I was in the vicinity of SeaTac when I saw on Flightaware that a freighter operated by Centurion Cargo was inbound. This was not an operator I had seen much of and, since I had a few minutes before I was heading to my next appointment, i thought I would try to catch it. Getting arrivals at SeaTac in the afternoon when they are coming from the north restricts the options for shooting. however, there was a place I had been before for departures that I thought I would try.
I got there with a few minutes to spare so was able to get an idea of what was possible with some other arrivals. The location was not ideal with a lot of trees in the vicinity which, even though it was winter, tended to obscure things a bit. There was a view through the trees up the approach and then along a road as they passed by. Neither was very good. I got a British Airways 777 which gave me a clue as to where the Centurion jet would appear and how much free space there would be. Not much as it turned out. However, I did get a brief view which will have to do for now.
Before we went to the beach at Point Reyes, we did briefly stop off at Drake’s Bay. This wasn’t a big part of our plan but we needed to drop in to the visitor’s center briefly. While we were there, one of the team was talking about the elephant seals and mentioned that a few were on the beach just outside. We took a look before we went on our way. There were indeed a few seals right up near the center. These were not as large as the seals down at Ano Nuevo but they were still pretty large.
Some volunteers had put some small flags out to guide people away from the seals. Even so, we were still quite close to them. Moreover, they would move when they felt like it so the flags were soon irrelevant. The volunteers just had to remind people not to get too close or in the way if a seal was on the move. Despite this, some needed a slightly stronger hint to keep out of the way. How hard is this to understand I wonder?
With the amount of seal shots I have recently got, you would think I would have been happy to let this time go but I just can’t resist a wildlife shot. I got a few of them as they slept or eyed us cautiously and then we went off to the other beaches for the remainder of our day.
Hyper lapse is not something I have tried a lot of but I have done a little experimentation. For those who are expert at it, my description might be a bit simplistic but it is basically a time lapse when the camera doesn’t stay still and the movement through a scene is accelerated. I had a go at this out of a window of a Southwest flight that was approaching Phoenix. Keeping the camera still and in the same reference to the aircraft is a little tricky but the nice thing about time lapse shooting is that small movements get blurred out quite quickly.
I liked the idea of the rapid passing of the scenery, the rapidity of the maneuvers and the speedy deployment of the flaps showing up. I decided to let it run until we were back at the gate. As my friend Paul said, “Don’t all Southwest flights taxi at that speed?”
It’s not like we have a ton of bad weather here but, with a forecast for a nice weekend, we decided a trip to Point Reyes would be a good plan. An early start combined with a stop for breakfast in Larkspur and we were on our way. Even the drive to Point Reyes is nice so you really feel like you are having a good day out in the prettiest of countryside. This time of year is a popular one because of the wildlife. A previous trip was one during whale migration season. The lighthouse is a good spot for watching the whales but the parking lot is not up to the task. At times like this, they close off the road and run a bus shuttle from Drake’s Bay.
This was not whale time. However, the shuttle was in operation again. This time it was because the elephant seals were on the beaches and lots of people were coming to see them. We were less bothered about going to the normal places and, instead, wanted to enjoy the shoreline. On previous trips to the lighthouse, I have looked down on the beaches to the north and thought how great they look. Not only are the picturesque but the ocean swell results in some great waves running ashore. This time it was time to see them up close.
The beaches were surprisingly quiet. There were quite a few people there but a combination of the large expanse of beach and the desire of many people to not stray too far from the parking lot meant that a short stroll got you a stretch of beach to yourself. Indeed as we walked up we were creating the first footprints in some areas. (When we left, the trails of prints had multiplied!)
Walking along the water’s edge is the easiest thing to do since the sand is firmest where it is wettest. Of course, that does require paying attention to the larger waves which occasionally run a lot further up the sand than you expect. As long as you don’t mind a little embarrassment, a quick sprint out of the way usually takes care of things!
We found a particularly quiet ridge just above the water line and sat down for a while. The waves were very soothing despite their strength and sitting on the sand, under the sun as the surf rolled in was as close to perfect as you could wish for. I have no idea how long we stayed there. It was quite a long time but I could have stayed forever. We did have to go eventually of course but it was a wonderful way to spend a day. I did shoot a little video of some of the waves just to remind myself. Here is a little of the wave action if you want to have your own beachside moment.
Boeing Field not only is the home of development flight test activities for the commercial aircraft business but it is also where the production flight testing for the 737s is done. After the first flight from Renton, the jets come to Boeing Field for acceptance testing and delivery to the customers. Therefore, you can see 737s that you are unlikely to see again once they get into service. I had three customer aircraft on test flights at various times while I was there on one trip.
One of them is not such a surprise for anyone in Europe. A Ryanair 737 landed just as the sun was setting. That is a sight that many European travelers will have seen although we don’t get to see them over here. However, the other two were slightly more interesting to me. One was an Aeroflot jet and the other was from Iraqi Airways. I got the Aeroflot jet twice as it happened. It departed when I was passing through on my way to a meeting and it happened to come back late that day when I was coming back.
The Iraqi jet was one I had seen parked up as I drove by but I didn’t see it leave. However, it was due to return at the end of the day and actually came in not long before the Aeroflot jet. It was clearly going to be in before the sun went down. Aeroflot was a bit of a closer call. We knew it was coming but were watching the shadows stretch across the field and some clouds drift in. Fortunately, the cloud passed just in time and the sun was still just above the horizon so we ended up with some lovely light.
After my visit to see the elephant seals at Ano Nuevo, I was heading back up the coast towards Half Moon Bay. I was in a bit of a hurry as I needed to get back, get ready and check out with Nancy who had been having a slightly more leisurely start to the day. I had driven south in the dark so hadn’t really been too aware of what I was passing. However, the run back up showed the scenery in the lovely morning light. This included Pigeon Point Lighthouse.
I saw it from a distance as I drove north and thought how good it looked. However, with time ticking, I figured I would not have time to turn around and go back to find a good point off the road. Then, ahead of me appeared a pull off that was perfect. I parked the car, got a couple of shots that were okay, then decided a quick run down towards the cliff would not take more than a couple of minutes. The location was definitely better. The lighthouse looked a lot nicer than last time I had seen it when the weather had been a lot duller.
A few people I know recently had pictures up on Facebook of the B-58 Hustler bomber. This was a supersonic bomber from the cold war era. It was a beast of an aircraft and one that I would love to have seen in action. Sadly, they were all withdrawn from service long before I had a chance to see one. However, there are a few of them scattered around museums and I have seen them in person, even if it is not quite the same. I thought I would throw in a few shots of my own of these outstanding looking jets.
Aside from the mussels on the rocks at Pescadaro, there were also some anemones. It was slightly surprising to see them so far out of the water. Unlike the mussels that can seal themselves in to stay moist, the anemones were more exposed. They used their own moisture to stay okay during their time out of the water. I imagine they are happy to be back under the surface when the weather is hotter and they are more prone to drying out.
A discussion on Facebook between a few people I know recently turned to a discussion about the USAF display team, the Thunderbirds. While I can’t now remember how ended up the way they did, at some point, there was discussion about the time the Thunderbirds touched in mid-air with one aircraft losing part of the wing tip missile rail. This occurred at the Chicago Air and Water Show and I was there that day.
At the time, not many people knew anything had happened. Indeed, for a while they flew on before pulling out of the display routine and orbiting overhead and then eventually returning to Gary to land. No-one on the ground had any idea what was going on. I did not capture the contact between the jets. However, when I looked through my shots afterwards, I realized I had a shot of the four ship formation with one aircraft missing the rail and another showing some signs of damage on the tailplane where the rail had impacted. Below is one shot to prove they started out intact!
I was in the vicinity of SeaTac when I saw on Flightaware that a freighter operated by Centurion Cargo was inbound. This was not an operator I had seen much of and, since I had a few minutes before I was heading to my next appointment, i thought I would try to catch it. Getting arrivals at SeaTac in the afternoon when they are coming from the north restricts the options for shooting. however, there was a place I had been before for departures that I thought I would try.
I got there with a few minutes to spare so was able to get an idea of what was possible with some other arrivals. The location was not ideal with a lot of trees in the vicinity which, even though it was winter, tended to obscure things a bit. There was a view through the trees up the approach and then along a road as they passed by. Neither was very good. I got a British Airways 777 which gave me a clue as to where the Centurion jet would appear and how much free space there would be. Not much as it turned out. However, I did get a brief view which will have to do for now.
