see the large beast and, rather than shoot more stills, I figured I would go with just video.  If I had planned for it, things would have been a little better but hopefully it shares a little of the experience.

A Little Hovercraft Video

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I got a few stills of the hovercraft but I also decided to film some video.  For those that haven’t seen hovercraft in action, stills probably do not give a suitable impression of how they rise up above the surface yet still leave a wake.  Quite a cool form of transportation and I do enjoy seeing them.  Hope you enjoy the video.