Tag Archives: jet

Red Flag Night Launches

Leave a Reply

Adobe periodically updates the processing algorithms that are used by Lightroom and Photoshop. Each update provides some improvements in how raw files are processed and it can be good to go back to older shots and to see how the newer process versions handle the images.  I find this particularly useful for images shot in low light and with high ISO.

I have some standard process settings I use but have also experimented with modified settings for use with high ISOs and the higher noise levels that come with them.  I got to some night launch shots from an old Red Flag exercise and had a play with the images.  The E-3 launch was actually as the light was going down but it still had some illumination so it didn’t need much work.

The KC-135 and B-1B shots were a different story and were at high ISOs and with very little light.  I was able to update the process version and apply some new settings I had worked out since the original processing and it resulted in some pretty reasonable outputs considering how little light there was to work with.

NetJets Gets the Good Conditions

Leave a Reply

In this previous post, I mentioned the good light I was hoping would be available for a Dornier 328Jet.  While that didn’t work out, I did get a NetJets Latitude arriving at that time.  NetJets colors are certainly not very exciting so they are a bland subject normally (and a Latitude is hardly the most exciting looking bizjet either.  However, with the right lighting, even this can look pretty dramatic!

First JASDF KC-46 Pegasus

Leave a Reply

The Japanese (JASDF) were a customer for the tanker version of the Boeing 767 when Boeing was offering it in the early days.  Japan and Italy were the only customers that I am aware of for that aircraft.  Therefore, it was not a massive surprise that Japan ordered the KC-46 when Boeing developed it for the USAF.  The first aircraft is now being completed and has been parked on the ramp up at Everett recently.  Here it is undergoing some testing.  Hopefully we shall get to see it flying soon.

F-15E Strike Eagle

Leave a Reply

A recent anniversary of the first flight of the F-15E Strike Eagle was commemorated on a Facebook group and it got me looking through a variety of old shots I have of the jet.  Having found a bunch of them that I liked, I figured I might share a few of them on the blog too.  Here are a few of my favorites from over the years.

The Max 737s Are On the Move

Leave a Reply

Boeing has been building and testing 737 Max jets throughout the grounding so having them flying is not a great surprise.  However, with the grounding order lifted by the FAA, things are moving into a higher gear.  United took delivery of a jet and American Airlines has indicated it will start service before the end of the year.  Two jets were up on the same day which leads me to think that they have already undergone the mod programs and are being tested prior to delivery to the airline.

Please Give Me Good Light for a 328Jet

Leave a Reply

Late in the day in the PNW, you can get lucky with good lighting.  It is not unusual to have a crappy day end with the sun, low on the horizon, cutting under the clouds and providing some briefly great conditions.  With a Dornier 328Jet due in, I was hoping that the conditions might be just what I wanted.  However, the plane was delayed from its planned time.  At the scheduled arrival time, conditions were, in fact, rather good.  I got something arriving then that looked pretty cool and will get its own post.

However, my 328Jet was running late.  I kept my eye on the horizon, hoping the sun would make an appearance but the thick cloud layer hanging on the horizon told me that things were not going to work out.  Sure enough, when the 328Jet showed up, the sky was decidedly dull.  This was all the more annoying given that it had a really nice color scheme.  They aren’t exactly rare but they are not common enough to ignore the chance to get one so this still counts as a plus for me.

It Might Be Raining, But It Is A 727!

Leave a Reply

Winter in the PNW does not mean reliable conditions for photographing planes.  If the weather is bad, you might decide it isn’t worth going out.  If it is raining and threatening to rain harder, there is a strong possibility you would skip a shot opportunity.  However, 727s are getting pretty rare these days so that seems worthy of a trip out.

The weather was unpleasant when it made its approach but not as bad as it got a short while later.  I went with my normal approach for shooting in really bad conditions by pushing the overexposure pretty high.  I include a couple of edits.  For the main image, I actually blended two different process versions in Photoshop to get the combination that most reflects how the shot looked through the view finder.  The other edit is a straightforward Lightroom edit where the angle and the light suited it.

Stored 777X Numbers Grow

Leave a Reply

While Boeing has delayed the entry to service date of the 777X, they have continued to produce airframes at Everett with the result being a number of stored airframes on the field.  There are four jets in the test program and the rest are not going to fly until certification is close so, for now, they are finding spaces across the airport for them.  Some are on the Boeing flight test ramp (with production of the other widebodies ramping down, space is more available I guess) while others are on the cross runway.  This has been home to 787s and 737 Max jets over the years and now it is the turn of the 777X.  Some of them are identifiable by the paint on the folded wing tips while others are unmarked for now.

Omni 767 Finds a Gap in the Clouds

Leave a Reply

For the second time this year, I was at Paine Field when an Omni Air International 767 showed up.  I wrote about the first time in this post.  On this occasion, it arrived in some quite blustery conditions but, as it was on final approach, a gap in the clouds opened up and provided some lovely light on the airframe while leaving the background dark and cloudy.  It makes for a far more interesting shot that would otherwise be the case on a day like that.

Landing a Southwest 737 in a Crosswind

Leave a Reply

This Southwest 737-700 was completing a test flight at Paine Field.  The crosswind was pretty strong so the pilot used the wing down approach to handling the crosswind.  They touched down on the starboard gear and bounced a bit before settling those wheels on the surface.  A short while later, they rolled wings level and the port gear made contact.  Aside from the bounce, a pretty good example of landing in a crosswind in a big jet.