Tag Archives: california

Proud Bird At Last

One of the icons of the aviation scene around LAX is the Proud Bird restaurant. Located under the approach to the 25 complex, it is a restaurant with an aviation theme. Inside there is plenty of memorabilia. Outside there are vintage aircraft (including some replicas) mainly of a Second World War vintage but some others too. Despite its fame, I had never been there other than a brief visit to the parking lot early one morning many years ago.

Pete was keen to check it out too so we headed there for an early lunch. It was the last week that the restaurant would be open prior to a ten month refurbishment program so our timing was fortuitous. The place turned out to be a lot more than either of us had anticipated. The space was very large, the patio (where we ate of course – a sunny day with planes flying by) was very comfortable and the lunch menu, while straightforward, was really nice. Besides, you could walk among the planes while waiting for your food.

I am not sure what the restoration will bring. It will be interesting to see when things reopen. Meanwhile the staff will have to find other jobs which is probably not making them so enthusiastic. I hope they do well. They certainly treated us nicely.

Bobcats

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Coming down off Mount Hamilton in the car, my sister, who has the sharpest eyes of anyone I know, said she had seen some cats. I was a bit surprised by this but turned around to have a look. It turns out these were two bobcats. They were already moving off through the tress by the time we got back but I got some distant shots of them as they went. How she saw them I have no idea.

Qantas Comes to Town

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If you shoot a few times at the same place, you get familiar with what to expect. Consequently, the arrival of a new operator is something of interest. In this case, it is the return of an operator. Qantas used to operate to SFO but pulled out a number of years ago. Now they have returned with a 747-400 coming in several times a week. I got my first view of one of the jets when I was at the airport to pick some people up. The scheduling of their flights means that they land in the morning but don’t leave again until late the following night. In the mean time, the plane is parked up near the parking structure for the international terminal and it was from there that I saw it.

I thought I ought to get an airborne shot so headed our one morning to see the arrival. The weather forecast was for a nice start followed by cloud moving in. The forecast was almost spot on but was a little optimistic about when the clouds would show up. They arrived a little early. Having had some really nice morning light on earlier movements, the conditions got a lot more overcast and dull by the time that the jet showed up. I guess this means I will have to try again at some point.

The Old 36 Inch Refractor

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In the days before reflecting telescopes, refractors were used. In order to see further and further they got larger and larger. This meant very long telescopes and making these was technically very difficult. The reflecting scopes removed the length limitations and introduced far larger apertures in a manageable size. The old refractors were overtaken. However, they are still very usable. The 36 inch refractor at the Lick Observatory is still in regular use. They do provide tours of it for visitors.

The building it is housed in is quite grand in itself. A function of its time, it has a wonderful wooden floor that is designed to be raised and lowered to allow the observer to reach the end of the telescope irrespective of what angle it is pointing at. The floor movement is current not in use and they have a sturdy ladder instead. The telescope itself is quite huge and it is amazing to think how long it has been in use.

The tour was very interesting and the guide really had a passion for the scope and the work they do with it. He also allowed me to get some additional shots once everyone had moved on which was very kind.

New KLM Colors

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KLM are one of the few airlines that are not soon to be rid of their 747s. They have demonstrated this by starting to repaint them in a new color scheme. When I was at LAX, one of the newly painted jets was due to come in. Annoyingly, rather than follow the normal approach path to the 24 complex, he came straight over the field and went in on the 25 complex. I saw it come overhead and could see it in the distance as it landed over on the other side of the airport.

Fortunately, later in the day I was on the south side up on Imperial Hill awaiting a message from my buddy that he was ready to roll. I had not thought further about the KLM jet but, since it had come in earlier, that meant it was going to go out again. It took off in front of me – catching me a little by surprise. I was able to get a shot of it in good light so all was not lost.

Busy in the Bay Area Skies

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Major international airports can get very busy with a steady stream of departures and arrivals. Often it is hard to visualize how much traffic there is. It can be that the best time is at night when the string of lights strung out on the flightpaths makes it clearer just how much is out there. If you can find yourself in line (or almost in line) with the runways, you can get a better view of what is moving out there. The reversal of operations at SFO provided an opportunity to see the jets spread out across San Francisco Bay towards Oakland as they came in to land. A bit of a long lens and you can see several aircraft in a single frame.

Sunset Skies

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I’m not sure what it is about the weather in the Bay Area but we do seem to get a good selection of sunsets in our town. The clouds at high level get lit from beneath frequently and the famous bad weather of the area does not seem to obstruct the sun as much as you would think. I was in the office at home doing a few things when I glanced out of the window and saw the sky producing all sorts of patterns. I grabbed a few quick shots because the camera was on the desk. Just as well it was because a few minutes later everything was done. If I had needed to go downstairs to get the camera, I would have missed the whole thing.

Flying Over LAX

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A view from above is a great perspective. You see things in a very different way. One place you don’t usually get to see from over the top is a major international airport. However, it is possible to charter a helicopter to fly over Los Angeles International Airport or LAX to the regulars. Flying in a helicopter with the doors off means you can shoot almost unobstructed in any direction with a little coordination with your pilot. Paul was our pilot and he knew exactly what he was doing as well as what we wanted from him. It made for a great combination.

The patterns in a major airport are interesting. You get the layout of the gates, the taxiways and runways, the lines guiding the aircraft, the shapes of the terminal buildings and even the coloring of the borders to the hard surfaces. Then you get the buildings themselves. Different generations of building have styles of architecture appropriate to what was expected at the time. LAX is famous for its spaceship like building in the middle of the complex and its more modern tower. Terminals went through a phase of being bland buildings but the recent addition to Tom Bradley International Terminal certainly has had more styling incorporated.

The large number of aircraft scattered around add another element to the view. Combine that with all of the service vehicles on the move and there is a complex compilation of elements. I particularly like the ability to see the tower from above. That is usually the highest point around but we were looking down on them while they were kindly providing control of the space to allow us to get our shots without interrupting the operations.

Blowing the Tops Off the Waves

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Standing on the shore watching the waves roll in is a very calming place to be. I can spend hours watching the sea if the opportunity arises. While patterns may emerge, every wave is different and the way they move and interact fascinates me. I have written on this blog about some features of waves that I like such as the even colors when the light shines through the wave just before it breaks. Another feature that can be totally cool is if the wind is blowing offshore.

As the waves come in and start to break, the wind is rushing up the front side of the wave. The spray that comes off the top of the wave as it breaks gets picked up by this wind and thrown back up and over the wave in the direction from which it has just come. This is a very dynamic effect and watching it is easier than showing it in still form. However, it is still worth a shot and some of these shots give you an idea of the cool spray patterns that result.

Contrasting Cars

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One of the fun things about going to Cars and Coffee at the Blackhawk Automotive Museum in Danville is the variety of vehicles on show. You get things from one extreme to another. One of the first vehicles I saw after parking was a Lamborghini Aventador. This is a serious piece of supercar technology. There was also a McLaren to take a look at. Compare this with an old Datsun or a selection of old VWs and you are poles apart. However, they are all loved by their respective owners.

My enthusiasm for the Honda/Acura NSX was satisfied by three of them lined up together over in one corner. A very nice thing to find on one side of a big event. This proved to be a popular edition of Cars and Coffee. Over 800 cars were noted by the organizers. I got there a little early and it was already getting very full. Supposedly some people were there from 5:30am. That is enthusiasm for you.