Tag Archives: photo

Cessnas Are More Interesting Without Wheels

A little floatplane activity is always fun to watch for me and, aside from Kenmore, there is also the base at Renton. Situated at the north end of the Renton runway is the Will Rogers-Wiley Post Memorial Seaplane Base. It can be a good place to see some floatplanes in action. I was chatting to a guy there and he told me that he thought some of the planes had gone to land on the main runway but he was mistaken. Just as I was getting ready to head back to the car, a Cessna came flying down the length of the runway without landing as it set up for a water touchdown.

It turned towards me a little as it descended across the end of the field. It was behind the fence and I couldn’t get a decent shot off but I was able to pick it up as it flew out over the water and touched down. It taxied back to the dock and disgorged its passengers. I must try and be better prepared for an arrival like that at some point in the future.

Heron Swallowing Its Lunch

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Herons hunting for their food have been on here before. I have often been trying to get good shots of them making the strike as they go after a fish in the shallows. The effort to then eat that fish has also been covered here. Therefore, I am going to be repetitive today. I happened to be a lot closer than usual to a heron when it was fishing and I got some good close up shots of its head as it swallowed its meal. Looks like the fish didn’t have much of a chance!

Gate Guards At Klamath Falls

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The 173FW at Klamath Falls has flown a variety of types over the year. One of the advantages of the base being open for Sentry Eagle 2022 was the chance to check out the preserved examples that they have. There is a central avenue on base that is the location of an F-4, an F-15 and an F-16. They are mounted on poles and in the colors of the unit. The lighting can be a bit tricky depending on the time of day but there are ways of making the most of what you can get.

Each plane is set up in a dynamic pose as is appropriate for a fighter aircraft. They are well looked after and there aren’t too many items on them that you would want removed, like spikes to deter birds from landing. I was surprised how few of the visitors to the event actually came to check them out as they weren’t far from the main route to the ramp but it certainly made it easier trying to get some shots.

Clouds Rolling Over The Hills

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As we took the ferry to San Juan Island, I spent a bit of time wandering the car deck and looking out at the other islands. One of the hills to the north of us clearly had the wind running in from the water and, as the air rose up over the hill, the water vapor condensed out to form some nice clouds. They were rather distant but I figured I would try my luck with getting a shot. The processing is a little harsh but I still like the shapes of the clouds and put up with it not being perfect.

Robbing MD-80s

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When I first visited Madras, the Erickson firefighting fleet was in the process of transitioning from the DC-7 to the MD-80. That transition is now complete and the DC-7s are now all stored with some of them on the ramp at Madras, gently baking in the sun. The conversion of the MD-80s has been underway for a while. A bunch of ex Spanair jets were there last time I visited. On this visit, there were a few MD-80s out on the ramp that appear to be providing a source of spares for the in service aircraft.

I don’t know whether these jets will eventually get modified but, given how much has been taken from them, I suspect not. Various control surfaces have been taken and panels removed. I have no idea what the systems inside are like but I would imagine that those are the most valuable parts. However, any spares are worth having since the MD-80 fleet worldwide is dwindling and supporting the air tanker fleet for a long life is going to need a good stockpile of parts. The dry Madras atmosphere makes for a good storage environment so the planes should be in good condition for a while yet.

Baby Red Wing Blackbird

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Earlier in the year, I got to see the red winged blackbirds nesting in Juanita Bay Park and then defending their nest from threats real and perceived. The humans were not causing them any problems but the herons were happy to much on a baby blackbird. It wasn’t long before these babies had fledged and were out with their parents. As with many baby birds, they were very demanding regarding food and not interested in getting it themselves. I came across this parent and child along one of the boardwalks. The chick looks like it should be able to take care of finding food but instead it just hung around making a ton of noise while the parent was busy trying to find something to keep it quiet!

C-12 With A Hint of Lumps And Bumps

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We had a lot of time to shoot the arriving aircraft at Klamath Falls in the day before the show. One aircraft that showed up was a C-12. I don’t recall seeing it when I was in the show so it either went somewhere else on base or it departed again. However, when I looked at the shots of it, there seem to be a lot of modifications on the airframe that look like there are designed for mounting other items. The C-12 family has received any number of different modifications over the years and there are tons of different configurations. Whether this is one that was de-modified for regular transport use or has the ability to be reconfigured as needed, I don’t know.

Salmon Climbing The Ladder

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The salmon that come through the locks in Ballard come in three waves according to the park rangers. There are three types of salmon and each type comes at a slightly different time of year. (I’m sure the sales like this so they get three feeding times!). Within the fish ladder, they have a viewing gallery which allows you to see the fish as they loiter for a while before surging up the next step in the ladder against the flowing water.

It is quite impressive to see how fast they can go when they make an effort. They swim gently against the current in the viewing area waiting for a time that seems appropriate to them. Then they align themselves with the inlet port through which the water is rushing. This needs a dose of acceleration to avoid being pushed back into the gallery and then, once they are stabilized, a surge of effort and they zip up the port. Photos don’t do it much justice but video is a better medium. The reflections off the glass are not ideal but you will get the idea.

One More Go With The Blue Avanti

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You know the score with me and Avantis. One of the new additions to Paine Field for Lynk Air was due back in. I was off work as mum was visiting. Surely she would want to go and see an Avanti land? How could I refuse that. If I got a few shots of it in the process, we both win.

Jumping Chickadee

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Tracking moving birds can be tricky, particularly if they are small ones that are very agile and move fast. There was a chickadee perched on the railings of one of the platforms in Juanita Bay Park and I got a few shots of it as it hopped along the wood. A couple of times it launched into the air as I was tracking it. The shots are not that sharp as I was not prepared for it to move and it was quick but I found the look it is – as if it was jumping up – to be rather interesting. A cute looking bird.