Helicopter Transfer

Even though the day was rainy and the photos don't look nice, there's something interesting going on here. Usually the ships are pretty quiet out on the water, but today I heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter as the ship was passing. I kept looking into the cloudy sky, so it took me a minute to realize that the Coast Guard 'copter was on top of the ship.

Here a Coast Guard boat is following in their wake.

The pilot boat was alongside but hanging back.

The camera didn't want to focus at this distance, but there is someone in the doorway.

It looks like one guy is still in the door of the helicopter and another guy is on the pole (or whatever you call it; are they still called masts even on a ship like this?) of the ship.

Speaking of poles, the name of this ship is Pole.

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A Gorgeous Day

The day dawned spectacularly blue and balmy.

I took this one mainly to record the name of one more ship. This is the Jin Yue. Although I didn't get any further info, ships can usually be found online these days. By the way, on the left is the new, colorful cap to the railing improvements on the pilots' building.

The other end of the Jin Yue.

I thought I'd drive to Astoria Health Foods to pick up some NADH instead of walking, just because I was feeling so tired, but it seems everyone was visiting the coast on this beautiful day, and the parking spots were all taken. I ended up walking about as far as I would have anyway. It was a nice day to be out. This bench seems to be new. I'm noticing new benches and planters all over downtown Astoria.

My first thought was just to capture the old Art Deco tile in the unused entrance to the Astor Hotel ballroom on Commercial Street, then I noticed the strange "flower" growing the pot. Later I noticed the blue glove on the window ledge. Since they're working on the ballroom, and since people leave their trash in inappropriate places, there's no mystery or story at all, but simply visually I thought it was a kind of fun '30s-style mystery image. No?

This is no mystery, it's the front of Amazing Stories. See today's Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo.

I liked the way the light was playing on the curtains, but you have to click to enlarge in order to see the effect of the old glass.

Coming back, I was struck by the color of the center building, although it doesn't show as well in the photo. Still, I like the image.

This is the sign for Amazing Stories. I'll capture it someday it better light. I think it's one of Astoria's nicer business signs, and the Deco certainly goes with the building.

Here's another bench I hadn't noticed before.

I'm always a little surprised to see kayakers out. There's a kayak rental place on Pier 39, but it's not every day I see them on the water down here. I'm sure there will be more as the weather actually turns into summer.

Evening on the old Englund Marine building. I always love this view, and the pilings are so green right now.

This evening shadow of the deck railings above me always catches my attention, but it doesn't photograph very well. The lines are not sharp. Maybe someday I'll get it.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Sunset Glow

As I looked out the window, I was struck by the magnificent effect of the sunlight reflecting off the vertical parts of this ship below. But once I got onto the deck, I realized I'd have to be quick to catch the more subtle backlighting on the pilot boat. Tricks of the light often take my breath away, and this was one of those times. You may have to click on the photo to see it.

The ship was moving fast, and once I got it into the frame and focused, I'd already lost some of the drama of reflected light.

But it was gorgous. The timing was perfect. It's such an exciting moment to glance outside river and catch something like this.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Boats and Rain

This morning the tugboat Betsy-L passed by my deck in good lighting for a photo that shows some detail, if it's not dramatic. She's the same tug that posed in this dramatic lighting and ended up on my Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo blog.

Six minutes later, at 12:13, the storm had come in.

After work, I drove over to Warrenton to Starbucks and sat in the parking lot for awhile talking on the phone. I became interested in the way the rain on the windshield broke up the sign pole into jagged fragments.

I also especially liked the shape of the bare, damaged tree to the left of the pole and the way the street rippled.

It wasn't all that long before there was blue sky again.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Jan 4, Astoria: Vessels in the Rain

The air was so filled with rain today that my camera didn't even want to focus. The pilot boat Arrow 2 is hard at work with its lights on.

Here the Carl Oldendorff rests at anchor in the Columbia River beyond the radio tower. My close-up was so fuzzy, I could barely make out the name of the ship, and I'm not sure which orange ship that is beyond Carl. It was interesting looking up the Carl Oldendorff online, because I was able to see the ship as it appeared on clearer days here in Astoria as well as in New Orleans, Portugal, and somewhere in northern Germany or one of the Scandinavian countries. I've seen in in the river before, but I don't have a photo posted.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Sep 21, Astoria: Ships, bananas, raccoons

It was gorgeous this morning, with wind on the river churning up whitecaps and cooling the air. We're supposed to have a warm day today (low 80s) and a hot day tomorrow (88 degrees). Anyway, it was wonderful out when I took this photo. It's always interesting to find out what the various ships and boats are about that pass by here - there are so many, and they come in such variety. The boat in this photo is the Hickson, "Portland District's ocean going survey vessel home ported at Astoria, Oregon." It carries state-of-the-art equipment for surveying the bottom of rivers and bays along the Oregon coast i the "dynamically acrtive reaches of the navigation channels." You can read more details about it in this PDF file.

Choppy water, nice breeze.

This next ship is the Essayons. The lettering on it says, "Essayons, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army."

It looks like it's fitted out to do some heavy-duty work. I guess it should, it's a dredge. Here's another photo of it from above. Interesting. It has a helipad at the back. Along with the Yaquina, it's one of two hopper dredges that keep the Columbia River shipping channel open. On a web page that was updated in 2005, it says, "The Dredge Essayons is the latest dredge to be built for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Delivered to the Portland District in 1983, the Essayons helps to maintain the entrance bars and harbors on the coasts of California, Oregon, Hawaii and Alaska." It has a crew of 23, who work one week on and one week off. A lot of the operation of the ship (such as the engine room) is automated. Well, OK. I learned something :)

It was nice on the back deck last night, so I went out there with my camera, fiddling with the flash and nighttime exposure. It would help if I read about it, but I can't seem to learn much from the pamphlet that comes with the camera. I should really figure it out. It just seems so obtusely written. The spot of light under the catwalk is from a window of the pilots' building. The tide is way out, and that's probably mud, but it's close to where the water line was at the time.

Yes, there is something here. If you click on it, you'll see boards and an old tire in the mud. And a banana I dropped. I'm glad it wasn't my cell phone. I think about that a lot when I'm standing near a rail and talking. They used to have hand straps on phones, but no, now you can't get them that way. They're made slick and shiny and SLIPPERY. Why, I don't know. I'm surprised I haven't dropped mine more than I have. Knock on wood. I do try to be careful, but . . . you know? Things happen. Just try to find a case with a stap on it. Not happening.

I promise, the banana looked much better before I dropped it. And no, I didn't try to get it back. I hoped maybe the raccoons would come by and eat it. I hear them sometimes at low tide, and I've seen them on occasion. Apparenlty they dig for clams and dig worms out of the pilings. A couple of times lately after dark when the tide has been out, I've heard a wave crashing in, caused by the wake of the pilot boat or a ship maybe, and simultaneously the screeches of several surprised and angry raccoons. I wonder if I could see them at work if I got the right kind of light? Or would it require infra-red?

Here's the deck at night.

Mysteries and reflections

In the comment section of my Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo blog, Vogon Poet of my adopted sister city, Livorno, asked which ships were in the reflecton below. Today (actually, the day of that photo, since I'm writing this on October 4) there were at least five big ships anchored in the river. The two on the left can be seen reflected in the windows of Baked Alaska's lounge (see next photo below). I took the picture above from Waterfront Park (14th Street Pier), so at this time, Baked Alaska was one block behind me. I didn't take close-ups of the ships today to get their names, but the third photo appears to show that the second from left is the (Something) Wind, rather than the similar-looking Bungo Spirit, which was on the river a few days later. I seem to remember seeing a ship by the name (Something) Wind (possibly Celestial Wind), so I think I have it right. It's hard to read in the distorted reflection. One of the mysteries to me is how the ships appear so large in the windows. They were not moved, since these first two photos were taken only five minutes apart. I've left the top photo large when you click on it, but it's impossible to read the names of the ships.

Leaving aside the explanation for the size of the reflections, I think the picture is simply lyrical. In fact, the mystery and distortion just enhance this effect. The photo below was taken from a different spot on the 14th Street Pier. It was taken 32 minutes after the photo in Baked Alaska's windows. I had wandered around town and again passed the pier on my way back. Below, the reflection is in the waterside windows of the U.S. Customs building.

I've left this photo large, so if you click on it, you can barely make out the name of the ship on the left. The various shipping lines send quite a few different ships through the river. They look similar until you pay attention to the details. Hopefully, I'm going to find more time soon to keep my personal blog up to date. I do love noting the identities of the vessels that move up and down the river, and sometimes stay for a few days.

Aug 26, Astoria: A hazy heron morning on the river

Amazing. It's wonderful to be greeted first thing in the morning by a sight like this. It's rather unusual, too. Although there are quite a few herons on the river, they don't usually fly into my little bay beneath the radio tower. I think this is the second one I've seen this month, but before that it had been quite some time.

Why do they always look like they want to get back at you for something you did? I knew this heron wouldn't be staying long, so I took its photo as quickly and quietly as possible through the mud-splashed window.

I was right. I figured that this is about what I'd see when the heron caught any movement through the window.

I've tried so many times to get the brilliant yellow-gold of the wood chips, and they usually turn out gray. The light was better this time. I love the way they look in the green barges, although I always think about all the trees it took to make them.

Here's the pilot boat Arrow 2 alongside the Belle Nautica. I'll seriously miss mornings like this if I ever have to move.

Oct 17, Part 6 - Paris: Around Cafe Le Zimmer

This is the outside of the Cafe. I may have taken it as we approached rather than as we left. In any case, it shows more of the building, the historic Theatre du Chatelet. The decor of the cafe is at least partly a reflection of its proximity to the theatre, I think.

I love this photo with the guy and the bike and the cafe in the background. I don't know who he is. I don't even know if he looks French. Maybe he's Polish or American.

This is the view of the cafe as you stand between it and the Seine.

The fountain in the Place du Chatelet.

The tower on the left is the Tour St-Jacques, standing near the Place du Chatelet. The tower on the right is in the Place. It's a monument to victory - specifically, Napoleon's victories.

This photo is pretty messy, but I included it because it's the only one I have of a chestnut vendor. We'd been talking about them. I remember more picturesque scenes from earlier trips, where the vendor could be found on cold days with roasted chestnuts; in fact, he could be found with his dedicated push-cart in the park under wide chestnut trees with the brazier burning to keep his hands warm as well as the chestnuts. Visually and romantically this scene can't compare, but the set-up seems to work.

It's "just" another scene of the Seine. I love it.

Here we're looking across the river at the two Medieval towers of the royal palace and Concierge. There is so much inside that building, and I haven't seen most of it. The tower on the right is called the "Tour d'Argent," Silver Tower, because it held the king's money at one time. But it's hard to look it up online, because the restaurant of the same name is so much more famous.

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