Log Feeding New Life

Leave a Reply

I am regularly fascinated by the way in which a fallen tree will be the source of food for new plants.  The decaying wood releases nutrients and provides a great base for the next generation.  Of course, as it decays further, the base may gradually disappear from under them.  In the interim, though, any number of plants will sprout and develop.  I came across one such log in Meerkerk Gardens.  It seemed to be home to any number of new plants (and that ignores the insect species that were, no doubt, hard at work on its surface).

Evening Aer Lingus

Leave a Reply

I was out one evening at SeaTac awaiting one of the British Airways special 747 schemes – see this post.  The preceding heavy jet was an Aer Lingus A330.  It was the test for me to make sure I had the exposure set up the way I intended.  The evening light was getting good and the green on the jet looked pretty good.

UW Campus

Leave a Reply

The cherry blossoms were the reason for us visiting the campus of the University of Washington as I covered in a previous post.  Since we were there and it was a lovely day, we also figured a bit more of the campus was worth a look.  We strolled around for a while and checked out the different styles of building that make up the university.

There is a wide variety of building types.  The oldest buildings are generally pretty nice looking.  Some of the most recent ones are also architecturally interesting.  There was some Art Deco to see and then there is a bleaker phase.  UW is a bit like other campuses I have seen.  There is a phase of concrete and plain brick.  This style was very much of its time but sadly, I don’t find it has stood the test of time too well.  The concrete particularly is harsh with the style having been to avoid making any effort to finish the surface.  They just poured at different times and the joins are left to see.  It probably seemed like a good idea at the time but I don’t care for it.  I’m sure in architecture classes they still discuss its merits but it’s not for me.

My First Global 7500

Leave a Reply

I was a touch disappointed that a Global 7500 demonstrator from Bombardier landed at Boeing Field about 15 minutes before I got there.  I had not seen one previously and I missed it arriving.  It was parked up across the field although the heat haze was not making for much of a shot.  The following morning they filed a flight plan for departure at a time which meant I could get there before having to go to work so I headed across.  In common with these things, they weren’t exactly prompt.  However, they still taxied and got airborne in plenty of time for me.  The morning light limits your shooting locations so I was further down field than ideal and the jet was quite high but I have still finally got one.  They will be loads of them before too long but, for now, I am pleased to have this one.

That’s a Tight Corner (Boston Old School Subway)

Leave a Reply

A quick work trip to Boston meant I needed to take the “T” from my hotel to the offices where we were meeting.  I took the Blue Line in to the city and then changed on to the oldest line the city apparently has, the Green Line.  The vehicles I rode on were very old school in their design. What amazed me more was the tight curvatures of the track.

I lived in Chicago where the “L” has some really tight curves.  However, it has nothing on this track.  I watch the next car pivot out of sight as we weaved through an amazing turn.  When I made my return journey, I changed at one station that also had a really tight curve.  At first I thought it was a relic of old track but the rail looked like it was in use and there was a power line in place so I guess it is still needed.  Quite something.  It would never get built like that now but that is what systems over a century old sometimes come with!

Tankers at Sunrise

Leave a Reply

Boeing started delivering KC-46s to the USAF as I covered in this post.  However, it didn’t take too long before the Air Force found various items of tooling in the aircraft that shouldn’t have been there and stopped taking delivery.  Consequently, rather than delivering the backlog, it has continued to build.  Paine Field had well over a dozen aircraft in various locations when we were there including three over by the Heritage Flight Foundation’s hangars.  Here three were illuminated nicely by the sun as it rose across the field so a pano seemed in order.

Presidential Cars

Leave a Reply

The Henry Ford includes a selection of presidential automobiles.  These all seem to have been Lincolns, unlike the current vehicle which is a Cadillac.  While the style has evolved over time, there are common themes.  The need to be seen and the requirements of the Secret Service to ride along show on the cars.  The most recent Lincoln was the car replaced by the current vehicle.  It has a folding rear bumper that agents can stand on and a pop up handrail for the them to hold on to.  The older vehicles have less of a security element.  The assassination of Kennedy changed all of that of course.

Sikorsky’s Historic Landmark

Leave a Reply

Igor Sikorsky is well known as a developer of helicopters even though his early work was based on fixed wing types.  The airframe he developed to demonstrate practical rotary flight was the VS-300.  This helicopter went through a number of design changes over its life including upgrades to the cyclic system to make it more controllable.  When testing with it concluded, it was donated to the Henry Ford museum in Michigan and that is here I saw it.  It is a historic landmark and hugely significant.  However, it is stacked up in a display behind other artifacts, so it is actually pretty tricky to photograph.  I tried making a pano of it to avoid the things in front with some success.

Busy Bees

Leave a Reply

The rhododendrons at Meerkerk Gardens weren’t only attracting the people to visit.  It was awash with bees.  The flowers were heaven for these insects and they were on so many of the plants.  The sound of buzzing was a constant accompaniment.  It was also interesting to see the different types of bee.  Some plants had large, fuzzy bees while others had a thinner and shinier species.  Clearly, the bees are very specific about which plant is their favorite.

Rainy Pegasus Takeoff

Leave a Reply

I have shot KC-46s in bad conditions more often than would seem probable.  I got one in conditions so dark it was like a night shoot.  This time it was heavy rain.  Of course that can mean vapor.  The matte gray of fuselage actually looks better when it is wet.  I had hoped the inlets would fog but that didn’t happen.  However, the flat light helped the fuselage a bit which often gets too contrasts.  Besides that it throws up a ton of spray behind it as it accelerates down the runway. Rotating in front of me meant I was rather happy with the result compared to what I expected.