Something’s just hovering above downtown LA, way off in the distance.

Working near an airport I’m used to seeing planes flying nearby and in the distance. But this afternoon something’s just hovering above downtown LA, way off in the distance.

I figured it was the Good Year Blimp, though I couldn’t tell for sure without the zoom on my camera. (Not that there are any other blimps that frequent the LA skies these days, but you never know.) It’s interesting just how odd it is when something looks vaguely like an airplane from a great distance, but doesn’t move like one. The other day I saw a bird hovering in a headwind. Same sort of “what IS that?” moment before I recognized it.

#losangeles #mountains #blimp #skyline #mtwilson #goodyearblimp #phonewantsmetotypeblimo

The hour grows late, and Los Angeles rises out of the palm trees for another night.

The hour grows late, and Los Angeles rises out of the palm trees, preparing for another night. 😉

Seriously, though, I was trying out different settings on a camera with a good zoom lens.

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In response to KemoNine asking about the haze:

By LA standards, for 11 miles away, that’s crystal clear!

We’ve actually had some really clear days over the last month or so, especially after the winds have blown all the smog out to sea (before they bring all the dust out from the desert a day or two later), interspersed with smoggy days and days when the sky is full of smoke from wildfires in the mountains or canyons. The smoke from the massive fire raging in Ventura is mostly being blown the other way from here.

It’s a lot better than it used to be 20 years ago. A couple of years back on a visit to my parents’, I noticed that I could see the mountains from their front door. I had never noticed that the whole time I was growing up there!

And even that was better than their stories of LA smog in the 60s: outdoor school activities cancelled due to smog, being unable to see the end of a block, observing sunspots directly…

Air quality laws have made a huge difference!

Snow-dusted mountains behind the Los Angeles skyline. Closest we’ll get to a white Christmas, but the day certainly fit the song’s intro!

Snow-dusted mountains behind the Los Angeles skyline. Closest we’ll get to a white Christmas, but the day certainly fit the song’s intro! #losangeles #skyline #snow #mountains

Photo taken at: Kenneth Hahn Park

Snow-dusted mountains behind the Los Angeles skyline. Closest we’ll get to a white Christmas, but the day certainly fit the song’s intro!

#losangeles #skyline #snow #mountains

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Downtown Los Angeles from a distance. Despite the heat, the air is surprisingly clear over the LA basin…

Downtown Los Angeles from a distance.

Downtown Los Angeles from a distance. Despite the heat, the air is surprisingly clear over the LA basin. This is taken from the LAX area with a zoom lens. There’s still some atmospheric wiggling, but you can actually see the spire (and crane) on top of the Wilshire Grand Center, which is now the tallest building in LA.

#losangeles #skyline #zoomlens #dtla #wilshiregrand

Cambridge and the Charles River, #seenthru the railing of the Longfellow Bridge from Boston

Cambridge and the Charles River, #seenthru the railing of the Longfellow Bridge from Boston. The bridge is currently under renovation. I assume repainting is on the schedule.

Photo taken at: Longfellow Bridge

Cambridge and the Charles River, #seenthru the railing of the Longfellow Bridge from Boston. The bridge is currently under renovation. I assume repainting is on the schedule.

@pixlr #bridge #river #skyline #Boston #paint #railing

Comic-Con International – Collage

A sampling of photos my wife and I took at Comic-Con International in San Diego this weekend. The full set is at flickr.com/kelsonv #sdcc #sdcc2014 #comiccon #sandiego #cosplay #doctorwho #rescuerangers #hawkgirl #aliceinwonderland #onceuponatime #skyline

Photo taken at: San Diego Convention Center

A sampling of photos my wife and I took at Comic-Con International in San Diego this weekend. The full set is at flickr.com/kelsonv #sdcc #sdcc2014 #comiccon #sandiego #cosplay #doctorwho #rescuerangers #hawkgirl #aliceinwonderland #onceuponatime #skyline