Or - Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No!! It's Superpicnic!!
What are you going to do on what appears to be one of the last HOT days left in this Summer of Sizzlin' Heat but go on a picnic.
So, we did.
We're simple folk, so we went to WalMart and got our shopping done and enjoyed the semi-cool air inside the store and then drove over to our park for a lazy Summer afternoon picnic.
Our park is dedicated to Will Rogers and Wiley Post. You can read why below...
It was a huge loss when that plane went down. I'll put some of the other plates from this monument in another post later, but it seems Wiley sorta cobbled together a seaplane. It was more like something built in your garage than something manufactured to specific details.
And, he paid for it.
But we were there for some lazing around after a good meal.
We like to get a sandwich from the store and add a little potato salad to it along with some DC and water and some veggies and chips and, viola!! We've got a real feast going.
Along with the Boom Box so I can listen to my Right-Wing, Whack-O Radio, we have all we need for a day in the shade…from the sun.
See my camera? It's been around two years, give or take 12 months, since I last had it out. I've just had so much fun with the Point-N-Shoots, I haven't even wanted to bring it out. But, well, it's time.
You'll be seeing more of it.
And here it is!! With my Ultra-Wide Lens.
Gives you a nice view of the back end of our little picnic site. Oh, look!! There's the faithful Mini over there on the right side.
Love the Mini.
It was a lazy kind of day. Looking out over Lake Washington towards Mercer Island.
And now we'll have a small, impromptu class on the uses and effect of a polarizing filter.
Rotated in a certain way, it darkens the skies…well, darkens anything bluish.
Compare this to the next picture...
…see the subtle differences? This picture has the polarizing filter rotated so that it allows more of the light to reflect off the blue surface of the lake.
So, rotated a certain way the polarizer allows you to reduce reflections on glass and water and 'see' better into or through them.
I like this effect. Notice the light reflecting off the water. I haven't changed it from the last picture I took. Notice the sky and the water look just a wee bit light.
Now, I'll rotate the polarizing circular filter just a bit and darken the sky and the water...
…and you get this dramatic effect. I really like the way the polarizer can deepen the blues and, for me, make the picture more dramatic.
OK, class is over.
I mentioned this because I've wanted a polarizing filter for my little point 'n shoots for a while. I decided to order a new filter for my Wide Angle Lens (cuz I really don't like the one that is on it) and use the one that I replace by holding it in front of the lens of the point 'n shoot. It's kind of hokey, but what the heck? If it works it works and who cares how it did, right?
One of my favorite sights..seaplanes landing and taking off.
Today wasn't any different as a number of planes took off and landed.
And they share the Lake with all the other folks. Now, mind you, another of the reasons I broke out the big camera was that I wanted to be able to shoot several shots in a row. Unfortunately, my point 'n shoots all pause for about two seconds and then come back up to take another picture. I wanted to have one that shot and shot and shot and shot and…you get the idea.
In this sequence, I shot six consecutive pictures from this point...
…to this point. I've spared you the horrid details (the four pictures in between) and just showed you the first and last pictures.
It was fun, bang! bang! bang! bang! bang! bang! A lot better than, bang! …pause… bang!
A whole lot better.
Oh, and I like the idea of seaplanes landing and people kayaking around them and boats going by with people in tow.
When we arrived we saw these folks from a long distance. It was far and I couldn't tell what they were doing. At first I thought they were out there doing some kind of work…maybe doing some ecological work or…I don't know, something.
I was totally wrong.
They were out there with their dogs knocking back a couple cold ones while cooling off their tootsies in the Lake. I guess right around there the water is shallow. Well, obviously it is. Duh!!
One of the dogs jumped in the Lake with them.
Carol's always on the look-out for birds and spotted this Belted Kingfisher.
The most common Kingfisher in North America and the only one north of Texas and Arizona. Along with terns, they're the only small bird that dives headlong from the air into the water.
A nice addition to our Ospreys, now we have another one to look for.
Then, without warning, this bird came in. The thing was, normally the seaplanes come in from the North and land in the Lake. This one was coming in from the South, over Renton Air Field.
It was a total surprise. All the planes coming from that direction have always been taking off.
Regardless, it was different and it was cool.
I was lucky enough to get this shot of the seaplane landing.
At one point there were three of these planes, all from the same company, either coming or going from the airstrip. Three of them landed and unloaded 4-5 men and the pilot. One of the Customs agents had to come out and check their papers there on the dock.
See the plane on the right? After a while a family group, four adults and two kids came out and climbed in with the pilot. Then they took off over the Lake.
We figure it was a family going on a flight tour around Seattle.
Cirrus Clouds - Thin and Wispy
**Impromptu Learning Opportunity**
The most common form of high-level clouds are thin and often wispy cirrus clouds. Typically found at heights greater than 20,000 feet (6,000 meters), cirrus clouds are composed of ice crystals that originate from the freezing of supercooled water droplets. Cirrus generally occur in fair weather and point in the direction of air movement at their elevation.
We don't, as a rule of thumb, see a lot of Cirrus Clouds round these here parts.
Least ways, I don't think we do.
So, we had a good picnic, saw a new bird, watched the seaplanes come and go, and enjoyed a beautiful and sunny Great American Northwest Day.
All in all it was a very good day.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
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