Tag Archives: seattle

Goslings En Masse

Spring is the season for new life. The geese had obviously been taking the task to heart because, as we walked around Bloedel Reserve, there was a large gathering of goslings. It appeared to be that several families were mingling together. I guess strength comes in numbers. The adults were all grazing around the periphery of the group while the multitude of goslings were munching away in the middle.

When we were in Seattle a week later, we came across more goslings. A smaller group this time but the same thing with the adults keeping an eye on them. A couple were getting a bit more adventurous and heading off on their own but they were soon brought back into line. I wonder how many predators geese have. I guess hawks will be happy to take them out but the numbers might explain why there are so many geese wherever you go these days.

Lenin on a Street Corner

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Knowing the mix of people I know, all sorts of comments could result from this post! Let’s see who has self-restraint. We were spending a weekend checking out different parts of Seattle and a lunchtime stroll took us to the Fremont area of town. As we walked up to an interchange, a large statue was looking down on the road. Vladimir Ilyich Ulynaov Lenin was there. Of course, I know he is dead and embalmed in a tomb in Moscow but his likeness in bronze was sitting by a plaza.

I don’t know why he is there. Whether it is a tribute, an ironic insult or just a weird outcome to some other plan, I have no idea and I don’t really care. This blog is not about political statements. It is a record of things I have come across at various times. If your sensibilities are unable to handle a picture of a statue of Lenin without you exploding with rage, tough luck. His brand of crazy is not what this is about and neither is your adopted brand of crazy come to that. Instead, I just came across a strange statue and I am writing about it.

Seattle Skyline Zoomify

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On our boat ride back from Bainbridge Island, we were getting back to Seattle in the early evening. The light was not at its best but it was certainly becoming nice. While the boat was moving, if you were quick it was possible to shoot a series for a pano so that is what I did. The resulting pano is rather large. Therefore, the above image is a small excerpt but to zoom in and pan around, you can go to the Zoomify version of the shot below.

Boeing 787-10 on Test

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I wrapped up some work in Seattle and was about to head back home when a quick check on FlightRadar24 showed me that the Boeing 787-10 test aircraft was en route back to Boeing Field. It would be rude to ignore that. The weather had been pretty crummy and there was plenty of heavy cloud in the area but it looked like it might brighten up a bit and, as the sun went down, there was a chance of it lighting up beneath the clouds. I sat in the car dealing with some emails and waiting for the arrival.

Sure enough, as the time approached, the sun did start to peep out from beneath the clouds. It was intermittent at first but it became more consistent as Boeing 01 Heavy called up on approach. Meanwhile, a nice black cloud was still lurking in the background. What a great combination that type of light makes. The plane glided down the approach, its trailing static cone hanging from the top of the fin and then it was down. A nice result.

Time for Another Big Change

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Things are about to get different for us. We moved to California in 2013 as a result of work changes for me. Some of the things we had planned worked out well but a few others did not go as expected. Nothing unusual in that. However, we started to consider some other options for what to do. I have now been given a new opportunity which involves a move to Seattle. Consequently, we are making another move. We are heading to the Pacific Northwest.

I have no idea what this is going to bring. Certainly there will be plenty of new things for us to explore. We have visited the area before but living there will be a while new thing. The area is full of aviation activities, many of which have been the subject of previous blog posts. Consequently, I expect a lot of things will be fun to check out. We will leave behind friends and hopefully make new ones. The blog will show off a lot of those things as they happen. Strap in for the ride!

Rainy and Dark at SeaTac

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In the past I have been able to get some reasonable shots of departing aircraft at SeaTac from the pier of the terminal that Southwest operate from while I am waiting for my flight. I was heading home in the evening and thought I would have little luck because the sun would be on the wrong side. Turns out, the sun was nowhere to be seen – this is Seattle so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Instead, it was raining (shocking news) so, even though the light should not have faded, it was pretty bleak. Normally, I would have thought this meant I would no be getting any shots. However, I decided to have a go anyway. Sometimes, the bad weather shots can come up with something a bit special. I did not anticipate getting this but it would have been frustrating to watch and miss something cool.

As it turned out, things weren’t too dramatic. I did get a few shots of the jets and turboprops as they headed out. Sometimes there would be puffs of vapor over the wings or clouds in the inlets but nothing too good. An Emirates 777 took off which meant a fair bit of spray behind it as it powered away. Sadly it rotated just as it went out of sight so the real clouds of spray were not visible from where I was.

Some Corporate Movements

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Much as the light aircraft movements at King County don’t get much attention, there is so much corporate jet traffic that it can also get overlooked. The bigger jets like the Globals tend to be more interesting to me. However, there are plenty of different types coming through. As with the light aircraft, here is a selection from a recent trip.

UPS Movements

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Boeing Field is a busy location for UPS. FedEx run their Seattle operations from SeaTac but UPS has made King County their location of choice. You get a busy period in the evening with arrivals and departures in a pretty narrow window. Provided there is evening light, you can get a lot of movements.

I have shot a bunch of their jets over the course of various visits. Usually I get them arriving and departing from the same location. I did get some familiar shots this time but I also decided to head to the other end of the field and shoot the departure head on. They do get airborne pretty quickly and climb quite fast so they rotate a long way off and are well above you by the time they cross the fence. Not ideal but still a bit of variety for me.

SeaTac Departures Over Boeing Field

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Boeing Field is closely aligned with the extended centreline from SeaTac. If you approach SeaTac from the north and sit on the left side of the plane, you can look almost straight down on the field. Similarly, if the departures are heading northerly, it routes nearly over Boeing Field. For most flights, they are already high enough that they are not a good photo target. The heavies provide some interest though.

First, they are bigger so a slightly easier thing to fill the frame with. More importantly, they tend to be a bit more leisurely in their climb rate so are a bit closer in as they pass over. While I won’t bother to shoot the majority of the passing traffic, the heavies will often get my attention – provided nothing else is happening in front of me. Here are some of the recent passers-by.

EC145

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The EC-145 is an helicopter I have yet to decide about. A bigger type than the EC-135, I am not sure it carries the extra size as gracefully as it could. It has a slightly bug-like look to it I think. The most recent updates have added a Fenestron to replace the tail rotor. That can sometimes be a good thing but on this type it seems like they have picked a slightly larger unit from the parts bin by mistake. The fin section seems pretty large. Even so, I am not totally against it. It certainly seems smooth and quiet as it flies by. This one did look kind of cool…