Upstairs in the Rotunda

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I have been working in the Rotunda building for a couple of years near. Previously we were based in the bottom of the building and I posted some shots of the atrium taken with a fisheye. We recently moved offices to the upper floors and being up near the top of the space gave me the opportunity to explore the views from higher up. For some reason, I hadn’t previously been upstairs to look around.

The top levels are restricted to the tenants of the respective space. However, lower down you can access the space. I figured it was still a good place for the fisheye and it was quite interesting to see what effects you could create. The fun with the fish is choosing where to put the distortion. You can even turn curves into reflex lines by getting them aligned appropriately. It is amazing how much being out of center shows itself when you are using such a wide angle. Something that looks symmetric to the eye results in a clear asymmetry with a fisheye. At least with digital you see the result quickly if you chimp a little.

How Many Airliners in One Shot?

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Normally airliners stay quite a distance from each other. Getting more than one in a shot is the result of compression of the distance as they pass in different directions. What is more fun is to have each jet be replaced by two. SFO likes to have the parallel arrivals and similarly the departures are often involving two planes at a time. If you time it right and have the angles aligned properly, you can get four jets in one shot – two on approach and two taking off.

Old Style Hotel in Pueblo

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Before the days of the big hotel chains, towns and cities used to have local hotels. These were in the heart of the city and dealt with travelers passing through or staying for a while. The level of comfort was a function of what you were able to pay but the nicer ones were pretty grand looking structures. If a city has enough traffic, places like this can still survive. They often go way upmarket to justify choosing somewhere different. Otherwise, they have tended to wither away. The buildings can live on though. The Vail Hotel in Pueblo now appears to have been converted for other uses. Some things seem to suggest it is still a hotel but I wasn’t able to verify this. Whatever the use now, a cool looking place has survived. So many of its like have been demolished over the years so it is nice to see that it is still being taken care of.

Hello Surprise Hornets

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SFO might get the occasional military movement but it is primarily civil traffic you see there. Roger and I were chatting when we noticed something small on the approach. Initially I assumed a business jet but then the shape became clearer and it was a Super Hornet. In fact, there were two with the second close in trail. From our location they were a bit far out but still an interesting pair of visitors to photograph.

I Can Hear You Coming

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In the days before radar, there were other techniques that were used for trying to detect inbound enemy aircraft. One of them was the use of sound. Dotted along the southeast coast of the U.K. are a number of locations with devices for focusing sound. One of them is located in the hills above Hythe. This is one of the simpler forms that were used. Despite the age, the contract structure is still in good shape. With the introduction of radar, these sites were redundant but they do provide an insight into the trying of any idea to gain an advantage in another era.

A380 Gear Sequence

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The jets approaching SFO have their gear down long before they reach Coyote Point. However, if you look into the distance, you can see them lower the gear somewhere around the San Mateo Bridge. The A380 has a gear sequence that involves the outer gear coming down first followed by the body gear. I figured I would shoot at long range and then animate the sequence. Heat haze was not great but I think it shows the way things work. Maybe in the winter I will try this again and see if I can get a cleaner image.

Camera Profiling

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For all of my previous cameras I have created profiles. When I got the new cameras I decided not to bother and to go with the profiles that are built in to Camera Raw/Lightroom. This was working okay for a while but there were some shots where I felt like the adjustments were having slightly odd effects. It was almost like the files had less adjustability than my old Mark IV files. This didn’t seem likely. I figured I would have a go at creating profiles and see whether that made any difference.

The profiles are relatively easy to create. I have a color card that has twelve different color squares. You take a shot of it in RAW mode. Then comes the slightly annoying step. You have to cover it to a DNG file. Not sure why, since this is all Adobe software, they can’t combine the steps but never mind. Then you open the profiling software. Pull up the DNG file, align the four color dots with the corner color squares and let it do its thing. Choose a name and the profile is saved on your computer where the Adobe software can see it.

It does make a difference. The thing I found most interesting was that the profiles for the two cameras were quite different. It shows up most in the blues for my bodies which, given I shoot aircraft a lot, is no small deal. The shots here are versions of the same images with the default profiles and the new profiles for comparison. Everything else is the same so the difference is purely profile related.

San Jose – The New Way to Europe

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When you live in the Bay Area, all of the flights to interesting overseas destinations go from SFO. However, there is a lot of demand for these flights and SFO is not the most convenient airport for everyone. Oakland has flights from London and Oslo. The other airport that is fighting for business is San Jose. They have recently added flight by Lufthansa and British Airways. This was enough to drag me down there to see what is moving.

San Jose is not a bad airport to shoot at. There are a few locations which give you good options for getting shots of the jets either arriving or departing. On the day I went, Lufthansa were using their A340 in Star Alliance colors. I have to admit I was a touch disappointed because I wanted a Lufthansa jet in house colors. However, there will be another time. I got there later in the day so didn’t see it arrive. However, I was there for departure.

After it had gone, I headed down to the arrival end. There was going to be a fair bit of time before the BA jet arrived so I would see what showed up. That will probably be another post. Eventually, the BA jet showed up on approach. It came down from the coast side so I could see it from a long way out. It turned on approach and then I got. A bunch of shots of it as it came down the approach. The 787-9 is a better proportioned jet than the 787-8. I think both jets are bigger than they appear. Having not tried either out yet, I don’t know what they are like to fly in. However, the BA colors look nice on it. I got the shot I was after and then headed off. At some point, I shall go for the departure shot too. I should do that before the light gets too low!

Swallows are Tricky Little Things

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Plenty of birds have made their way onto the blog over the years. One species that is not a regular feature, though, is the swallow. They have shown up once or twice but the lack of appearances is because they are bloody difficult to photograph when in flight. They are phenomenal flyers. The speed and maneuverability is just amazing but that does make them a touch more difficult to photograph. Also, they are tiny so you need a long lens to get a reasonable shot. That makes tracking them as the zip around even harder.

Along the shoreline in Hayward, there are some channels of water that can be very busy with swallows. I guess the bug population is good so they are able to feed comfortably. They make runs up and down the channel catching anything they can. The repetitive flightpaths make you think it will be easier to get a shot. It is easier – however, easier than impossible is not easy! I did waster some time trying though. I relied on the autofocus a little to see if it would let me take a shot if there was something focused. I did end up getting a few images. None of them are as clear and sharp as I would like but, after the time and number of shots involved, I was actually rather pleased to have ended up with what I had.

Apache over Pinal

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Have you ever been excited to have a lucky break and then felt disappointed by the same thing afterwards? If so, you are like me and you really need help. I was up at Pinal Air Park in the evening after our time on the range at Hawgsmoke. An Apache helicopter was flying around the pattern. I was impressed that it was flying while I was there and grabbed some shots. The Singaporean forces have some Apaches there that they train on. When I looked at the shots, I was hoping that was what I had got. Sadly, it was just a normal US Apache. Why was I so disappointed? No good reason. It was still cool to see one in the nice evening light but you often focus on what might have been. Not healthy!