View allAll Photos Tagged PlaneWatching
This was a pleasant surprise. We went to bed expecting runway ops to continue to be on the 09s for the next few days. I got up early and noticed landings were happening on 27L. Nice. It was still before sunrise ... and raining ... so not the best light but a good time to practice. Due to the room we decided to hang around the room in the Premier Inn T4 for a bit so I was able to sneak in some more plane watching time.
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!
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.
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!
Photos from my 2nd day at the 22-1 Red Flag Exercises held at Nellis AFB outside of Las Vegas. The morning was very slow but things picked up shortly after noon. A number of fighters took off, followed by 2 B-52s, 3 B-2s, and a number of support aircraft. A major wind event was coming into Las Vegas and I think that led to a lot of last minute Flex West departure cancellations. It also made things very dusty, gritty, and hazy. For recovery operations everyone made a beeline to the Cheyenne Avenue spots. Excellent day but it was freezing by the time the last B-2 landed shortly after sunset. I took these photos on 2/1/2022.
I normally have unusual shooting conditions whenever I fly into LAX. This time it was really wild - Santa Ana winds at a steady 30 mph winds, gusting to 60 mph, reverse operations (always pretty cool), massive wildfires putting up so much smoke (horrible know it was peoples' homes on fire), and VIP aircraft in the area. Simply wow.
I was at Clutter's Park for a few hours and really bundled up. All the signposts and the flagpole were really shaking - we expected them to fly off at any moment. Camera tripods were shaking and almost tipping over. The weird thing was this was an unforgettable day, if you didn't think of the tragedies happening all around LA.
Yet another day of easterly operations at LHR. I was pretty much stuck in the Premier Inn T4 with a sick wife. About all I could see was heavies taking off and other planes taxiing for takeoff. Still, it's Heathrow so it was definitely worth it! I took these photos in mid-April 2022.
Please see my 4K video filmed during Storm Ciara at London Stansted with diversions, go-arounds and plenty of spray and wet weather during gale force winds. www.youtube.com/watch?v=79TKi3qys_k
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
We had to make a connection in DFW for a flight to London so I took some photos from one of the American Airlines lounges. Decent view, not much interesting traffic while we were there, but it helped pass the time. I took these photos in early November 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!
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.
Pictured landing at London Stansted on 29 Sept 2016, this rare Tupolev TU-204-300 is operated by Business Aero and is a corporate TU204.
Please see the video of this aircraft landing here www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4lvWozEUa8
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.
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!
This was an impromptu trip to LAX; Alaska Air was running an airfare and mileage special to lure passengers back after the latest MAX snafu so I took advantage of it for 1.5 days of plane watching at Clutter's Park. Decent weather and for once I had some lovely skies to deal with. I am so glad to see air traffic increasing more every time I come to LAX. I was lucky to capture some rare visitors (for me) and cool special liveries. I took these photos in late February 2024.
I thought the Weapons School Integration exercise was scheduled to take place for two weeks in late November and early December. I was in the area at this time and went to Nellis to check it out. Nothing. There were three B-1s, three B-52s, and a bunch of electronic warfare planes and tankers, but nothing was moving, not even the Nellis based aircraft. I had a sinking feeling when I drove along the Speedway and there were no plane spotters to be seen. I sat around for about 12 hours over two days and saw less than a dozen planes come and go. What a sad experience. Better luck next time!
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.
My wife and I stopped over in London for a few days on the way to Bavaria in October 2022. After we checked in to the Premier Inn I headed to the Myrtle Avenue Field for a few hours. Gorgeous day and a great way to try to overcome jet lag!
Today was forecasted to be nice weather wise - it started off pretty ugly but got a bit better later in the day. I split my time at the South Park area for takeoffs and then switched to the north side to catch some late afternoon activity on Runway 15. Not a bad last day in Anchorage!
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.
Another day stuck in the Premier Inn T4 with a nasty head cold and a sick wife. Easterly ops so everything was taking off on 9R. At least it was a nice day outside. I took these photos in April 2022.
These photos are from our third day of plane spotting at the 21-1 Red Flag exercises at Nellis AFB. After watching many takeoffs to the south in the morning we headed back to the Speedway area to watch the recoveries. What a great day to be outside - perfect weather and we definitely got a good workout watching everything coming home from the training range.
I took these photos near Nellis AFB, outside of Las Vegas, in early February 2021.
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!
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.
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 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.
I flew down to Los Angeles for a few days to do some plane spotting. This was my first airplane trip since February, before the pandemic took off. I was nervous at first but Alaska Air did an awesome job. I decided to skip a rental car this time; instead I stayed at the Homewood Suites/H Hotel near the airport. It has an awesome open air terrace on the 12th floor that has great views of the north and south runways at LAX. Like an idiot, I wasn't paying attention to my camera settings; half the photos were not sharp so I zapped them I was heartbroken by this, however, I will be back.
I was surprised by the air traffic - it wasn't anywhere close to pre-pandemic levels but it was quite busy with many flights from Asia and Europe. Who was on these planes?
I took these photos in October 2020.
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 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 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 love watching planes at Miami International Airport (MIA). There is a great variety of airlines/airplanes, the weather is usually good, and there are several nice spotting spots. I took most of these photos at the El Dorado viewing area in mid-October 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.
We were waiting at the Alaska gate for our flight home. Since it was running late I found a good viewing point and was lucky to get something other than United flights. I took these photos at the end of October 2021.
We drove down to Las Vegas to watch the Red Flag exercises at Nellis Air Force Base. While we were there we spent some time around LAS. While the wife went shopping I spent some time watching landings on 26L. Beautiful weather, nice way to spend a few hours.
I took these photos in mid-March 2025.
I flew into LAX to attend the Los Angeles Comic Con; I added a few days to do some plane watching. As usual I thought I brought the crappy weather with me. The first morning was blah; cold weather, heavy marine layer of clouds, a real dull and boring sky. Fortunately the clouds burned off around noon and it turned into a great day. Since I was staying near Clutter's Park I spent my time there. I was able to shoot some cool special liveries and aircraft/airliners new to me. I took these photos at the end of November 2023, beginning of December 2023.
While editing the photos I noticed that a lot of them were not tack sharp. I was shooting with a recently repaired Tamrom 100-400mm lens - it looks like the repair didn't work. Time to look for a new lens. Bummer!
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.
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.
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.
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 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.