Tag Archives: california

Staring Out of the Window at Southern California

Work took me down to Los Angeles a while back and I was on the right side of the plane as we took our usual route in that comes down the cost near Santa Barbara. It was still morning, so this side put me in the best spot to see the coastline below and I grabbed a few images. Once we turned into the downwind portion of the approach to LAX, I was now facing directly into the sun.

This did not make for ideal photo conditions both with the phone’s ability to handle it and the windows I was shooting through. However, still managed to get a few shots looking down at the airport and then the Coliseum before we turned on to final. Once on the approach, I was back on the right side of things. Perhaps not the most interesting subjects at this point but a cemetery certainly caught my attention.

A Little Time with Some LAX Arrivals

A while back I posted some shots from a hotel at LAX that I took at night. The next day, I was also able to work from the rooftop terrace at the hotel which allowed the occasional arrival to make their way into my viewfinder. LAX is a great airport to see some different airlines and types but, like a lot of major airports, it does get a ton of movements that are the same airlines and types. Consequently, you can afford to be picky about what you shoot.

This also means you can get other stuff done most of the time and just keep an eye out for something more interesting when the opportunity presents itself. Even so, I didn’t have a lot of time there with the various other things I had going on so it was not the full selection of interesting arrivals and departures that LAX can offer. Despite that, I was happy to get a few shots of things that interested me at least.

Angel’s Flight Railway

I first heard of Angel’s Flight Railway in one of the early Harry Bosch novels that was named for it. Prior to that, I had never heard of this funicular railway in Los Angeles. More recently it was also the subject of a TV series that I started to watch but never continued with. In my many trips to LA, I had never actually seen it. Work took me there a short while ago and my hotel was only a few minutes walk from the railway and, since I seem to have sought out some funiculars recently, I figured I would head to this one after work before it got dark.

I ended up arriving at the top of the railway. Apparently, it has undergone some rehabilitation and modernization, and it certainly seemed it great shape. The top station still has a vintage feel to it, though. There is a stairway that runs down the hill parallel to the track so, rather than ride down, I walked down the stairs to watch the trains as they passed me. The cars are on separate tracks, but they are only spaced to pass halfway up the hill. At the top and bottom, the alignment comes closer together. As the cars approach each other, they move to the side and them come back towards the middle once clear of each other.

The loading is done through end doors at the top and bottom so no need to worry about complex platform issues. Everything seems to be managed from the station at the top. When I got to the bottom, it seemed that people would board freely, having to pay when they made it to the summit. It does provide a good way up the hill, but it isn’t that big of a hill, and I wonder why the railway was necessary when it was built. Now it seems to be a tourist attraction as opposed to a key element of the transit system. Good to have finally seen it, though, and another funicular to visit.

Wrong Lens for Night Photography

I had a trip that took me to Los Angeles and, while it wasn’t a photography trip, I did take a camera in case I had the chance to get some images. I took the 200-800 as my one lens since I didn’t know what my shooting options would be so wanted maximum flexibility. The only downside to this choice was that this is a slow lens with small maximum apertures. As it turned out, I got to my hotel at the airport in the evening and the roof terrace was open so I had a chance to get some shots of the planes arriving to the norther complex.

Having a slow lens when doing night photography is not the ideal plan. However, you work with what you have. Also, since I know the R3 can produce some good results at silly high ISOs, I figured I would see what I could get. Even at the the max ISO of 51200, the shutter speeds were very low. While I wasn’t always at the full extent of the lens, this was not going to make things easy. There were areas where the ambient light provided more illumination for the planes, but I still went with high frame rates to see if I could get a few sharp results.

Surprisingly, things worked out pretty well. There was definitely a very low hit rate but the fact that I was getting sharp shots at all was very pleasing. The Enhance AI noise reduction in Lightroom could then do its thing provided the shot was basically sharp to start with. This combination gave me results I was very happy with. If I were to be back at this spot another time, I would definitely bring other lenses along that would provide better light gathering capabilities. Even so, knowing that this can work was a pleasant surprise.

Thunderbirds Show Up (As Does Their Support)

While Mark and I were in Arizona, we heard about the potential of Harriers being at El Centro.  We decided an additional leg to our trip was worth it and headed for California.  As we came up to the base after a few hours of driving, we saw something rather unanticipated over the airfield.  The USAF demonstration team, The Thunderbirds, were flying around over the field.  It turns out that they had gone to El Centro to spend some time working with the Blue Angels that were still there for winter training.

This had us worried.  If the teams were going to be flying, that would stop the other base operations, and our trip would have been futile.  Fortunately, they landed and were going to spend the afternoon on the ground talking about whatever demonstration teams talk about.  Operations would continue.  We did get one flight with a Thunderbirds call sign, though.  The C-17 that had come to support them headed off.  It had a Thunderbird call sign and did try a sporty take off and climb out.  I’m not sure whether everyone was really buying it though.

T-45s at El Centro

My involvement with the T-45 program was back when the aircraft were just coming into service.  Now I am reading articles discussing the US Navy’s plan for the replacement of the Goshawk fleet.  Another type I have been involved with that is going to disappear from service before too long.  Since the jet was never exported, when the Navy gets rid of them, that will be it.  Consequently, while I have shot T-45s at various places and times before, getting some more shots while on our trip was worthwhile.

We made a detour from our Arizona locations to El Centro to catch the Harriers.  El Centro is a regular haunt of the T-45s with the training wings sending jets out to use the ranges just north of the base.  Since it is not too far to travel, you can watch them launch and know it won’t be too long before they return.  Getting the departing jets as they break towards the south with the last jet cutting the corner the most to catch up with the first ones is easy enough.  The returns give you an option at both ends with either the overhead break with speedbrakes out at one end or the final turn at the other.  Managed to catch both.  I am sure I will see more T-45s in the coming years but here are some shots from the recent visit.

Doesn’t Everyone Have a Hornet by the Front Door?

When deciding on what garden furniture to have, there are many options.  You could have some garden gnomes, maybe a stone lion, all sorts of possibilities.  Most of these are because most people don’t have access to a fast jet.  If you do, and the California Science Center does, you’d stick a Hornet outside the front door.  It was in the shade from the building in the morning I was there, but I thought it provided just the right amount of gravitas.

Water Treatment Plant by the Pacific

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.

The Harriers Really Are Here

While Mark and I were in Arizona, we were talking about the sighting of Harriers down at El Centro.  Harriers are getting pretty rare these days and the Marines only operate them on the east coast at this point.  A detachment to this side of the country is of interest!  We debated the merits of a drive across to El Centro and decided to go for it.  We left Tucson mid morning and got to El Centro in early afternoon.  A quick drive around the south of the base saw one Harrier out in the open.  We could hear it too but, before too long, all had gone quiet – at least as far as Harriers are concerned.

As the day wore on, we were beginning to wonder whether we had been mistaken or just unlucky when a call came up on the radio of what sounded like a Harrier call sign.  A flight of four.  The daylight was beginning to get a little thin, so it was quite late to be going out but, since they have night attack avionics, no reason for them to be limited to daylight only.  Sure enough, we soon see a four ship of Harriers taxiing to the departure end.

The four of them launch in stream and, while they didn’t turn towards us when we would have liked them to, they did keep it low enough to get some nice shots.  One of the jets even had some color.  With them off, we decided to head around to the other side of the base to hopefully get their return.  Not long after we got there, one appeared overhead and alone venting fuel.  Clearly something was amiss, and it was making an early return.  A long straight in approach was best for them if not us!  Then we waited.  Unfortunately, it became clear that they would not be back before it got dark, so we eventually gave up and started our return journey.

Hawk and the Moon

My El Centro wildlife encounters continued after the owls had been photographed.  A hawk showed up on a utility pole close to us at one point and, since no jets were landing, I was happy to take its photo.  Then I realized that the moon was rising not far away, and a short movement allowed me to bring the two into closer alignment.  With the long lens, the focus depth was narrow, so I took shots of the bird and shots of the moon.  When I got home, a little focus stacking allowed me to make both sharp to show how it looked to me at the time I was there.