View allAll Photos Tagged PlaneWatching
Some aviation photography I did in the morning and evening hours from the Premier Inn Terminal 4 at London Heathrow Airport. It's always cool seeing so many heavies and special liveries. I took these photos in late-April 2022. Once again it was another day of easterly operations - blah!
LAX is a plane watching paradise - it's always busy and there is a great mix of domestic and international airlines. I try to stay near there a few times a year. On this trip I had just finished attending the WonderCon in Anaheim so I stayed a day at the H Hotel, famous for their 12th floor terrace. This terrace provides good views of both the 24 and 25 runways but lighting and obstructions are a problem - but it's still fun! I took these photos at the end of March 2023.
My wife and I spent some time at Nellis in November 2020 - great experience but our photos sucked big time. I think operator error on our settings. We decided to drive back down (10.5 hours) in December 2020 to get some more practice. Overall the photos turned out much better but still not where we want to be quality wise - especially when trying to photography fighters taking off. Any advice? The landing shots look much better but we had better lighting and slower aircraft speeds.
We caught the tail end of one of the weapon school courses so it was a hopping place - we didn't mind that at all!
My wife and I drove to NAF El Centro to catch the Blue Angels practice for their first air show of the season. We were also fortunate enough to see some of the T-45 Goshawks trainers and other aircraft in town for the air show. Excellent day weather-wise. I took these photos in mid-March 2023 - what a great day!
After a pleasant drive from Los Angeles I arrived in Las Vegas on a lovely afternoon. Before heading to the hotel I decided to sit near the end of 26L and watch some planes come and go. Nice choice. A steady stream of planes landing in a beautiful late afternoon sky. I found a spot in a little strip mall and had a really nice view. Not a bad way to spend about two hours. I took these photos in early December 2022.
I took advantage of an Alaska Air fare sale to MCO, rented a car, and headed to MIA and FLL for a few days. The photography gods were with me on this trip. Very good weather and a nice variety of airplanes.The only negative was the ongoing construction at the Holes - hopefully it is finished sometime soon.
I took these photos in mid-December 2021 at Miami International Airport.
Beautiful day in London. The wife wanted to sleep in so I had a chance to catch some 27L departures. Since it was bitterly cold we decided to just hang out at the Premier Inn Terminal 4 for the day. When the runway switch happened at 1500 I went to the Myrtle Avenue field. Despite the cold and windy conditions there were a bunch of plane spotters hanging out - that is dedication, or possibly insanity. Beautiful sky make it worthwhile!
Arriving at London Stansted AIrport on 19 Jan 2018 were two Ukraine Air Alliance Antonov An-12BK propeller aircraft. Both approaching 50 years in the air. A great sight and sound, unfortunately photography was a little difficult as direct into low winter sun so some backlighting.
UPDATE - This aircraft crash landed at Lvin-Danylo Halytsky Airport in Ukraine on 3 October 2019 killing 5 out of 8 people on board.
Please check out my video of these two aircraft in 4K Ultra HD here www.youtube.com/watch?v=91LaO6RidRw
Slim picking for this day of plane watching at Miami International Airport. Landings and take-offs were from the east and I have yet to find a good area to watch operations from this end. Late in the afternoon ATC changed operations to the west so I went back to El Dorado for a few hours before sunset. I took these photos in mid-October 2021.
I stopped at the Hibiscus parking garage at FLL to spend a few hours plane watching. Beautiful day outside and air traffic is picking up finally. Unfortunately I didn't pay enough attention to my camera settings and some of the photos are not tack sharp - I hate that. FLL is very spotter friendly and I see a return trip in my future!
I took these photos in mid-December 2021.
I took advantage of some great air fares and hotel rates to make a quick trip to do some plane watching and aviation photography at LAX. The plane watching was great, the photography was iffy due to a lot of heat haze and smoggy blah skies. Most of these photos are from the terrace of the H Hotel/Homewood Suites. From the terrace you get a good view of the approach ends of both Runways 24 R/L and 25 R/L.
Since my last trip here a few months earlier I noticed a big increase in domestic and international traffic. I also shot a bunch of special liveries, 737 Max, and some cool charter flights. All in all a good trip.
I took these photos toward the end of May 2021.
These photos are from our second day the Red Flag 23-1 at Nellis Air Force Base in last January 2023. The day started off good with a bunch of Flex West departures. For some reason which we can't figure out, all the departures switched to straight out departures - pretty boring and not good for photography. Later in the afternoon we headed to Cheyenne Avenue for the recovery operations - and we weren't disappointed but it seems like the heavies landed on 21L instead. Oh well!
After attending the 2022 WonderCon I stayed close to LAX at the H Hotel. I do love their terrace. It was cool to see so many heavies landing. Unfortunately I seem to visit whenever Los Angeles has murky, blah skies - what a bummer. I took these photos in early April 2022.
This WW II vintage aircraft, a B-17 belonging to the Commemorative Air Force, makes an annual visit to the War Hawk Museum. It's always a joy to see her but dang, can we get some clear weather? We are suffering from eye, nose, and throat irritating wildfire smoke. When she was in the air I could hear her long before anyone could see her. Fortunately, checking out my wife is always good for my sore eyes!
I took these photos at the Nampa Airport in mid-August 2021
Please see my video of this aircraft landing at London Stansted here www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPocCC7WOTI&feature=youtu.be
Please check out my aviation video of this aircraft www.youtube.com/watch?v=buHxRePPGCw&t=87s
from London Stansted Airport
#Boeing #Boeing757 #Aviation #Planes #Video
My wife and I spent some time at Nellis in November 2020 - great experience but our photos sucked big time. I think operator error on our settings. We decided to drive back down (10.5 hours) in December 2020 to get some more practice. Overall the photos turned out much better but still not where we want to be quality wise - especially when trying to photography fighters taking off. Any advice? The landing shots look much better but we had better lighting and slower aircraft speeds.
We caught the tail end of one of the weapon school courses so it was a hopping place - we didn't mind that at all!
Runway switch Monday at LHR; morning arrivals on 27L. We had tickets for Phantom of the Opera in the evening so the wife told me to head out to Myrtle Field for a bit before going into London. That worked for me! I took these photos in mid-October 2022.
We had a few hours to kill before turning in the rental car so my wife let me sneak in some plane spotting time. Another reason to keep her. We headed for Clutters Park until it got too cold and windy. We tried to park at the Proud Bird but the parking lot was chained shut so we just parked on a nearby side street that had a number of plane spotters there. Good people! I took these photos near LAX in November 2020.
I had a few hours to kill at the H Hotel near LAX so I made the most of them. Nice crisp morning for photography - and a nice mix of air traffic. LAX is always so cool to watch planes come and go. I took these photos at the end of March 2023.
Operating a charter flight to London Stansted Airport. This is a video capture of the Royal Jordanian Boeing 787 Dreamliner at London Stansted Airport.
Watch the video here youtu.be/PjKILJbbQsk
The wife and I went to San Diego to visit family in August 2021. One of our must do activities is to picnic on Dog Run Beach on Coronado Island. We find a spot almost at the end of the runway at NAS North Island and hope for the best. Air activity is always so unpredictable. On this day no fighters were up and about but we did see a cool mix of trainers, a C-130 dropping paratroopers, and some other rare types (for us) plus a few Navy ships. We had awesome skies and good food too. Definitely not a bad way to spend a few hours!
My wife and I visited Las Vegas to check out Red Flag 21-3, a big exercise for the USAF, Navy, and some foreign countries. It's a great experience watching so many warplanes coming and going. Las Vegas in August is HOT - as in over 100 degrees so we were sweltering. I still can't seem to get consistent tack sharp photos of the high speed takeoffs so I will keep practicing. Any advice is welcome.
I took these photos outside of Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, in early August 2021.
I had a few hours free before my flight home. I went back to a nice spotting area at the end of the 26s for coffee and breakfast. After checking in for my flight I spent time in the American Airlines gate area. I took these photos at the beginning of December 2022.
Whenever I visit LAX I expect murky, smoggy. blah skies, which is what I get most of the time. This Monday was completely different - it was absolutely gorgeous. Crystal clear skies, nice breeze, very pleasant temperatures - wow. Also, international traffic has really picked up and more traffic was on the south runways as 24L is closed for a few months. This was probably my best day at LAX ever!
Slim picking for this day of plane watching at Miami International Airport. Landings and take-offs were from the east and I have yet to find a good area to watch operations from this end. Late in the afternoon ATC changed operations to the west so I went back to El Dorado for a few hours before sunset. I took these photos in mid-October 2021.
We were on a family camping trip to Hood River, OR. My wife loves military planes so we decided to catch of the Air National Guard F-15s based at PDX. We spent a few hours on the parking garage - it was a very sunny and hot day. This was my first time plane watching at PDX. Nice variety of planes but no F-15s this trip. However, we did catch a freshly painted Ryanair 737 MAX heading out. I took these photos in mid-July 2021. I definitely plan on going back.
I took advantage of some great fares on Alaska Air and the Homewood Suites/H Hotel to spend 3.5 days near LAX at the end of March 2021. I did a bunch of aviation photography from the 12th floor terrace of the hotel. I pretty much had the terrace to myself. Great views of both the 24 and 25 runway pairs. The weather was pleasant but it was smoggy/hazy the entire time - bummer. Runway 25L was closed for construction so the south takeoffs and landing were on 25R - nice since it brought landing aircraft closer but there was a lot of construction equipment to deal with. Traffic wise things were picking up compared to 2020 - surprisingly a bunch of flights from China. Domestic and European traffic was also picking up. All in all a very good trip!
I drove from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on a really nasty, stormy day. Since I couldn't check into my hotel yet I went to the Proud Bird parking lot and spent a few hours watching the landings on 25L. I never hit good weather when I visit Los Angeles - today it was just various shades of grey. I think I'm jinxed! I took these photos in early December 2022
What a strange day weather wise - as are most days at London Heathrow. It went from dark, threatening clouds in early afternoon to a cloud free sky about the time of the runway alteration at 1500. Landings were happening on 27R so I took a bus to the Cranford Lane stop and enjoyed myself immensely. Great afternoon watching planes and the clouds roll back in. Very cool mix of rare types/liveries for me to shoot. Ah, life was very good at the moment, and then the weather really took a nosedive over the next three days.
We flew into London from Istanbul on a gorgeous morning in mid-April 2020. I hoped to do some aviation photography and take multiple trips during our 10 days in London but the gods had different ideas. My wife and I both had nasty head colds from Istanbul (we tested negative for COVID). We landed on 27L and I was excited but by the time we cleared Passport Control, collected our bags and headed to the hotel, I noticed planes were taking off on 9R. Believe it or not, easterly operations lasted all 10 days we were there. We barely left the hotel in the first few days. Not a very good start to a long awaited trip.
We had a long travel day getting to London on the prior day. My wife wanted to sleep in so she told me to head out and do some plane watching. With the Heathrow runway rotation landings were happening on 27L in the morning this week. It was a very pleasant morning, nice temps and skies. I did most of my shooting at the Myrtle Avenue field. I arrived shortly after sunrise and there were already people there - that always amazes me!
This was our second day at the Naval Air Facility El Centro. It was also the day before the annual air show featuring the USN Blue Angels so we hoped for a full practice run through. Things were a bit off on this day - storms had passed through all morning delaying things. The Blues finally took off and started their antics when after about 15 minutes Blue Angels 1 and 3 landed and pulled off on a taxiway for about 15 minutes. We didn't see any vehicles approach so we were a bit mystified. They eventually took off and resumed the practice. By then the sun broke through and it was so bright - it made for very harsh shooting conditions. Despite all this they put on a great practice and we really look forward to seeing them again.
I took these photos at NAF El Centro, CA, in the middle of March 2021.
I had a few hours free before my flight home. I went back to a nice spotting area at the end of the 26s for coffee and breakfast. After checking in for my flight I spent time in the American Airlines gate area. I took these photos at the beginning of December 2022.
These photos are from our third day of plane spotting at the 23-1 Red Flag Exercise at Nellis Air Fore Base. After a lovely morning at Red Rock Canyon we got to Nellis around 1330, just as the B-52 was taxiing for take off. Excellent timing. Good weather, still windy, and most planes were doing the Flex West departure - very nice. About an hour after the wave of takeoffs subsided, we went to Cheyenne Avenue to catch the afternoon recoveries. This was one of our best days there ever. Seemed like nonstop action for over an hour. The lighting conditions were awesome - good late afternoon sun right before sunset - especially when the AWACS finished the days activities. Wow!
My wife and I spent some time at Nellis in November 2020 - great experience but our photos sucked big time. I think operator error on our settings. We decided to drive back down (10.5 hours) in December 2020 to get some more practice. Overall the photos turned out much better but still not where we want to be quality wise - especially when trying to photography fighters taking off. Any advice? The landing shots look much better but we had better lighting and slower aircraft speeds.
We caught the tail end of one of the weapon school courses so it was a hopping place - we didn't mind that at all!
This aircraft along with TUIfly Yellow D-AHFW, Jet2.com G-CELG and Transavia PH-HXC is in my video www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQyHr2kjDis
We had a few hours to kill before turning in the rental car so my wife let me sneak in some plane spotting time. Another reason to keep her. We headed for Clutters Park until it got too cold and windy. We tried to park at the Proud Bird but the parking lot was chained shut so we just parked on a nearby side street that had a number of plane spotters there. Good people! I took these photos near LAX in November 2020.
We had not planned on doing any plane watching while on Kauai. We were actually headed to a nearby lighthouse when we were realized we were driving very close to the active runway. Nice area so for the next two afternoons we packed a picnic and came here for a few hours. It's not a very busy airport and most of the traffic is Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest but the setting is awesome, right next to the Pacific Ocean.
Some photos from the Alaska Air gate at McCarren International Airport in Las Vegas. Good day to fly home. I took these photos in mid-March 2021.
I took these photos from one of the parking garages at LAS. I checked in early and had some time to kill so I wandered up to this spotting spot - it was pretty nice - and cold. It was about 35 degrees with a nasty wind blowing. I lasted about an hour before heading back inside. I would definitely come back here again - when it is warmer!
These photos are from a last minute trip I was able to book to London in May 2022. We were there in April 2022 and it was an adventure, not in a good way. My wife and I were both sick and spent most of the time at the hotel. No fun. She knew I was restless and didn't feel complete so she encouraged me to go back. Sounds good to me! I took these photos shortly after arriving on 5/12/2022. Landings were on 27L so I headed for the Myrtle Field for a few hours and then returned to the Premier Inn T4. Great weather and long daylight made for a great return.
Primera Air brand new Airbus A321neo departing London Stansted Airport. The airline launched flights to New York EWR on 19 April 2018, initially using a National Air Boeing 757; this was replaced upon delivery of this factory fresh new engine jet.
Please see the video of the new aircraft on it's first arrival and departure from London Stansted to New York here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyOTvI7vt94&;
This photo actually captures the aircraft departing on the inaugural flight to Boston on 18 May 2018. Frequency on the NYC route has been reduced to allow for the Boston flight, pending delivery of the next aircraft. Once delivered, along with an expected 3rd jet, Primera will operate to NYC, Boston, Toronto and Washington DC
I took these photos from one of the parking garages at LAS. I checked in early and had some time to kill so I wandered up to this spotting spot - it was pretty nice - and cold. It was about 35 degrees with a nasty wind blowing. I lasted about an hour before heading back inside. I would definitely come back here again - when it is warmer!
My wife and I drove to NAF El Centro to catch the Blue Angels practice for their first air show of the season. We were also fortunate enough to see some of the T-45 Goshawks trainers and other aircraft in town for the air show. Excellent day weather-wise. I took these photos in mid-March 2023 - what a great day!
My wife and I went to Naval Air Facility El Centro to watch the Blue Angels' final practices before kicking off their 2024 performance schedule. While we were there we caught some other aircraft doing training or coming in for the air show.
We had a great time there - the weather was awesome and it was fun getting some sun while watching the skies.
I took these photos in early March 2024.
These photos are from our second day the Red Flag 23-1 at Nellis Air Force Base in last January 2023. The day started off good with a bunch of Flex West departures. For some reason which we can't figure out, all the departures switched to straight out departures - pretty boring and not good for photography. Later in the afternoon we headed to Cheyenne Avenue for the recovery operations - and we weren't disappointed but it seems like the heavies landed on 21L instead. Oh well!
I took advantage of some great air fares and hotel rates to make a quick trip to do some plane watching and aviation photography at LAX. The plane watching was great, the photography was iffy due to a lot of heat haze and smoggy blah skies. Most of these photos are from the terrace of the H Hotel/Homewood Suites. From the terrace you get a good view of the approach ends of both Runways 24 R/L and 25 R/L.
Since my last trip here a few months earlier I noticed a big increase in domestic and international traffic. I also shot a bunch of special liveries, 737 Max, and some cool charter flights. All in all a good trip.
I took these photos toward the end of May 2021.