AIR SHOW

Last weekend was the big air show at our local airport, so I took my trusty camera and wandered over to the end of the runway to see what kind of pictures I could get. I lucked out on a few, although it was hard to catch some of those fast-flying jets as they zoomed overhead. The prop planes were much easier. Here's a shot of a "Flying Tiger". That's the P-40 that was used in World War II:

One of the curiosities of the show was a flying wing. I'm told that there were only four of them built and only two are left. I put two pictures together to make the shot below so you can see the plane from both the top and the bottom:

The real stars of the show were the pilots who put their planes through the hoops in dives and climbs, stalls and rolls that looked awfully dangerous to a neophyte like me. You had to admire the guts and stamina of those guys. It's difficult to capture the daring in a picture, but maybe you can get the idea from a shot like this:

Of course, the real noise-maker was the F-18 that streaked back and forth over the runways with a thunderous roar toward the end of the show. I actually got this shot of it with my Olympus point and shoot camera that I happened to be using at the time:

There were any number of military aircraft, many of which I could not identify. Here are a couple of Marine and Air Force planes that performed together:

One performer that wasn't in the show, but happened to fly by as I was taking pictures was this Great Blue Heron. There were also several snowy white egrets flying around in a marshy area at the end of the runway:

I got back out to Bodega Bay again last week and caught this fellow looking me over:

Sometimes good pictures just pop up in front of you. This is one I took the other day as we were taking our morning walk:

That's all for today!

A DAY AT THE BAY

Dickie and I made a trip to Bodega Bay again yesterday so that I could put my new camera lens to work. It wasn't the best day for photography, since there was no sunshine, but there were still some good opportunities.

We saw some wild turkeys again on the way out, but they were too far away for me to take any pictures worth saving. My first good chance to take a decent picture was finding a canary bouncing around through the weeds on the roadside at beach. This was the best shot I got:




We spent quite while at Lucas Wharf where some sea lions were waiting eagerly for handouts from the local fishermen. They didn't get anything while we were there, but they did swim back and forth around the dock and give me a chance to take picture or two. Here's one I liked:



There were plenty of seagulls sitting around, too. I got up close and personal with this guy who was sitting on a post overlooking the water:




The pelicans were present in plentiful numbers, too, as they patrolled up and down the waters edge, looking for a meal. Occasionally, they came soaring overhead as this guy did:




All in all, it was a fun morning for this amateur cameraman. I do want to go back when the sun is shining. That's when my new telephoto lens is at its best.

SUMMER WANES

Here we are in August already! Where does the time go? Well, I know, but it goes so fast! There just isn't time enough for everything a guy wants to do, especially when he gets older and slower.

Dickie and I had a fun trip to San Francisco last week. We drove down to Larkspur on Thursday and took the ferry across to the Embarcadero. Since we expected the tall ships to come sailing by that point around eleven A.M., we waited. Nothing happened, so we finally decided to get a bite of lunch in one of the sandwich shops. By the time we came back, the first ship had already sailed by and, since there were only two of the big ones, we had missed half the show. Fortunately for us, the second ship was even better looking than the first (according to other spectators). Here's what it looked like:

As you can see, there were also many smaller vessels trailing along. There was also a Navy oiler bringing up the rear. It was a good show! The ferry ride itself was enjoyable. It was the first time we had taken that particular trip, although we had visited Angel Island by ferry last year. This ride takes you past both San Quentin and Alcatraz. I snapped a couple of photos at those places, too. Here's a close-up at San Quentin:

And here's a shot of Alcatraz with the Golden Gate Bridge on the left:

SONOMA COUNTY FAIR

I spent a few hours at the fair last week, too. It's free to seniors on Tuesdays, so I packed up my telephoto and drove down on Tuesday morning to see what I could find.

I found that there were other seniors taking it all in:

I found this little porker taking a nap:

And these young people enjoying a swing:

Yes, county fairs can be fun!