View allAll Photos Tagged PlaneWatching
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.
Great day for watching planes! Picture perfect skies, nice temps, not too windy. The day got off with some excitement. The first batch of planes were taking off to the NE and then they changed runways - just as the B-2s were taxiing. We had to make the quick shuffle from the Speedway location to the Cheyenne area. We missed the first B-2 but caught the second one. This is a nice location for spotting - except you get mostly belly shots. Oh well, you can't have everything you want! I took these photos at Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada in early February 2021.
I flew into LAX at the end of March 2022 to attend WonderCon in Anaheim. I came down early to do some plane watching and aviation photography. Because of the insane price of rental cars and gas I opted to stay at the H Hotel, famous for their 12th floor terrace. Air traffic definitely has picked up since my last visit. A lot of heavies were active and international traffic seems back to normal. About the only negatives were very few special liveries and the same murky, gray, blah sky that always happens when I'm there. Oh well, maybe next time!
I took these photos at the end of March 2022 at LAX.
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.
This was going to be a beach day but Mother Nature had other thoughts. Very cold, blustery day with periods of heavy rain. Most of the traffic was arriving on the 26s. Since I'm not very familiar with KMIA I couldn't find any good spots for photography. I ended up back at the Holes and it was actually pretty decent. All in all, not a bad day, but definitely not beach weather.
I took these photos in mid-February 2021 around Miami International Airport.
We were in Las Vegas to check out the air traffic at Nellis AFB but we stayed at the LaQuinta with a view of LAS. My wife wanted to hit the outlet malls but since they didn't open until 10 am I could watch from the room and then found a spot on Sunset while she was shopping. The pandemic really cut air traffic to LAS so it was mostly routine stuff - nothing very exciting.
Side note - the day after we left, so dude scaled the fenced and climbed on the wing of an Alaska flight getting ready to take-off. How bizarre. Also, one on the Virgin Atlantic 747s made its last flight before heading off to Pima for retirement. I wish we would have know that!
I took these photos in mid-December 2020.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
I flew into LAX at the end of March 2022 to attend WonderCon in Anaheim. I came down early to do some plane watching and aviation photography. Because of the insane price of rental cars and gas I opted to stay at the H Hotel, famous for their 12th floor terrace. Air traffic definitely has picked up since my last visit. A lot of heavies were active and international traffic seems back to normal. About the only negatives were very few special liveries and the same murky, gray, blah sky that always happens when I'm there. Oh well, maybe next time!
I took these photos at the end of March 2022 at LAX.
Another semi-wasted day at KMIA. Operations were from the East so there wasn't much to see. I spent the morning visiting Wynwood Wall street art before heading back to the airport. Despite extensive searching I still didn't find a good area to watch Easterly operations. Oh well. Around 4 pm ATC switched operations to the west (just like the day before) so I headed to The Holes first and then El Dorado. Interesting weather - sun, clouds, a tropical downpour, and then clearing. I got to see some heavies so all was good. I took these photos in mid-October 2021.
We had a few minutes before returning our rental car so we found a parking lot on Sunset Road and killed some time, Beautiful weather and a nice variety of landings. I took these photos in late January 2023.
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.
Taken on a very bright 3 June 2019 at London Stansted Airport as US President Donald Trump starts a 3 day state visit.
Please see my video of the action here youtu.be/n2yhWeGj-FQ
I wanted to get an early start to our next destination but the wife wanted another chance to see some of the bombers participating at the Red Flag 21-1 exercises. What could I say? We went back to the Speedway area and were lucky enough to catch two B-2s and two B-1s taking off. They are so cool to watch. Overall a very nice trip!
I took these photos outside of Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada in early February 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.
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 had some time to kill before starting my drive back to Las Vegas; I wanted to miss the heavy LA traffic so I went to Clutters Park for a few hours. Good choice. Nice weather to enjoy my coffee and see a bunch of heavies coming and going. I think I left around 9:30 am and had a nice, relaxing drive to Vegas. I took these photos in early December 2022.
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.
I flew into LAX at the end of March 2022 to attend WonderCon in Anaheim. I came down early to do some plane watching and aviation photography. Because of the insane price of rental cars and gas I opted to stay at the H Hotel, famous for their 12th floor terrace. Air traffic definitely has picked up since my last visit. A lot of heavies were active and international traffic seems back to normal. About the only negatives were very few special liveries and the same murky, gray, blah sky that always happens when I'm there. Oh well, maybe next time!
I took these photos at the end of March 2022 at LAX.
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.
After spending (wasting) two days at Nellis I headed back to my hotel near LAS. Beautiful weather so I found a spot in a small strip mall near the LaQuinta and just relaxed. I was fortunate to capture some special liveries and new planes (to me). I took these photos at the end of November 2022.
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 headed over to Clutters Park on a very foggy Sunday morning at the end of July 2021. It was surreal. Visibility was nil at first, varying from dense to almost a whiteout. I could hear the planes but not see anything. Over the next few hours the fog lessened then increased. I could see planes on the ground but they went out of sight about three seconds after takeout. Eventually the fog burned off and things got back to normal. It was a very cool day!!
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 flew into LAX at the end of March 2022 to attend WonderCon in Anaheim. I came down early to do some plane watching and aviation photography. Because of the insane price of rental cars and gas I opted to stay at the H Hotel, famous for their 12th floor terrace. Air traffic definitely has picked up since my last visit. A lot of heavies were active and international traffic seems back to normal. About the only negatives were very few special liveries and the same murky, gray, blah sky that always happens when I'm there. Oh well, maybe next time!
I took these photos at the end of March 2022 at LAX.
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) to Las Vegas 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!
On the last few days of our 2021 trip to Iceland we had to deal with heavy rain and very strong winds. We booked a hotel that was in an old dorm at the ex-USAF base which was almost on the flight line. What a pleasant surprise! The wife was happy to stay warm and dry in the room so she let me go watch planes.
KEF is an interesting airport. Icelandair is the main carrier and they have a large wave of flights from the USA landing around 6 am and leaving for Europe around 8 am. They start coming back around 3-4 pm. Other than that the airport is very quiet. There were a few European airliners and biz jets coming in. What I like best was the unexpected arrivals - planes that showed up on Flight Radar 24 only when they were over Iceland inbound to KEF. There was also a number of US military flights coming in.
The weather was really bad for a bit - I had to lay across the back seat of the rental car with the window down to avoid the horizontal rain. The car was shaking so badly I thought it would turned over. What an adventure! On our flight home we had access to the Icelandair lounge (it's very nice) and had a good view of the airport. I would definitely love to spend more time there!
I took these photos in late September 2021.
Every year the Warhawk Air Museum at Nampa Airport organizes the Warbird Roundup featuring aircraft from the WW II era and some other special visitors. This year's roundup was possibly the best ever - a great assortment of classic warbirds and a F-35A Lighting II from Hill AFB doing a demo flight. Picture perfect weather too.
Advice needed - I need to improve my propeller aircraft photography skill - I'm trying for crisp images and propeller blur but I'm not quite there yet. If you can help please send me a Flickrmail with your recommended settings. Thanks!
I took these photos at the end of August 2022 at the Nampa Airport, Nampa Idaho.
I was in southern Florida in mid-October 2021 and had some spare time so I stopped at the airplane viewing area at Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL). It's a nice area to relax right at the end of the north runway; the only drawbacks are the chainlink fence and heat haze. Air traffic is starting to pick up again so it was busy while I was there. I will definitely be back there!
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) to Las Vegas in December 2020 to get some more photo practice (and for her to do some more shopping). Overall the photos turned out much better but still not where we want to be quality wise - especially when trying to photograph 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!
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 love heading to Nellis Air Force Base 1-2 times a year to catch the Red Flag Exercise. There is usually a really good mix of US and international forces. This year there were RAF Typhoons and a tanker. I understand the Australians headed for it but didn't make it by the time we were there. We lucked out in that many of the takeoffs involved Flex West departures which put the fighters banking right over the Speedway. We had really good weather (except for the wind) and really enjoyed this trip. We were there for 2.5 days in late January 2023.
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.
Beautiful clear day so I drove over to Gowen Field (KBOI) to watch the Warthogs land. By the time I got to my spot the traffic pattern changed so the planes were landing from the East. Grrrr. I went an alternate location but the A-10s had already landed. I stuck around for a little bit thankful the sky was finally clear of wildfire smoke. Better luck next time! I took these photos in October 2020.
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.
Please see my 4K Aviation video of the NATO arrivals including Lockheed C5M x2, Government of Bulgara, Hungary and Netherlands plus Air Force One, Chinook, VH60 Whitehawk helicopters and Turkish Government Airbus A330 and Boeing 747-8
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) to Las Vegas in December 2020 to get some more photo practice (and for her to do some more shopping). Overall the photos turned out much better but still not where we want to be quality wise - especially when trying to photograph 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!
We had a layover at Sea-Tac and took advantage of a day lounge pass for the lounge in the North Terminal. Excellent choice. With our elite status we have access to lounges in many airports and this one was one of the best. Planes were landing and taking off from the South so landing had the planes turning off the runways before we could see them. I took these photos in mid-September 2022 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
I had some time before my flight home to Boise so I found a nice area past Security to do some plane watching. SJC is a lovely airport with good views of the active runway. I was lucky enough to catch a special livery and the arrival of a Zipair 787. Nice way to pass the time!
A little background first. We left LAX for LHR on a Sunday night. Right before we left, I checked the LHR area weather forecast for the next week - it looked great. Chance of rain on one day of the six that we would be there. That sounded too good to be true, and it was. Instead of five days of sun and mild weather and one day of rain we had the exact opposite. Five days of rain and really only one good day. The day before I took these photos it was a complete washout. Activity was on the 09s. On the day I took these photos runways switched back to the 27s but the weather was just pure ugly. It was hard to see anything landing - the planes were in the fog/mist/clouds almost until they touched down. The only good thing was seeing some sort of vapor burn off once the planes were visible. The quality of these photos is marginal due to shooting through double pane glass but I still think they look cool. Lightroom's Denoise option really worked wonders here!
The wife was in the mood to relax and then go shopping so she gave me a day pass. I spent it at the Myrtle Avenue field. What a great day for photography, LHR was very busy and the weather was great - nice way to spend several hours before darkness set in. I took these photos at the beginning of October 2022.
I passed through Denver Airport on the way to Frankfurt and Venice. Pretty ugly day and it was hard to find a good vantage point. Most of the traffic was United - not a lot of variety but I did get some special livery shots.
I took these photos in February 2020.
We had a layover at Sea-Tac and took advantage of a day lounge pass for the lounge in the North Terminal. Excellent choice. With our elite status we have access to lounges in many airports and this one was one of the best. Planes were landing and taking off from the South so landing had the planes turning off the runways before we could see them. I took these photos in mid-September 2022 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
My wife and I liked Red Flag 21-1 so much we decided to check out 21-2. We knew it was going to be smaller so we only stayed for one full day. What we didn't count one was the nasty weather. Blah grey sky, very windy, and cold for the morning takeoffs. Takeoffs were to the SW so we joined up with a bunch of other spotters to watch the planes leave on Cheyenne Avenue. When the fighters take off on the 21R they bank right above your head so you get a mix of belly and side profiles - but it is a cool experience. Tankers and bombers tend to use 21L so you have a better angle but if there were no clouds you would be shooting into the sun. Despite this we had a good time. After the morning rush headed out we moved to the Speedway area for the recovery. All in all a very good day, even if we were turning blue and felt sandblasted.
I took these photos in early March 2021 near Las Vegas, Nevada.