Lake Hood Seaplane Base – Anchorage, AK

It’s been one month since we returned from our cruise to Alaska an in that time I’ve only done a couple of posts from our trip. One about using the P900 as the main travel camera and one giving a general impression of the trip. 

This post is the start of the proper reporting of what we saw. Mind you, I did a number of updates as we were traveling, but those were all with photos from my still capable Samsung Note II smartphone.  

THIS post has the photos and movies shot with my phone while walking around the Lake Hood Seaplane Base in Anchorage.  Them who read that post might find this one boring as the photos are nearly the same . . . but, you know, hopefully, better. 

Before we get to the planes and other sights, let me get a couple of other photos out of the way. These mushrooms were shown in the original post, but these are the P900 versions. 

There are two more versions in the gallery at the end of the post and in the SmugMug gallery HERE. Photos in SmugMug can be viewed full-size. You can click on these photos to see a larger version but less than full-size. 

One other trio of photos that did not make the original post . . . 

I am pretty sure this young eagle (that’s my guess as to what it is) is holding something in its talons. You can barely see it picking at something in the first photo. Unfortunately, it never got close enough for me to really zoom in, and the resolution of these cropped photos are not that great. 

I think I would have gotten a better shot with my 70-200mm lens, but it still would have been small. Anyway, proceeding with our walk . . . 

If you clicked on the link, you could have read a bit about Lake Hood and its history. It was interesting seeing all these float planes tied up along the shoreline. 

I could have snapped hundreds of photos but, instead, I shot only planes with colorings that I liked . . . 

The one I liked the best, as far as colors, is this next one . . . 

Interestingly, this plane did not have an N-number. Since 1960, all fixed-wing aircrafts are required to display their N-number on the vertical surface of the fuselage or tail. Perhaps this was in the process of transferring ownership.

With the N-number, you can check the FAA database for information about the plane. For instance, for the previous plane, you can look up N736RR and get information on the plane and the ownership. 

Anyway, we saw a number of planes take off, this being the first. 

NOTE: these suckers are loud. Lower the volume before playing.

That was across the lake . . . I was impressed with the level of noise, especially since I was near maximum zoom. Here’s a photo of that area from a bit closer.

There is a spot that is ideal for watching planes take off and land . . . 

. . . but I took a few more photos on the way there . . . 

Most of the berths for the planes have an associated cabin. Not all, but those that did put the effort into beautifying the cabins. You can search the Internet for photos of Lake Hood and you’ll see owners proudly standing by their planes and cabins. 

It was only after I snapped this next photo that I realized what was on the windshield of this plane . . . 

It’s frost in the process of being melted away. Odd that because it was in the late afternoon and I was comfortable with just a t-shirt and an open light jacket. 

There are a few movies in the original post, but those were taken with the phone. These were taken with the P900 . . . and here is where I’ll complain again about the position of the buttons of the P900 as well as the balance of the camera. Some of these are fairly jerky until I settled into a position where I could control the camera and work the zoom. I tried having YouTube remove the shakiness, but in the process, they shortened the movies and missed things like the actual take-off of the planes. Hence, you’re getting the original movies as they were shot.

NOTE: these suckers are loud. Lower the volume before playing. 

Planes taking off:

The shakiness is due to the balance of the camera with the lens extended and trying to work the zoom while holding it steady. 

In defense of the camera, I got better and I’m not much less erratic when I shoot movies and work the zoom.

I captured a few planes landing with the phone, but only one with the P900.

Notice the plane is not as loud as when they are taking off. Also, this pilot bounced the plane when landing. My landing experience during the previous Alaska cruise was smooth enough that I didn’t know we had landed (HERE).

Suprise! . . . this is a short post. Here’s the gallery and then we’re done:

That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.

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