October Twenty First...

Here is a series of images I took on Oct. 21st. @ 7:10 AM. With smoke from the fires and a little inland valley smog blow out to sea by light Diablo wind, we get a incredible sunrise.

USS Unknown is now the former USS Tripoli (LPH-10)

USS Unknown is now the former USS Tripoli (LPH-10), originally uploaded by Kirk Howard.

Can anyone identify this old surplus Navy Vessel? It looks like they are pushing it back to the Benicia Mothball Fleet.

Post a comment if you can identify this vessel.
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Udated 10/21/08:

I found out what this ship is or was. It is the USS Tripoli. She was towed into San Francisco from Hawaii on Friday 10/17. I owe thanks to the San Francisco Citizen bolg for the identification.

LPH-10 an Iwo Jima class amphibious assault ship. Launched on 31 July 1965, commissioned on 6 August 1966. Following three months fitting out at Philadelphia, the amphibious assault ship put to sea on 6 November 1966, bound for the west coast. She transited the Panama Canal at mid-month and arrived at her home port, San Diego, on 22 November 1966.

She was decommissioned in 1995 and as of 2004, she was on loan to the Army, but remained laid up at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. In December 2006, the ship was towed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where it now has a high-tech role as a launch platform with the nation's developing ballistic missile defense program. Three times the ship was towed some 100 miles off shore and used to launch small ballistic missiles, which are then intercepted by Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Missiles, test-fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The last test in the series was performed October 26, when the ship fired a "scud-like" missile, which was successfully intercepted.

The ship will be towed back to the San Francisco Bay Area for the winter. Kaua'i lacks a suitable land-based launch site, and the costs of building one would far exceed the approximately $600,000 per year it costs to use the old warship, so the vessel will return to Pearl Harbor for a second series of tests in late spring 2008

Bonhomme Goes Home...

Bonhomme Goes Home, originally uploaded by Kirk Howard.

USS Bonhomme Richard departs to her home port in San Diego. Taken yesterday as the USS Binhomme Richard passed unde the Oakland Bay Bridges western span.

Breaking Light

Breaking Light
Originally uploaded by Kirk Howard

6:16AM same shot just 36 minutes later in the morning. This is my favorite time of the day to photographs… “First Light”. If you notice I do it a lot.

Before Sunrise

Before Sunrise
Originally uploaded by Kirk Howard

5:40AM I have been here at work for 15 minutes already. It stays darker later and the sun won’t rise for another hour. Sunrise is scheduled for 6:37AM.

Have a nice long weekend and stay cool, it’s going to be a hot one this weekend.

Cheers~

HMS Bounty

HMS Bounty
Originally uploaded by Kirk Howard

My Uncle had the pleasure to gas her up after she had left dry-dock in Boothbay Harbor, Maine in July 2007.

I took this shot in July of this year 2008, as "The Bounty" was leaving San Francisco Bay and passing under the Oakland Bay Bridge. Another picture from my office window.

Replica of original HMS Bounty, built in 1960 for the MGM movie version of Mutiny on the Bounty, which starred Marlon Brando. She is now on a world voyage, reenacting portions of her namesake's voyage to French Polynesia. The first leg took her from the United States to Maryport, on England's western coast, and home of Fletcher Christian, Captain Bligh's master's mate, and instigator of the famous 1789 mutiny. Through September, Bounty will be calling at several ports around England for tours.

Morning Fog

Morning Fog
Originally uploaded by Kirk Howard

Shot this just a few minutes ago at 5:59 AM. The light was great coming up from the East Bay above the fog over Oakland. I just had to snap a few shots.

Alaskan Explorer

Originally uploaded by Kirk Howard

This was the post I was talking about from earlier today. This was the first image I took from my office window. This is the Oil Tanker "Alaskan Explorer". It has bee the largest boat I have seen come past my office window.

Below is the the text from my original post on the blog Click... Here is the
link to the blog http://fisheyestudio.blogspot.com/

I am here

I am here
Originally uploaded by Kirk Howard

I have been a slacker on posting to Office Window blog. I have been out of town and busy at work. I will work harder on posting more.

This is the view from my seat at my desk. I really to look out that window… I turn my head to the right and looking into the San Francisco Bay. Unfortunately the little program that I am using to adjust my pix here at work, will not allow me to fix the blow out highlights from the window. I will run it trough “PS” Photoshop and repost latter.

For those of you who enjoy a big boat, stay tuned. I have captured in the past week some real “Big Canoes”. Sometime I am amazed these ships fit under the Oakland Bay Bridge.

For those of you that can’t wait I posted a Picture of one of the largest tankers I have seen sail past my “Office Window”. Here is the link to keep you satisfied. Click… here.

Stay tuned more to come…

If you would like to view or contribute to the “Office Window” flickr group page Click… here.

Morning Storks

Morning Storks
Originally uploaded by Kirk Howard

7:00 AM and this is the view from the Kitchen window in our office. I thought it looked better as a black & white. Post Production via PicNik @ PicNik.com to edit and upload this image.

July 31, 2008

July 31, 2008
Originally uploaded by Kirk Howard

Another gorgeous morning on the bay... 5:40 AM

Post Production via PicNik @ PicNik.com to edit and upload this image.

Morning Fog

Morning Fog
Originally uploaded by Kirk Howard

Taken this morning at 6:10AM. It's a liitle foggy in the Bay Area today.

Post Production via PicNik @ PicNik.com to edit and upload this image.

Morning Bridge

07-29-08 Bridge
Originally uploaded by Kirk Howard

Taken this morning right after I walked into work. It was still dark
outside 5:45 AM. The picture is a little blurry and the reflection from the
office lights didn't help. I think I solved the reflection problem with the
use of a modified paper coffee cup, to act as a lens hood on my
point-n-shoot.

>

Post Production via PicNik @ PicNik.com to edit and upload this image.