Titan Airways provides jets for some high end tourist programs. I have shot their older A321s before, but they recently took on an A321neo that had previously been used as a transport for the UK government. On a flight, it had issues with windows that were not sealed, and the plane was not pressurizing properly with a load of noise. When they investigated further, it turned out it had been used for filing work and the high intensity lights had damaged the window seals.
With the windows repaired and a test flight undertaken, it was back in service and its next trip was to Seattle. I caught it landing at Boeing Field. It arrived at the worst time of day for lighting but, with something unusual like this, I decided to make the best of it. It turned out okay and I was quite pleased with the results, as was one of the pilots!
This art installation is in the Arboretum in Seattle, and we happened across it while out walking. I didn’t want to take up too much time trying to photograph it. Nancy is patient enough with me as it is when it comes to taking pictures on our days out and knowing that I have blog posts in mind. Stretching that patience would be too selfish. The light under the trees was a little hard to work with and the shapes of the sculpture were not so conspicuous when trying to take the shots.
The elements hang over the path. At first I thought it was something that wasn’t supposed to be there and then, as we got closer, realized it was an art work. The shapes suspended from cables between the trees was rather interesting to look at. Whether any of these shots convey it well, I am not so sure.
There was an evening when the weather was awful and the NASA DC-8 was out on a mission. The forecast suggested things might get a bit clearer late in the afternoon and so, while the light was awful, I thought I might take a chance and head to Paine Field after work. The sky was dark and ominous but I was there so I might as well wait. As the Max 10 was first on approach, it was the one I would try out first. There was a hint of the sun starting to punch through the cloud and it did look okay.
Then, when the DC-8 showed up, the clouds parted. The backdrop was still and evil looking sky but the sun was on the plane as it came down the approach. I had thought of shooting video but, when I saw the light, I couldn’t resist shooting stills. The joy of modern cameras is the ability to switch rapidly from one to the other. I got video down the initial approach and then stills as it was close in. Then back to video once it was by me. This actually didn’t make for a bad video edit.
A moment with light like this is very rare and you have to be excited when it all works out.
In a previous post, I showed the waterfalls at Granite Falls, north of us. At that time, the weather had been quite calm, and the falls were quite subdued. At that time, I had suggested I would go back later in the winter. We had a prolonged period of rain in the area, some of which was very heavy. Knowing this had come through, I figured a return trip was in order to see just how much the falls would be transformed. This was not a wasted effort!
Even as I got out of the car in the parking area up on the main road, I could hear the falls. The flow through them was unrecognizable from my previous time there. The water was the full width of the falls and was crashing across everything in its path. The force of the water was quite intimidating and, while I was quite safe where I was on the walkways, I shuddered to think what would happen to anyone getting caught up in this torrent.
Video was clearly the thing to experiment with on this visit. Sure, I was getting lots of shots. I was seeing whether longer shutter speeds would give a good impression of the motion or whether a slightly shorter exposure might actually be more effective. However, video is the tool that really allows someone to appreciate the intensity of the flow and the noise. Consequently, I edited together the footage below to give you an idea of what it was like.
As I looked upriver, I saw vehicles crossing the river and realized that the road I had come in on, continued across the river on a bridge. I had not noticed this on the previous visit so, once I had made my way back up to the road, I decided to check the bridge out. This is a country road so I wondered if there would be a safe way to walk across. Fortunately, there was a protected sidewalk on both sides of the bridge. It was quite a drop down to the river but the mist over the water and between the trees provided a lovely shot, so I was glad to have diverted that way even if I was a little uncomfortable that high up!
Condor has gone on a bit of a Marmite route with its livery. They have decided to paint their aircraft with a striped paint scheme that looks like a beach towel. When they first went this way, the A330s that came to Seattle were leased jets and they only painted the fins rather than the whole airframe. They had ordered new A330-900s from Airbus, and these were delivered with the full paint job. I took a while before I finally saw one of these come to SEA and it was the green one. I still haven’t seen beige or blue! I have heard comments that really show how much people dislike this choice. For me it is such a nice change from the norm that I am really happy to see them. Something different is fun.
We were making a trip to Bainbridge Island one weekend and Nancy had done some research that brought up something she thought I might be interested in. Blakely Harbor used to be the location of a timber mill. It has long gone away but there are still some remnants of the mill. There are piles in the water from the old jetties but the most conspicuous part of the old generator house.
This concrete building is obviously more resilient than the other buildings and it stands out on the shoreline, not just because it is the only remaining building, but because it has become a focus for graffiti artists. The interior and exterior of the building have been covered with work from artists of all types. Some is really intricate work and other pieces and less polished. However, the combination of colors is really striking when alongside the natural colors of the harbor.
I was interested in looking around inside but climbing in required some effort and, while I could have done it, I wasn’t that keen and I suspect Nancy would have thought I was nuts! She may have been right. There are some iron frames that are still part of the structure which have an aged look which contrasts with the recent artwork. I imagine in low light you could get some very interesting shots of this place.
I was waiting for my mate to get through immigration at SEA after a flight from the UK. He was telling me that there was a horrible line to get through, so I figured I had a little time. I also knew that Everts Air Cargo’s MD-83 freighter was due to launch out of Boeing Field. Originally, I had figured I would miss it but, since he was stuck in line, I might as well wait around and get the take off. A slightly gloomy day but a Mad Dog freighter is still worth it!
I have had various encounters with the C-130s of Lynden Air Cargo over the years, but they have usually been a relatively normal side on type of shot. I saw one of the aircraft had gone into Paine Field and I was fortunate that the departure was scheduled for a weekend day when I could get up there. I decided at the last minute to make the trip up and, as I pulled up at my preferred location, a quick check of the phone showed the aircraft was already at the hold.
I got set up as rapidly as I could and then they were rolling. The advantage of this location is that the plane will have rotated and is climbing out towards me. The Herc is able to get out of short strips just fine, but it isn’t climbing too rapidly so I knew I should get something different to what I have taken before. I quite liked the front quarter shot but the others were fine too. I was then back in the car and home in a short time. It was almost like I hadn’t been away, but I had got the result I wanted.
The NASA DC-8 was up in the Pacific Northwest for the trials sampling the air when burning sustainable aviation fuel. The aircraft that was actually burning the fuel that they were sniffing was a 737-10. This Max 10 is ultimately destined for United Airlines. Since the Max 10 is not certificated yet, I guess the jet was free for Boeing to use. It had a special livery for the trials program. Not sure whether this will be kept for service or not. However, when I was shooting the DC-8, I usually got to shoot the Max as well. It didn’t always get the best light, but I still got a few good shots of it.
We visited Whatcom Falls a while back and, at the time, the water levels had been quite low. I had been thinking about heading back when the water would be flowing more but hadn’t got around to it. Then, Nancy and I were up in Bellingham for something else and, as we headed home, I make a quick detour to stop off at the falls. They are so close to the parking lot, you can really make a ten-minute stop if you want.
The water was definitely flowing strongly. The falls were flowing hard, and the water was also running through the spillway on the other side of the footbridge. I did go around the top of the falls to see the river flowing in and also take a look at the flow as it headed over the falls. It was very energetic, and I am glad to have taken the side trip. Here is some video of the falls.
Titan Airways provides jets for some high end tourist programs. I have shot their older A321s before, but they recently took on an A321neo that had previously been used as a transport for the UK government. On a flight, it had issues with windows that were not sealed, and the plane was not pressurizing properly with a load of noise. When they investigated further, it turned out it had been used for filing work and the high intensity lights had damaged the window seals.
With the windows repaired and a test flight undertaken, it was back in service and its next trip was to Seattle. I caught it landing at Boeing Field. It arrived at the worst time of day for lighting but, with something unusual like this, I decided to make the best of it. It turned out okay and I was quite pleased with the results, as was one of the pilots!
