Passing Airliners

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More on the looking out of the window of airliners theme today. This time the subject is other airliners. If you don’t stare out of the window much, you might not be aware just how much other traffic is out there. Actually, there is quite a lot. At various times you might see other jets passing in the opposite direction, pacing you at a distance and crossing your path. Sometimes they seem very close. With some of the apps that are available now, if you have wifi on-board, you can even be prepared for some of them showing up.

Here I shall highlight a quality warning. The attached shots are not great. They illustrate a point but nothing more. There have been quite a few occasions when we passed very close to another aircraft. However, those were not times I had a camera handy. even if I had, the chances of getting a good shot are not great. Even when you are close, you are really not that close. It just seems a lot closer than normal – which it is. However, you are still well separated. Therefore, to get a shot, you need a medium length lens at least.

Sadly, aircraft windows are not designed for optical perfection. Moreover, since they are pressurized and scratches are a source of fatigue which you certainly do not want, the manufacturers put a nice perspex sheet between you and the window. They certainly are not optically perfect. Now you are shooting with quite a long lens through two layers of less than perfect material. This is not a good recipe for quality shots. There we go. I have made plenty of excuses.

You are now going to get a small aircraft if you are lucky and a small blur if you are not. If it is pulling a contrail, you might do better since they can make some nice shapes. However, chances are you won’t get much at all.

Clouds From Above

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My frequent flights mean I get to spend some time looking down. Often when flying across the country, the skies are remarkably clear. There may be a lot of haze obscuring a clear view to the distance but the amount of cloud is usually not much. Then, when there is some, it tends to be thick cloud cover below. No real shape and texture. Consequently, when I see some cool looking clouds, I get a bit more excited.

These are a few of the clouds that I have recently had a chance to shoot as we passed by. If you are not a cloud person, they are very dull. If you are, you can spend ages looking at the different shapes and shadows. I hope you are a cloud person. If not, maybe my next post will be more up your street.

More Cormorants and Swallows

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Having recently posted about both cormorants and swallows, it would appear a little repetitive to post about both together. Oh well, that isn’t going to stop me. While in Indiana for the powerboat racing, I was sitting on the harbor wall for a while. This was a popular place for the local bird life too. We had a cormorant swimming nearby and I couldn’t resist a shot of him (or her – I am not a specialist on these things).

Also, the local swallows seemed to be enjoying the air currents over the waves. When watching them, they seemed to spend a lot of time almost in one spot as they soared on the wind. Of course, trying to get a long lens on them was less straightforward and suddenly it was apparent just how much they were moving. Still, got a few shots off. It certainly provided some practice time between the races!

Sunset Into Midway

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Southwest Airlines and I are quite well acquainted. I am on one of their 737s on a rather regular basis. These days I am making the trip back and forth to the west coast a lot. Coming back from there usually means me arriving back into Chicago towards the end of the day. At this time of year, that can be around the time of sunset. I tend to sit on the side of the plane that gives you a nice view of the sunset as we are getting close to home.

I don’t always have my camera with me (although I always have the camera in my phone) and the combination of light and clouds is not always ideal. However, sometimes it just seems to work and give me something I am happy to remember. These images aren’t something that is ever going to be a big deal to anyone else but they are nice for me. No-one is going to want a wing and engine in the way either! Since you can’t change position, the view is a variation on the same theme all the time. That isn’t the point. I just have to remember to look backwards sometimes to see what is going on.

Cormorants – Not the Helicopter Version Though…

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While I would not describe myself as a bird guy, I do spend a fair bit of time trying to get photos of them. I guess it is the “all things flying” part of my nature but they do make challenging subjects and also help with panning practice when I don’t have planes to shoot. A species I have a particular fondness for is the cormorant. I really don’t know why this should be. Growing up by the sea I certainly saw plenty of them and their enthusiasm for bombing along at surface level over the water does fascinate me.

Cormorants in the US seem to be a lot happier to fly higher up than I remember in the UK. While I was at Waukegan visiting the Warbird heritage Foundation, a pair of them blasted across the airfield. I quickly tried to grab some shots as they flew over. Nothing too special but something that pleased me all the same.

Baby Sloth Bears

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Last in the baby section, at least for now, is the sloth bear. One of the bears at Brookfield had a couple of cubs earlier in the year. They are now out in the enclosure for the public to see. Baby bears are really quite cute. Lots of fur and everything else a bit undersized so they look very ungainly. Add to that the typical youthful energy of young animals as they explore all of the new things on offer and you get a popular spot for visitors. I can’t judge – we were there for the same reason!

WHF Day Out

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What seems like far too long a time had passed since I had last had a chance to head up to Waukegan to see the team at the Warbird Heritage Foundation. A nice day and a break in my schedule meant that I was finally able to resolve that shortfall. I headed up to Waukegan keen to see what sort of day was in store. As with any collection of older aircraft, the chances of much flying are relatively limited since the planes are usually in need of some sort of care. However, there were a few parked out on the apron when I got there.

Sean and Mike were busy taking care of them as I wandered up. The first thing Sean told me was that he had flown the Bird Dog that morning and that it was a shame I hadn’t been there. Indeed so! Telling me I have missed out on a great opportunity is just cruel! Never mind. I still haven’t seen the Bird Dog fly so it would have been good to see it let alone fly in it.

The project for the day was the T-28 Trojan. Not so long ago, this aircraft had an engine go bad. The chip warning light came on while Sean was flying it and, since he was close to the field, he made a speedy descent to land. The engine pretty much gasped its last as he taxied in. A rebuild later and now the plane is flying again. However, as with all engines after overhaul, it is going through a running in period. This also requires a different grade of oil and a change of oil was the task for the guys.

With the new oil in, the engine was run and the oil topped off. Then it was time for a flight. Jeff is a regular T-28 pilot and member of the Trojan Horseman and he came along to fly with Sean in the back seat. Putting hours on the airframe is the goal but not going too far from the field in case anything goes wrong. They did their duty flying patterns over the field and I grabbed some shots when I could. Most of the time they were quite far away but, with the moon traversing the sky, a couple of opportunities presented themselves for shots with the moon in the background.

I also grabbed some shots of the aircraft on the ground while they were off doing their thing. I haven’t got much before of the Bird Dog so spent a bit of time with it including getting some shots of the cockpit. Harsh exterior lighting meant a but of HDR was required for some of the shots but hopefully it isn’t too obvious! I have shot these planes a lot over time but there is always a chance for something new. Good to see you guys again and hopefully it won’t be so long next time!

Brides on the Bridge!

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Photography can be a frustrating thing. So often when you don’t have a camera to hand, you see something that would have made an interesting picture. Then again, I have had many experiences when I was shooting something else that something came along which caught my eye and I could grab some shots. Perhaps the lesson here is that there is almost always something interesting going on as long as you are looking!

I was actually shooting out of our window recently. There was some helicopter activity over the area and this was my main target when I looked down at Michigan Avenue, a couple of blocks from us. There were a bunch of women in bridal gowns walking along the street. Looking more closely at the images, the women have red paint on their faces. I have no idea what this meant since I didn’t get one of the flyers they were handing out. They continued down to the bridge and across the river after which I lost track of them. The people around certainly seemed surprised to have a pack of brides (what is the right collective noun for brides – a nightmare?) bearing down on them. That is one of the cool things about this city. Something always is happening!

More Cute Animals – Addax

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The baby animal saga continues. The Addax group at the zoo have also had new additions. A couple of babies in this case. Probably not quite as cute as the giraffe but still pretty interesting. I suspect the Addax enclosure does not normally have as many visitors as they are getting right now. Babies of all species seem to have that effect on people!

Wings Over Waukegan

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The Wings Over Waukegan show took place recently in Illinois. As with Waukesha, I was covering this for GAR so, rather than duplicate the effort, head over to http://globalaviationresource.com/v2/2013/09/12/airshow-review-wings-over-waukegan-2/ where you can see my write-up.