Gripen Two Ship Departure

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Flashback to RIAT and 2019.  I was working through the catalog looking for something for another project and came across these shots of Swedish Gripens departing from RAF Fairford after the show had concluded.  A section departure is always more interesting than a singleton even if it does give you something to think about when deciding on which plane to focus on.  The Gripen is a great looking jet and one that has been pretty successful given that it was built specifically for Swedish needs.  Always happy to get to shoot one.

Water Treatment Plant by the Pacific

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The departure from LAX takes you out over the Pacific on most occasions.  As you climb out and reach the shoreline, just south of your track is a large water treatment plant.  Oceanfront property would be in high demand, I imagine, but this spot is taken with a far more functional purpose.  The size and shapes involved are quite fascinating to me and I couldn’t resist getting some images as we flew by.

A Black Challenger 850

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What do you do if you have built a large fleet of 50-seat regional jets and now no one really wants a 50-seat regional jet?  You take that jet and refit it into a corporate configuration and change the name to match your other bizjets.  That is the way a CRJ200 suddenly transforms into a Challenger 850.  It’s a bit ironic because the CRJ was developed from the original Challenger jet anyway so maybe the reverse process is not a big deal.  Anyway, it finds a second life for some jets.

I wouldn’t have gone out specifically just to get a Challenger 850 (you might ask why that is when I go out for any number of other aircraft of niche interest), but this one was painted all black and I am partial to any jet that doesn’t look like all of the others.  A glossy black finish is definitely worthy of some attention and, if the light is going to play ball, it should look pretty good.  In the event, it did come out rather nicely.  I don’t know whether the operator will be back here on a regular basis, or this will be counted as a limited time offer but good to have had the chance!

Half a Moon in the Morning

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I was driving to work one morning recently and as I headed south down the road near home, the moon was quite low in the sky.  It was partway through the phases and the angle of the sunlight on its surface provided a lot of texture on the surface.  I was driving to work so was not immediately in a position to stop but the drive to work is short so, as soon as I got to the parking lot, I took out the camera.  The moon was low above the roof of the office, so I had to move a bit to get an angle on it.  The trees were also in the way, so I decided to incorporate them rather than remove them.  Then it was into the office.

A Huey Trip at the Last Minute

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During our Arizona trip, Mark and I stopped by at Falcon Field.  Our friend, Joe, is involved in a group, the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation, that maintains and operates historic army helicopters, and they were having a flying event that day.  We wanted to see the Huey that they operate as it was taking people out on rides.  We saw a couple of runs and then they stopped for a break, and we could wander around the helicopter.  When they were getting ready for the next flight, they had a spare slot and asked if I wanted to take a ride.  The funny thing is, while I was happy to make the contribution, I often am more interested in seeing the flying from the outside rather than being inside.  However, since it was a good cause, I said yes.  I am so glad I did so.  I had a good spot looking forward between the two crew up front and next to the open door giving me plenty to see.  I decided that video was more likely to be a good way of recording such a trip so that is the majority of what I took during the trip.  I did get some stills, of course, but the video then got edited down to the following piece.  I thoroughly enjoyed the flight and the brief time to see some of the surrounding landscape.  I will not be so reticent in future.

My Nemesis Returns

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When we first moved to our current house, we used to get lots of rabbits in the back yard.  For a while, it was nice seeing them around.  However, they did have a habit of “leaving” seeds for other plants in our grass and the weeds became an issue.  We went about blocking up the various access points for them to keep them from coming in.  This was broadly successful, but it is a continuous process as they find ways to breach the perimeter.

Recently I looked outside to see a rabbit not eating but stretched out and sunbathing in the back.  Now that is taking the Michael.  I went outside and he bolted so I saw where he had punched a new way in and closed it off.  Later in the day, I saw him out front – where I have no issue with him being.  Instead, I decided to get some images of my latest intruder.  Now I’ll have proof if he ever denies being the one to break in previously!!

At Last, I Get a Shot of Another Icelandair Special

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Icelandair painted a couple of its 757s in special liveries a few years ago.  One of them, called Vatnajökull, has never been where I was or, if it was, the conditions were bad, or I couldn’t take any images.  Finally, I saw that it was coming in one weekend and would be departing when there was a northerly flow, and the sun was likely to be out.  I finally had a good chance to get it.  Icelandair is adding plenty of Max 8s to the fleet and they are becoming more common into SEA and they will be getting some A321neos soon so the 757s might not be a reliable visitor here before too long.  Consequently, I was glad to finally get some good shots of this lovely looking jet.

Afternoon Sun on the Ducks at Juanita

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It has been a long time since I was at Juanita Bay.  A combination of lack of time and lack of nice weather has stopped me going down there.  One afternoon after work, the sun was out, and the time was not too late, so I dropped down there for a walk around to see what was going on.  The answer was not a great deal.  It was a lovely afternoon but none of the more crowd friendly visitors were around.  The ducks were, though.  A merganser stayed too far away to be photographed by there were plenty of wood ducks and green winged teals, so I made do with them.  The low sun angle picked up the colors really nicely.

Calspan’s GIII Makes a Brief Visit to the PNW

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The arrival of a Gulfstream III would be a good reason to head out in any circumstances but, when that GIII is one operated by Calspan, it definitely is worth a look.  It was due to come to Paine Field but only for a very brief stop before heading back across the country.  Why it was there I have no idea.  It was due in early in the day so I was actually hoping for overcast weather since I would be on the wrong side for the sun.  Of course, the sun burst through just as it lined up for approach.  Nevertheless, it was still possible to get a reasonable shot of it.

I then headed off to the departure end to be ready for it to go.  I did stop by the terminal to shoot it on the ramp but, when I saw one of the crew remove a chock, I didn’t hang around and got the departure end.  The sun did last a little, so I had some nice light on it as it got airborne.  The wind was very strong that day, so they were off pretty rapidly and climbing steeply.  Of course, the sun was obscured as they got closer to me but what can you do?

Pigeon Dynamics

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Walking along the shore, someone had been feeding the pigeons.  The term rats with wings is often applied to pigeons and you can see why.  (I think rats are amazing creatures so it might be a compliment to draw the analogy.) While pigeons might not be too popular, they are incredible flyers and I find their flight and, specifically, their wings, to be amazing.  As we watched from a distance, they got spooked by a dog and all flew off.  However, they only circled for a short while before landing on a nearby roof.  Soon, they swooped down to the railings and then back to the ground where the food still was.

They repeated the process shortly afterwards and this got me interested.  Photographing wildlife can be tricky since you never know what they will do next.  Having some predictability can give you better options.  I decided to get around to the other side of them and wait for them to get spooked again.  With so many people walking dogs in the area, it couldn’t take too long!  Sure enough, they were soon back up on the roof.

I didn’t try to get any one bird.  That would be very tough to do.  Instead, I shot wider and with a higher shutter speed to freeze the action and waited for them all to return.  They kindly performed exactly as they had done before so it was a case of waiting and shooting as they all gradually made their way back down.  Some of them had really amazing poses as their wings flexed and folded as they flew to the food.  What amazing creatures they are.