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I have decided to suspend the use of this blog. Please check out my consolidated blog at Column Six.

September 3, 2011 - Vintage Aircraft Weekend

I attended an Air-to-Air photography class that was offered in conjunction with the Vintage Aircraft Weekend air show at Paine Field. The culmination of the class was a ride in a restored B-25D Mitchell medium bomber to photograph a World War II era fighter. The Vintage Aircraft Weekend is organized by the Historic Flight Foundation.

Here's a side view of the B-25 that shows the 2 window openings we were to shoot from. This North American B-25D Mitchell named "Grumpy" was originally built in 1943 and has been fully restored. It is now one of the beautiful vintage planes in the Historic Flight Foundation collection. More information about "Grumpy" can be found here.



Along with the photo mission our ride was the last flight of the Vintage Aircraft Weekend. After a few show passes over Paine Field we headed for Mount Baker.

The snows of Mount Baker in the background.



The Cascade mountain range in the background



Over the forests of Snohomish County



Banking over Puget Sound



There were four of us situated in the aft part of the plane. This compartment would have been the positions for the waist gunners and the top turret gunner. To allow for these types of flights the actual top turret mechanism has been removed. Although the plane is impressive on the ground it is surprising how little room there is. This photo is taken with a 17mm lens from the back of the compartment.




A view out the top turret



The pilot and co-pilot pose with another lucky passenger.



The F8F Bearcat was actually a last-minute substitute. The original subject plane was to be a P-51 Mustang.



A special plane that was at the show was a Boeing Model 40C that was originally built in 1925. It is the only one of it's kind.



Another beautifully restored vintage warbird.



One of the many formation fly-bys.

February 20, 2011 - Seattle from Kerry Park

I've been wanting to get back up to Kerry Park to capture the stereotypical Seattle sunset shot. The day started out promising with cold but clear weather. Unfortunately as the day wore on the clouds started creeping in. As we neared Seattle we could see that the distant clouds had already obscured Mount Rainier. While we couldn't get the perfect shot with the mountain in the background, it was still clear enough for a good cityscape.

As expected, the park was moderately crowded with obvious tourists, a few hardcore photographers, and not unexpectedly a wedding party. I had to hand it to the bride and the other women present for braving the bone-chilling cold. A bridal gown or semi-formal dress is certainly not the best choice for the conditions.

With an hour until sunset it was apparent that we weren't going to get the golden sunset light we had hoped for. Clouds were already masking the western horizon which would eventually block the sun as it set.

As long as we were there we had to make the best of it. Without the dramatic lighting or clear views of the mountains, I wasn't going to get the shots I had originally envisioned. This one was ok but nothing special.



One thing I had been wanting to experiment with was a technique known as High Dynamic Range (HDR). This technique has been used extensively and in some cases over-used and abused. I think this image was an improvement and didn't go over-the-top as some HDR images can.



Pushing things a bit more with this image.



Here's one with that definitive grungy, over-saturated HDR look.



Here's the obligatory night-time Space Needle image.



As if I couldn't already waste enough hours tweaking images to get them just right; now I have HDR as yet another time-sink to explore. Despite my initial wariness of HDR I am seeing the possibilities it opens up.

January 3, 2011 - Upper Skagit River

From late November until late February the upper Skagit River area is home to numerous Bald Eagles that migrate down from the North. Unfortunately that's also some of our rainiest and grayest periods of weather. While you can always see a number of these magnificent birds, the light and rain are not always conducive to photography. However if it's relatively dry I do try to make it up there.

On this trip up there were quite a few eagles along the river but they were usually too far off for decent photos. I had resigned myself to a few landscapes and headed back home. Along one stretch of the road I saw a couple of photographers with a large lenses. That's always a good sign. There's not a lot of places to pull over along that road but I managed to squeeze onto the shoulder and get my gear out.

Crossing the road, getting over the Jersey barrier and then scoping out the river below I saw an eagle feeding on a salmon carcass.






There were a number of seagulls hanging around hoping to snatch a morsel or two. Occassionally the eagle would vocalize ("screech", "caw", ???). These photos were taken from 95 yards away. (I know this because I picked up a laser rangefinder off of CraigsList.)



After a while a number of eagles appeared. Most of the newcomers seemed content to stand nearby and not approach.



Amazingly, a juvenile came up and snatched a large chunk of the salmon right out from under the first eagle. I was surprised that the first eagle didn't even attempt any resistance.



Watching the eagles landing gives you a unique perspective on the wingspan.



Here's a juvenile flaring out with talons in position.



I did capture two of the eagles scuffling. Actually not much of a tussle as the younger bird quickly submitted.






Another display of the eagle's wingspan.