Crabs Hunting in the Rocks at Edmonds

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Nancy and I were walking along the shore in Edmonds and decided to stroll out on the fishing pier.  This follows the line of the breakwater for the marina and the large rocks that the breakwater is constructed from make for a good habitat for wildlife.  We saw a starfish on one area but, since they don’t move too quickly, it was not much fun to watch.  However, there were a couple of crabs lurking down there.  One was just hanging in its little space waiting for something to come its way.  Another was a lot more active and was making good progress across the rocks.  I got a bunch of still shots but also played with a little video as you can see below.

C-17 Comes to Tidy Up

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The visit of the VP has resulted in two posts so far but there is a third!  Once everyone had headed off, there were still a bunch of vehicles to be dealt with.  As everyone was tidying up, a C-17 showed up on the approach to Boeing Field.  It touched down and headed to Modern Aviation.  I assume all of the vehicles will have been loaded up in it for transport to wherever they were needed next.  I have to admit that I didn’t hang around to watch the loading or see the departure.  It was time for me to head off so I will trust that is what they did.

Roof Replacement – Old Style

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A previous post included some shots of the village of Longparish in Hampshire and many of those houses were thatched.  As we walked through the village, we came upon a house that was in the process of having its roof replaced.  The thatcher that was working on the roof was gathering more material together while his apprentice was up on the roof itself.

He chatted to us for a while as he worked.  He talked about how long it takes to replace a roof and how everyone wants to do his job when it is a sunny day but not so much when the weather is less appealing.  The roof can have a life of about 20 years, so it seems to last as long as roofs do here in the Pacific Northwest!  The ridge section has a tougher life, and it needs replacement about every ten years.  Apparently, some customers will spread the cost by having one side of the roof done at one point and the other half in ten years time.

The new thatch is quite light colored and, as it weathers, it turns a lot darker to give the finish that is more familiar.  There are little stakes that are upset to hold the material in place.  He was preparing a few of these as we talked, and he explained just how many thousands of them were needed for a whole roof.  It is a substantial job to replace.  Given how many houses in the area are thatched, I wonder how many craftsmen can be supported.  He had come quite a distance so maybe there aren’t that many thatchers left or else he does such a good job that he is demand far and wide!

Shooting at SEA After Sunset

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One of the things that photographers that have only used digital cameras can’t appreciate is ability to shoot in low light conditions.  When I was shooting film, you were already struggling with image quality with ISO 400 film.  Early digital cameras got very noisy as the ISO got ramped up but, these days, the capabilities of shooting in very low light are truly amazing for those of us that are old enough to remember what it was like.  ISO1000 black and white film was adventurous!

Now I feel quite comfortable trying all sorts of silly things.  I had gone down to SEA one evening to try and get a departure that was possibly going out just before sunset.  Sadly, it didn’t play ball and the sun was gone by the time it headed out.  However, I was there and the camera can do silly ISO numbers so why not.  It still needs to drop the shutter speed down quite low but, with a fast burst rate, the chances of getting a reasonable shot are not bad.

I figured I would play around with shooting departure shots as the last of the light was fading away.  It was more about trying something different rather than aiming for the perfect shot.  I did have some interesting planes to play with but also plenty of Alaska 737s.  The  light was pretty dim  and ISO51200 is quite something to work with but the image quality is really very impressive considering what conditions you are shooting in.

Red Kites Hunting for Food

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The reintroduction of red kites in the south of England has been very effective and they are now widespread across the south.  While were were visiting recently, I was initially excited to see one but rapidly got used to them being around.  We didn’t have to go far before we saw one.  The forked tail makes them easy to identify compared to the longer established buzzards.  Getting a good shot of one was a different story.

While we were walking through Longparish, we saw one hunting near the river.  The conditions were rather overcast so, while I got a few shots, they weren’t as clear as I would have liked.  However, the next time we were walking that way, the sun was out, as was the red kite!  It was just a case of getting lucky and having it come around to the side where I could get some good light on it and then I was able to catch some shots.  There was actually a buzzard circling nearby but it didn’t come very close.  I guess it was camera shy.

Century Circle

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I got to the gate for Antelope Valley Air Show 2022 early in the morning.  We were lined up outside the security gate for Edwards AFB waiting for the time things opened up.  I was on the phone so was happy to sit in the car for a while chatting.  When I finished my call, I could see that I was a short distance away from Century Circle – a display of various aircraft associated with Edwards.  Nothing was moving so I figured I would walk up and have a look around.  I had got most of the way there when it looked like cars were starting to move. I rapidly retraced my steps to the car and we drove on to the base.

At the end of the show, I was coming back out the same gate so decided to see if it was possible to pull in and see the aircraft on display.  Indeed, there were no barriers and Iw as able to park up and have a walk around the various exhibits.  The name, Century Circle, is a reference to how many of the jets are Century Series fighters.  There is going to be a museum for the Air Force flight test center and the base for the building was not far from the aircraft.  I will be interesting to see what the museum is like when it is finished and how many of the other interesting aircraft that are currently on base will be included.

Of the jets on display, my favorites are the F-106, the F-105 and the F-104.  Nicely sequential now I think about it.  There is an F-102 which I have never been so keen on and this one is a two seater which takes a place that didn’t look that great and makes it worse.  Still, vintage jets on display is a good thing and I shouldn’t be critical of what is on offer.

The one plane that is a bit of an oddball is the McDonnell Douglas YC-15.  This was a program the USAF ran for a new jet transport to replace the C-130.  Boeing and McDonnell Douglas both built demonstrators for the program but neither was taken to production.  However, there are a lot of features from the YC-15 that will be familiar to observers of the C-17.  Having a transport jet alongside the sleek fighters is a little unusual but it is a rare beast and worthy of preservation.  Thankfully, the dry desert atmosphere is a place that will allow the airframe to survive for many years.

Birmingham Sunday Stroll

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Our UK trip was focused on the wedding of Chris and Sam.  Chris had his stag do (bachelor party for the US readers) the weekend before the wedding and we timed our arrival so I could attend.  I won’t cover any of the events that were organized by the best man but it was a bloody good time and being twice the age of the rest of the attendees might have been a touch tough, but I held my own.  The whole thing was based up in Birmingham and that is the point of this post.  It is a long time since I was last in Birmingham and even that was a brief visit.  It is a city I didn’t know at all.

During the festivities, we were out and about in the center of Birmingham, and I was quite impressed by the buildings in the city both old and new.  The following morning, after the crew had finished breakfast and before we needed to head home, I decided I was going to take a quick trip back around the surrounding area.  Things were a lot quieter on Sunday morning than they had been on Saturday night when the place was absolutely buzzing.

There are lots of new buildings that have been developed while lots of the older buildings have been well maintained.  There is also a lot of development along the canal with shops, bars and restaurants providing a ton of options for visitors and residents.  There are several squares throughout the center with a variety of monuments and sculptures.  One is in the process of being rebuilt and, while it was behind screens, it was possible to get the phone over the fencing to get some shots.

Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by the center of Birmingham.  When I was last there twenty odd years ago, I don’t remember it making any impression on me.  Either I didn’t see the right parts or it has been improved a lot.  Either way, it is really a pleasant city center and well worth a visit.

United 787-10 Arrival at Paine Field

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The 787-10 has a center section that is too long to fit in the Dreamlifter.  This means that they can only be assembled at the North Charleston plant.  The conspiracy theorists amongst us may think this was a deliberate part of the plan to focus production there and close the Everett line but, whether that is true or not, Everett is now only addressing issues with airframes already built and is not building any new 787s.  However, some continue to come here from the east coast for rectification work prior to delivery.  That means we get some 787-10s showing up and one of them was for United.  I hadn’t planned on it but was there for something else and got this as a bonus.

Fishing Boat Versus Gulls Versus Bald Eagle

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I started my morning of a trip to Whidbey Island at Moran’s Beach.  This is a good location for morning arrivals at the airfield but it also provides a nice view out into the water.  You can get some wildlife passing through if you are lucky and I was.  A bald eagle was hunting in the area.  It was hanging out in the trees just north of me and then heading out to the water.  There was a fishing boat working not far offshore.  It was attracting a ton of attention from the local gull population and they were swarming around the boat.  The eagle was also interested, though.  It would swoop through periodically, looking for a cheap snack.  The gulls were not too impressed by the interloper!

C-40 Follows Out The C-32

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A while back I posted about the visit of a C-32 to Boeing Field in support of the visit of the Vice President.  It wasn’t the only aircraft to be there, though.  The USAF also had a C-40 that was providing support.  The motorcade delivered everyone to the aircraft but the C-32 departed swiftly while the C-40 was in less of a hurry.  I imagine that they were sweeping up the stragglers before heading off.  Needless to say, I waited around for them to go.  They didn’t get quite the same priority as the C-32 but taxied back and took off – presumably heading back to the east coast.