I was waiting for one specific jet at SEA (which has long ago made an appearance on this blog) but, while I was hanging around, I was shooting different angles up the approach. In a few shots I could see a number of aircraft lined up on the approach or turning on to it. I played around with seeing how many I might get in one shot. It needed relatively clear air to get the more distant planes visible. A hazy day would not do the trick.
I get plenty of emails about cycling events taking place in the Pacific Northwest. Some of them are of interest, some are way too hard for me, and some are not at a time that works for me. However, the Tour de Lopez ticked all the right boxes. It was a ride around Lopez Island in the San Juans so I asked various people to see whether they would be interested in taking part. I got a few positive responses, so I registered.
The ferry times to Lopez are not normally good for an early start but Washington State Ferries had arranged for the 7:30 from Anacortes to make an extra stop at Lopez for the event. This was good but it did mean an early start from home to get up to Anacortes in time to put the bike together, get a ticket and board. Unfortunately, in the days prior to the event, everyone progressively bailed on me. The night before, it was just me. I decided to go for it anyway.
The weather on the island was forecast to be nice but the temps are significantly lower on the islands at this time of year, so I decided to layer up. This worked well. I also decided to take my old GoPro with me to record the day. I was glad I did. It was an excellent ride. The route winds around the island and comes through a variety of bays. With the sun shining, these bays look so idyllic. On a normal ride, I might be more focused on keeping moving but on this I was in no hurry so I would stop to make sure I could get some video of the ride.
There were a bunch of rest stops along the route. Plenty of cyclists were taking part – it was sold out – but it never felt crowded. You would see people passing by but wouldn’t be in large groups. The nice thing about the island is that there is not a huge amount of traffic, so it is a great place to ride. I would occasionally see some familiar faces from earlier in the ride too. It ended up back at Lopez Village where they had laid on some food. I bumped into a couple of guys I had seen before, and we had lunch and then rode back towards the ferry.
The ferry ride back was a nice way to end off the day and I was able to pack up my stuff in the car and head home. The day was so much fun, and I hope the video shows just how good it was. The guys that had been unable to join clearly liked the video because we ended up setting up a second attempt. We did this a few weeks later and used a later ferry to start the day so it was a more relaxed affair.
Word was circulating amongst the local photographers about the impending arrival of a Boeing 717. Qantaslink has been operating the 717s in Australia for many years but is now in the process of replacing them. One of the first to be replaced had made its way as far as Anchorage and was heading to Victorville for repainting and refitting for its next operator. It was due to stage through Seattle before the final leg to California. However, while the flight plan was filed, it never left Anchorage.
The process was repeated for multiple days. I think it may have been over a week before the plane actually moved from its parking spot in Anchorage and headed for the runway. To be honest, I was still wondering whether it would get airborne but, once it did, I prepared to head down to BFI. The journey must have been relatively uneventful as they arrived when expected. There was already a flight plan for the next stage of the trip, so I hung around waiting for the departure.
Part of me wondered whether the jet would break again but all was well, and they headed off. The flight crew had Australian accents and were working for a ferry company judging by the flight number. With the plane safely delivered, I am now curious to see whether more of the fleet will make the same journey. Maybe we’ll get bored of Qantas liveried 717s coming through.
The arrival of warmer weather encourages the turtles to show themselves in Juanita Bay Park. I am used to seeing a lot of them but, one weekend, I wandered out to the water and there were more turtles than I had ever seen before. There was not enough space for them on their regular logs so they were climbing up on each other to get a spot to sunbathe. Seeing them stacked up like that was really funny to me and it certainly amused many of the other visitors. Plenty of shots were taken that day, I think.
Not long ago I posted about the variety of operators of 747s that I have photographed over the years. The number of operators is gradually declining so, the likelihood of a new one showing up near me is reducing. However, I did get a new opportunity one weekend. Skylease Cargo had made a few trips to Paine Field for Boeing but these had all been when I was at work. This time, one was due in on a weekend.
I headed up first thing in the morning to catch it coming in from Miami. The weather was not good at home and it was worse at Everett. There was a low cloud base. Things were rather gloomy but you take the opportunities when they come along. At least, since the weather was bad, I wasn’t going to have to worry about being backlit this early in the morning.
No doubt about it, the conditions did not result in shots that I am going to treasure. A white jet on a cloudy day is never going to provide a competition winner. Never mind. It was a new operator of a favorite jet and what else was I doing on a dull weekend morning anyway?
Word reached me from my friend, Bob, that the CAF squadron at Arlington was planning to get some training done with their Reliant one Saturday. I thought this would be worth a trip as I had previously left one of their events thinking that they weren’t going to fly and they did. When everyone else got good shots of this plane, I was a touch annoyed. Time to rectify this.
They were putting a few pilots through sorties to get time in the plane. In the early part of the day, the weather was a little overcast so not great for shots but okay. Of course, as the day drifted on and the sun moved around to the other side, things brightened up. Just in time to be backlit. At this point, I decided to call it a day and head home. I did also have some good time near the plane while it was being refueled so I am quite happy with the results, even if they are nothing special.
I was walking through Juanita Bay Park when I saw this bird sitting on the sign. It sat there for a while before flying beyond it. I am not sure whether the sign was really directed at the local wildlife or just the humans but, if it was for the birds, it either can’t read or it was a little disobedient.
I was planning to head up to Skagit for the May Fly Day at the Heritage Flight Museum anyway. As it turned out, I had been talking with Rich at COAP about the trip he was leading and, when he asked if I would like to tag along with their group, I said yes. They had been working with the Museum and arranged some opportunities to shoot from locations that normal ticket access wouldn’t allow.
The team at COAP and the team at the museum were super helpful and friendly. Add to that, the weather was great and the combination of aircraft they were able to put up was excellent so, the day was set to be a bunch of fun. It did not disappoint. I have shot at the museum fly days before but, sometimes, the planes I was after didn’t fly and sometimes the conditions weren’t ideal. On this occasion, everything came together. I did play around with my shots trying to get more dynamic images. The high vantage point we had available helped with that too.
I took a ton of shots and culled them heavily. The result was a few shots I was particularly happy with and it was nice that the museum shared a few of them on their social media platforms too. Seeing the Skyraider fly is always cool but the day was a trainer day and they put up some great trainer formations. The conditions were a little bumpy but they made a good job of it and there were shots to be had. I look forward to the next time I am up there.
Playing with macro photography is fun and, when I came across a small frog in our back garden, I grabbed the macro lens. Clearly, the frog was not totally impressed by my interest in its presence, but I tried to get close to it without spooking it. It did allow me to get a little closer but getting a good focus on its head when things are dynamic was a little tricky. I got a lot of shots with the body in focus but not the eyes. Still, a few worked out okay.
I posted about the arrival of some Hunters and, in that post, I mentioned that I was there for a Gulfstream test jet. A couple of years ago, I managed to get some shots of a G600 test jet and I had been hoping to catch a G700 at some point. When one of the test aircraft filed a flight plan for Boeing Field, I finally had my opportunity. I was waiting for it when the Hunters showed up. It wasn’t far behind them that my original target showed itself.
This is the fourth test aircraft. It is in a nice paint job typical for the average anonymous bizjet but it gives hints to its true purpose by having some of the windows replaced with instrumentation. I was able to get it as it came in from the south, albeit with the usual cluttered background that Boeing Field has. Fortunately, they were operating out of the field for a few days and I was able to come back at a later date to catch it on approach from the other end.
