It isn’t always what you are looking at that is appealing. Sometimes, it is just the shape that attracts your attention. In the area around Midway Airport are a number of rail yards. The way in which they fan out from the entry tracks and then close down again at the other end makes for an interesting shape which can only be appreciated from the air. Here is an example of what I mean. It really doesn’t matter what is in the yard. The form is all that I am looking at.
Other than the stuff that has got its own post, there were a bunch of other cool looking cars at Cars and Coffee. Here are some of the others. Hard to believe that some of these are also ran subjects! Normally they would get more attention!
If you are going to shoot at LAX, one spot that is worth a visit, even for a short while is the In’n’Out Burger. Just north of the runways, the approach comes across the street just beside a small park and you can sit and watch the planes on their last moments of the approach. I ended up there when I had a few minutes to spare before meeting a colleague. The sun was heading down and the marine layer was already blocking out the best of the light so it wasn’t the perfect time to take shots. However, who cares? I had some time and I wanted to see what was coming in.
You get a lot of similar shots in this location. Trying to find something different is a little limited but you can still have a go. The standard approach shot is the obvious one. You can go tight and get details on the planes. You can go wide and get something that shows the area and how close the planes are. Sadly, this one never really shares the feeling you get there since it makes the planes seem a lot further away than they feel in person.
You can also get the shot through the landing lights as they get close to touchdown. There is a lot of crap in the way for this but you can still play with it. No-one seems bothered if you are taking shots here since it is so popular. Years ago, I had a cop stop and talk to me but he was only interested in comparing notes on lenses. You can wander across the street and further down to get head on shots if you like too. I have done this in the past. On this occasion, it was a quick visit so no time to go exploring.
The number of stickers you see on people’s vehicles these days is substantial. I don’t much care what the composition of someone’s family is and whether they have a dog, cat, turtle etc. When I saw the above stickers on a car, while it is really more of the same, I couldn’t help but laugh and felt I light to get a quick shot of it to share.
The USAF recently got rid of their squadron of Boeing F-15 Eagle aggressor aircraft. The aggressors have used a combination of F-15 and F-16 aircraft for a while but now they have gone to an all F-16 operation. The aircraft have been redistributed to the other units that operate the type and will gradually lose their aggressor colors as they get repainted.
I thought I would celebrate them with a selection of shots of the F-15s that I have got over time. I wonder whether we shall see them again. It is not unknown for things to change again so we can hope. However, I won’t be putting money on it.
Rainbows are very pretty. Having a rainbow in a beautiful setting is excellent. Next to an interstate – not so much. You take what you get, though. This rainbow came out when the storm had passed through near O’Hare. We all started shooting it. Here you get a view of the back of Koz while he was shooting the rainbow. His vest is a little brighter than it was!
My recollection of Volvos as a youth was of boxes on wheels. They never struck me as impressive cars and the interiors seemed to match the exteriors in their boxiness. I even have a less than favorable memory of driving a 740 through France overnight to try and make a morning ferry (which we did). It was not always thus. The P1800 was quite a smart looking car and a TV star in the original version of The Saint.
This example showed up at Cars and Coffee. It was in excellent condition. Whether it has been kept well or restored beautifully (or even a bit of both) I don’t know but it looked great. It wasn’t the only example around either. However, it did stand out as the one to see. I have no idea what they are like to drive but that wasn’t the point at an event like this.
Periodically, this blog gets populated with something that is disappearing be it an airline or a type of plane. Virgin Atlantic has been operating a single 747 in to SFO for years now. Recently they started up a second service five days a week. It is intended that this service will be operated with a 787-9 but the number delivered is not enough at this point. Therefore, they are using an A340-600 to start things before transitioning to the 787 in October. I have a relatively narrow window in which it will be operating and then it won’t be long before the A340s are gone from Virgin’s fleet. With a bunch of stuff coming up, I was looking for a chance to get a shot.
Having the plane was only part of the issue. Having a nice day was another. Also, it arrives around 7pm so I needed to get it before the evenings get shorter and it shows up after dark. The only problem with that is that the heat haze is bad at this time of year. Nothing I can do about that so I have to make the best of things. Fortunately, I chose a nice evening. The light was good, the timing was right and the heat haze, while present, was not so bad as to run things completely. These images won’t survive too much scrutiny but I am glad to have got them before time runs out.
While out shooting, a woman rode by on a custom motorbike that was worthy of a quick shot. The back tire on this thing was immense and the bike had been fitted and cut around the wheel very tightly. She was making good speed so I only managed to grab a quick shot but you can see that this is quite some bike.
Why is this different and why should I look? Thunderbirds shots are not hard to find online. I have tons of them myself and an appearance by the team at any show is going to result in a ton of shots from the people there. These are shots with a slight difference though. These were taken in Chicago at the Air and Water Show a number of years ago. However, they weren’t taken on the main show days. Instead, they were taken during the Friday practice.
Because it was a practice day, the team carried out their display with a spare aircraft loosely in formation. It was a twin seater so I assume the backseat had a photographer occupying it. (I am not in the least bit jealous of course!) The team flew their normal display routine and the extra jet would position itself around the formation and (hopefully) get some shots of them with some excellent backdrops of the city.
For me, it meant getting pictures of formations that you don’t normally see. I imagine the excess power of the F-16 means there is some scope for the spare jet to position itself well around the formation without running out of energy. It must provide scope to get some cool shots. They had better be cooler than the ones I got that day given the position they had. I am happy with mine all the same.
