I think this Gweduck lives locally. I posted about it before and, around that time, was also instructed on how to pronounce its name. One sunny afternoon, it was doing a lot of pattern work at Boeing Field which gave me a few chances to get some shots of it. I like the look of amphibians and the Gweduck, while not super graceful, still looks pretty good. They even did the decent thing and taxied by me to give me a chance for some closer shots!
On the colder mornings in Woodinville, it is not unusual for us to get mist and fog around our neighborhood. It is usually dark when I start work in my office but, as the sun comes up, it can illuminate the trees around me quite nicely. The mist must have been burning off to let the sun in but it was still shrouding the local trees and looked rather nice. I grabbed a camera near my desk and shot a couple of images of the trees behind the houses across from us and then returned to the day job.
Sexy Sue, the Douglas A-26 Invader, had returned to Renton one evening and I had gone around to the ramp side of the field to see her taxi in. While I was watching the crew shut her down, a few arrivals were coming in over my shoulder. One of them was a Cirrus Vision. The lighting was behind it but I was still getting a shot. Being so close to it on approach was an interesting angle.
Even better, the aircraft was heading my way after landing. It taxied down to where the Invader was still parked, wiggled around it in the space available and then continued on around the corner and off to its parking spot. It is a small jet so can taxi around much like any piston light aircraft but it seems funny to see a jet in such a confined spot. I do think the Vision is a cool looking plane, even if it is a bit like a tadpole!
In creating the 505 JetRanger X, Bell did not come up with the best-looking airframe. It really doesn’t look like should with the nose looking very stubby. However, it will probably sell well enough with Bell behind it. One was making an approach to BFI from the west. It wanted to land on the east side of the field but there was a lot of traffic inbound so they were made to hold on the west side for a while. I was watching them over my shoulder. Gradually they were drifting south towards me so they were almost overhead by the time that they were cleared to cross the field. It gave me plenty of time to get some shots – even with the traffic on the main runway.
When in Hawaii a few years ago I saw Mokulele Flight Services operating a Cessna Caravan. More recently, a Caravan has been flying out of BFI in Mokulele colors. I am assuming that Mokulele has sold the aircraft to another operator. I am not aware of them providing service around here but that doesn’t mean they aren’t. If it has been sold, I wonder how long before it gets repainted.
I got to climb a tower crane recently. This is something I had never done before and, since it provides a good view of a site and it was a new experience, I was keen to go. I had one of my bigger cameras with me but I didn’t have a strap for it. This proved to be a poor choice. Climbing the ladders to get up the tower is not particularly hard but trying to do so while keeping hold of the hand strap of one camera was possible but very slow.
I quickly decided to leave the camera on one of the stage levels and get it on the way back down. It wasn’t like anyone was going to be passing by. I still had my phone in my pocket so that would have to do. I got up to the level just below the cab. Stopping at a few levels on the way up game me some different views of the construction site. An elevated position is so appealing to me. It gives perspective that most people never get to see.
Climbing back down again was a little less easy. There is something about climbing up something which seems more natural than climbing down. However, I was soon reunited with my camera and then finished the last couple of levels. I will take good note of the advice about not bruising your knees as the ladder angle changes. I might have bashed them once or twice. Also, next time I shall make sure to have a strap to allow me to carry the better cameras with me!
The presence of JBLM south of Tacoma means that there are plenty of military helicopters operating in the Seattle area. I got lucky late in one day when a Chinook called up on approach. They weren’t landing at the field but just flying through. I got a good view of it as it came in to the field. They then turned downwind to depart providing a background view as a local JetRanger came in to land. I am not a big fan of the sand finish used on the Chinooks these days but they do pick up the light.
The rail bridge just downstream of the locks at Ballard has been photographed by me many times. However, recently I found myself on the south side of the bridge for the first time. Why I haven’t been there before, I cannot say. It puts you on the better side not only for the light but also for the angles. The train crosses the road after it leaves the bridge so you can be more in line with the bridge or you can walk down to the shoreline and look back at it. Needless to say, I did both!
I talked about the Snoqualmie Valley Trail in an earlier post and mentioned how much lichen there is growing on the trees. I had the longer lens with me on my walk so I tried a few things to get some shots of the patterns and textures on the branches. I even tried focus stacking on one of them to see whether I could get more detail in to the lichen itself. The Pacific Northwest has plenty of areas that get very damp and are almost like rainforests in their conditions. Consequently, these lichen covered trees are easy to find.
My trip to get the G600 on a rainy Saturday meant a little time to shoot some of the other arrivals. The conditions were incredibly variable. It was hammering down at some points and then sunny for a little while before raining again. I shot a few jets twice as they got to the threshold before going around and having a second go at it. The Alaska Cargo 737-700BCF was a lot better the second time.
One of the jets broke off the approach before it even got too close. Looks like the crews were earning their checks that day. As an aside, I had a tree fall a short distance from me while I was shooting these arrivals. There was a loud cracking noise and then the tree gently fell to the ground. First time I have seen that.
