Special Subjects |
Over 20 Hot Air Balloons on display were on display at the Salt River Fields Balloon Spooktacular.
The Arizona Sate Fair is a colorful, kinetic event.
Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo is a popular holiday tradition. The dazzling light show features Music in Motion shows, with the lights around the lake and in the trees sychronized to music. The show will run until January 12th.
The Parada del Sol is an annual parade through Scottsdale. It ia a showcase for a wide variety of horses. It also features vintage cars, firetrucks, and some notable local celebrities.
The Parada del Sol is an annual parade through Scottsdale. It ia a showcase for a wide variety of horses. It also features vintage cars, firetrucks, and some notable local celebrities. This year the parade celebrates the centennial of the state of Arizona.
Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 844 pulled the Grand Canyon State Steam Special excursion train from Tucson to Phoenix on Saturday, November 12. Union Pacific 844 was the last steam locomotive delivered to Union Pacific. It is the only steam locomotive in the U.S. that was never retired. After ending freight operations, Union Pacific has kept it operational for excursions.
On Saturday, I caught the train near Recker Road in Gilbert. I waited for it to depart the Gilbert Station at the Guadalupe Road Crossing. I raced ahead of it to photograph it on the bridge across the Salt River.
On Tuesday, I waited for the train at the bridge across the Salt River. I caught it again near Recker Road and at the Florence Avenue crossing in Coolidge. I photographed the crew servicing it in Coolidge, and then headed down to Picacho to catch it crossing Milligan Road. I waited on the Highway 87 overpass for the train to depart from Picacho, then skipped the Casa Grande stop. I drove west on Interstate 8 to Gila Bend and backtracked on Highway 238 to the Maricopa Mountains.
See the locations where I photographed the Grand Canyon State Steam Special in Google Earth.
I will be posting a series of short vintage Air Force films from the 1940s and 1950s that I acquired from the National Archives.
Excerpt from Air Force Film 342usaf14150 Initial Flight Tests of Experimental Fighter and Research Aircraft. The first prototype XP-84 flew for the first time at Muroc Army Air Field with Major Wallace A. "Wally" Lien at the controls on February 28, 1946. It was powered by an Allison J35-GE-7 engine producing 3,745 lbf (16.66 kN). YP-84As differed from XP-84s by having an upgraded J35-A-15 engine, carrying six 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns (four in the nose and one in each wing root), and having the provision for wingtip fuel tanks holding 226 U.S. gal (856 L) each.
I assemble Slideshow Movies from my still images.
Aviation Panoramas slideshow video: I use a Gigapan robotic camera mount to automate the process of taking hundreds of pictures that I assemble into very wide angle, extremely high resolution panoramas. Among my favorite subjects are airplanes and air museums.
I use the interval timer in my digital camera to speed up the action in time lapse movies like this one:
Time lapse movie of monsoon weather over Phoenix, Arizona on July 31, 2011. A large thundercell approaches Phoenix from the southeast. A Haboob blows across the lower frame from left to right. After sunset, lightning flashes illuminate the clouds. Air traffic at Sky Harbor Airport reroutes to avoid the dust and storm clouds. This time lapse movie speeds up the action by a factor of 120.
See more of my time lapse movies.
Check out my collection of videos of planes and trains like this one:
Edwards AFB Open House, October 21, 1995 part 1: Edwards AFB hosted an open house on October 21, 1995. The show featured performances by Lockheed-Martin F-117 Nighthawks, General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons, McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagles, a McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, a Northrop T-38A Talon, A Lockheed C-141A Starlifter, and a Short, C-23A Sherpa.
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The Grand Canyon Railway at Williams, Arizona commemorated National Train Day with a series of short Cataract Creek Rambler excursions pulled by their Baldwin Mikado 2-8-2 #4960 steam locomotive on May 7 and 8, 2011. The price of a ticket was just $15. The excursions ran hourly from 10:00 AM.
A
number of airlines use novelty
paint schemes on their airplanes to attract extra attention.
When I was young, observing the progress of the construction of Claude Bell's dinosaurs at Cabazon was a highlight of family trips between Phoenix and southern California. On a recent trip through the area, I stopped at Cabazon to photograph the dinosaurs and have breakfast at the Wheel Inn. It's a classic diner, the sort of place that Large Marge would drop you off at.
The Grand Canyon Railway at Williams, Arizona commemorated National Train Day with a series of short Cataract Creek Rambler excursions pulled by their Baldwin Mikado 2-8-2 #4960 steam locomotive on May 8 and 9, 2010.
The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is located near the town of Coolidge, Arizona. The big house was constructed of caliche mud by the Hohokam people in the 1200s and 1300s. A culture of communal irrigation fed agriculture propsered in the area for many decades. The compound was abandoned for inknown reasons before the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s. The descendents of the Hohokam may be the Tohono O'odham people.
You can buy framed prints oand greeting cards of this photograph.
Check out my Gigapan panorama blog
I am now a beta tester for the Gigapan robotic camera mount. It automates the process of capturing multiple images to assemble into a panorama. My earlier panoaramas were typically composed of 24 pictures and contained about 70 megapixels. Now I am producing panoramas assembled from nearly 300 images and containing over a billion pixels. My Gigapan ID is GoletaBrian.
You can see all of my calendars and books at my Lulu.com Lockett Books storefront.
Send a message to Brian.
Go to home page of the Goleta Air and Space Museum.