Some of My Favorite Aviation Photographic Opportunities, Volume Two
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
Point Woronzof Road runs along the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport’s western boundary and the Point Woronzof Buffer Park. There’s some space for roadside parking and a small hillside abeam the runway 14 touchdown point. On top of the hill is a series of clearings where wonderful opportunities for airliner spotting and photography exist when the runway is active. Here an Everts Air Cargo C-118A (former military DC-6A) is about to touch down
Stories and photos by Ken Kula.
The phrase “Location, Location, Location” is attributed to either a British real estate tycoon or an earlier advertisement in the Chicago Tribune in the 1920s. Wherever it came from, it is very relevant in the pursuit of interesting aviation photos. Let’s explore the premise that your picture is worth a thousand words of storytelling to the subject’s viewer. Whether your focus is for a historical record, an artsy image, or otherwise, where you are and how your composition falls into place makes a big difference to your picture’s storytelling. Controlling the location, camera equipment and even sunlight can influence your story in a most positive way. Here’s the second of a two-part series containing a few photos where I’ve been fortunate to gain an advantageous location which helps tell my stories… these are mainly of civilian- or commercially owned or operated aircraft and airports. I hope you enjoy their stories.
Alaska’s Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is an important stopover for many flights in between the Americas and Asia. The airport sits roughly in the middle of the continents, and larger international freight-carrying aircraft arrive and depart during all hours of the day and night. It appears that there are as many freight flights as there are passenger flights using the airport. Domestic traffic includes a small number of piston-engined freighters too, like DC-6s and C-46s.
Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-8F wearing special colors holds short of one of Anchorage’s main runways
Boston Logan International Airport
East Boston’s Constitution Beach offers great photographic opportunities as traffic taxies to depart from runways 22 Right and Left. This Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is about to depart for either Frankfurt or Munich Germany
Boston Massachusetts’ General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport sits alongside Boston Harbor. Aircraft approaching and departing must overfly several parks and beaches on their flight path, depending upon the active runways. Lighting direction and runway selection (read: wind direction and speed) can vary greatly, with afternoon changes of wind direction (sometimes called “a sea breeze”) can make for frustrating times as you chase the active runways, but when your timing and the conditions meet in the middle, some great photo opportunities await.
Point Shirley beach and the Deer Island Harbour Walk Park are quite close to the arrival path for Logan’s Runway 27, a busy runway. Here a Qatar Airlines A-350 arrives from Doha, Qatar over Point Shirley Beach
Boston Logan International Airport Old Terminal B
A few decades ago, Boston Logan’s Terminal B used to have a five-story parking garage with a clear view of the western part of the airport, with few obstacles in the way. Then, taller terminal wings were added, and the top floor was closed when a solar panel farm was erected on it. Now, the old parking structure is being removed in 2025 as the Terminal is being renovated.
Boston’s Logan International Airport used to offer a series of favorable spots from which one could take photos of airliners and other commercial and privately-owned aircraft. From the west side of Terminal B, airliners from Eastern Airlines, US Air, Piedmont Airlines and several other now-defunct companies would regularly taxi past you, but you’d be perched up on the 5th floor looking down for a great perspective. Sadly, those days are gone forever due to security concerns and the new additions and renovation of the old Terminal B. Another perch was an actual observation deck in the air traffic control tower, on the 16th floor. All of the control work occurred on the 17th floor and above; the 16th floor offered fantastic views of most of the airline gates. That opportunity is also long gone, as security concerns and the need for more office space for the FAA and Massport caused the 16th floor to be blocked off. Scratch two fantastic photography perches!
During the 1980s and 1990s, an abundance of “commuter” and small regional airlines would feed Boston from airports on Cape Cod and the Islands, Downeast Maine and other New England states. This Gull Air Embraer 110 Bandeirante is most likely shuttling passengers from/to Nantucket, Martha’s Vinyard or Hyannis
National Warplane Museum – Geneseo, New York
This Consolidated PBY-6A Catalina operated from the grass runway during “The Greatest Show on Turf” near Geneseo, New York. The photo ship for this evening was Harland Avezzie’s PT-23A; it took us a bit of time and a short descent to pick up enough speed to catch the PBY. We finally did, but this was the very last frame on my last roll of film I carried during the flight!
The National Warplane Museum sits in a valley in Geneseo, New York. Carved out of a farmer’s field, a grass runway awaits dozens of warbird and classic aircraft for the yearly summertime air show. From B-17s and P-51s to C-47s and T-6 Texans, and “L-birds” of every kind, warbirds operated from the turf field during the weekend. Far from the ordinary, a New York Air National Guard LC-130 once landed on the grass and was open for static display all weekend. An Aero L-39 Jet (maybe Dan McCue’s?) operated from the grass one year too. Military jet fighters flew their demonstration shows over the field after staging from nearby Rochester Airport. Back in the day, pumpkin bombing and a dawn patrol flight in the morning were great opportunities for photos.
My first air to air photo opportunity came at a Geneseo air show. I was invited to fly in the rear of a Canadian Car and Foundry-built Harvard trainer as part of a four-ship formation of the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association. During this hazy early evening local flight, the sunlight had faded at ground level, but we still had some light left a few thousand feet above the Upstate New York corn fields below.
Gravelly Point Park – Arlington, Virginia
This United Airlines Boeing 757 is turning onto a short final approach to land into a southerly wind over Arlington, Virginia, near Washington D.C.. The Potomac River Gravelly Point Park is just north of the Ronald Regan Washington National Airport, and the park allows for great photography of aircraft surprisingly close to you.
The National Parks Service maintains the Potomac River Gravelly Point Park, across the river near the Lincoln Memorial. Indeed, the Washington Monument and the Capitol Rotunda are in sight from here too. You’ll need a wide-angle lens to capture airliners in full frame here, as the proximity to the airliners is quite close.
Looking south again, this Delta Airlines B-757 is about to touch down during a warm Virginia afternoon. A mid-range telephoto lens is all one needs to be very close to the action!
Pan Am Worldport – JFK International Airport
The airliner in this photo – a Balair DC-10 – was the only McDonnell Douglas DC-10 the airline ever flew.
Decades ago, the Pan Am Worldport terminal offered a great photographic vantage point to watch international airport operations at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The roof was a parking lot, and as long as you could use a lens that would fit in between a chain link fence mesh, you could get some awesome photos of jumbo jets. On occasion, an older B-707 or DC-8 still operated passenger services, and Soviet-era IL-62s were rather common too. Delta Airlines took over the Pan Am Worldport after “Clipper” went bankrupt in the 1990s, and a dozen years later the renamed Terminal 3 shut down and the rooftop parking lot was torn down. Another great location for airliner photos had disappeared.
New York Helicopter once operated Sikorsky S-58T helicopters from a gate near the Pan Am Worldport. The Air France Concorde flights operated from gates across the ramp of the Worldport too. The photo opportunities from a flight aboard one of these helicopters was hit-or-miss, and I hit a home run this time as we left JFK bound for LaGuardia Airport. Between the Worldport roof and this opportunity, JFK airport offered some unique vantage points.
Lake Hood Seaplane Base – Anchorage Alaska
A DeHavilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver departs from the Lake Hood Seaplane Base. My vantage point was from a picnic table near the waterway’s edge.
Anchorage’s Lake Hood Seaplane base is the world’s largest and busiest. A canal/waterway/runway runs next to the Alaska State Transportation office building at the edge of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and offers parking and even a picnic table to sit at and watch the amazing parade of watercraft arriving and departing from a canal that runs from the main lake to further parking areas.
A Rust’s Flying Service Beaver fast taxis towards its dock at the Lake Hood Seaplane base in Anchorage, Alaska
Los Angeles International Airport
A Qatar Airbus A-350 departs from the south runway complex at the Los Angeles International Airport. The Jim Clutter park in El Segundo, on a small hill just south of the airport, offers some prime photographic opportunities.
The Los Angeles International Airport operates a pair of parallel runways, with terminal complexes between the two pairs of runways. To the south, the Imperial Hill (sometimes called Jim Clutter Park named after a local city councilor who fought noise pollution and airport expansion) offers an elevated point which allows for unobstructed views of arrivals and departures. To the north side, a famous In ‘N Out Burger shop sits next to the north runways and again, offers an unobstructed view of arriving aircraft. One can spend hours watching a large amount of international flights from either spot.
A different Qatar A-350 arrives at LAX, as seen from the world famous (by airline spotters) In ‘N Out Burger parking lot.
London Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 Spotting Area
A VIP Boeing 747SP from Bahrain is towed in front of the spotting deck on top of the old Terminal 2, also known as the Queen’s Terminal in London’s Heathrow Airport. Behind the jet is the southernmost runway at the airport.
Until 15 years ago, a wonderful spot to capture international airliners at the London Heathrow Airport was on the roof of the old Terminal 2. Although you had to take a few stairways and hallways which seemed to lead to nowhere, once you got out the narrow doorway and onto the plaza your spirits soared with great views of a number of gates and busy taxiways. On Saturday mornings, there’d be a crowd of spotters and photographers, many with notebooks and thermoses of tea or coffee, noting the aircraft registrations with care. The terminal was partly demolished, the rest renovated in the early 2000s, and the spotting perch was scrapped, another great loss!
Swiss International Airlines, formerly Swissair, Avro RJ100 taken from the roof of Heathrow’s old Terminal 2. The airline recorded their last RJ-100 flight in 2017; at one point the airline operated 21 of the airliner type.
Oshkosh, Wisconsin’s EAA AirVenture
Air traffic controllers who practice their trade during an EAA AirVenture Oshkosh wear the coveted pink shirts, giving them high visibility. Not only do controllers work in Oshkosh tower, but out on the airport grounds at the end of runways and at VFR arrival points miles away from the airport. The shirts are attention-getting for safety and recognition reasons.
There’s so much to say about the photographic possibilities while attending an EAA AirVenture Oshkosh event. I’ve been fortunate to have visited the control tower during a busy morning, the mobile runway sequencing platform at the south end of the airport, and the arrival sequencing rooftop platform at FISKE waypoint in the Wisconsin countryside. Closer to the north-south runways are four security towers whose roofs become makeshift photo platforms during an afternoon air show. As a media rep, you are required to register ahead of time, climb up a ladder onto the roof before the flying show begins, and cannot leave until the last act lands. If you step off the ladder, you will land in the FAA’s aerobatic/flying safety area and all but a few Oshkosh attendees have special permission to do that.
Taken from the elevated rooftop of an EAA AirVenture security tower, this Spitfire has great lighting and a pleasing angle that each of the four towers offers
New Hampshire’s First In The Nation Presidential Primaries
2012’s Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s MD-80 jetliner has touched down at the Pease airport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
In the United States, Presidential elections occur every four years. Once in a while the two main candidates appear in neighboring cities; this happened to me in my home state of New Hampshire in 2012. On a Saturday morning, Mitt Romney’s MD-80 campaign jet landed at the former Pease Air Force Base, where the candidate would speak later that day. Within 24 hours, Air Force One carrying Barak Obama touched down in Manchester, just an hour’s drive away. I was able to get photos of both jets just three and two days away from the main election, the one and only time I’ve been able to arrange that back-to-back photo opportunity.
One of two U. S. Air Force VC-25As, this one was carrying the President to a speech in the Manchester, New Hampshire area, just two days away from the national election.
Titusville, Florida – Valiant Air Command Air Shows
Mad Max, a Cavalier-modified P-51D Mustang flies in formation with the C-47 TICO Belle over Titusville, Florida
The Valiant Air Command (VAC), based in Titusville Florida, scheduled an annual air show in March for many years. It was a sure sign that Spring had arrived when many spectators would congregate from snowy New England to partake in the first air show of the year in Florida. The VAC owned and operated a C-47 transport named TICO Belle, and they’d take the cargo door out, set up a cargo web net across the door, and give media representatives a chance for some air to air photography for their magazine and newspaper articles. You could easily get your lens focused on a subject aircraft through the web, as you can see here. The VAC still has various shows and fly-in events at their museum in Titusville.
A quartet of Fuji LM-1s form below and behind the C-47 photo ship. The group joined in formation with us for a few moments, then left the photo orbit area to take part in the ongoing air show a few miles away. The LM-1 was a license-built Beech T-34 trainer later modified into a 4-place communications aircraft by the Japanese Self Defense Air Force.
Abbotsford, British Columbia International Air Show
A Conair DC-4 fire tanker lands on the Abbotsford runway with the imposing Mount Baker in the background.
The Abbotsford International Air Show takes place just a few miles north of the Canadian and U. S. national boundary. Washington’s Mount Baker is a dominant mountain which serves as a grand backdrop for the summertime airshow, many years it is still snowcapped. In 1989, the show attracted considerable attention as a trio of Soviet Union aircraft performed at the venue, a first for a North American show. Conair, an aerial firefighting aircraft manufacturer and operator was and still is based at the airport. Until recently, there were plenty of CS-2 Trackers and a few DC-4/DC-6 tankers on the field which attract attention too.
Abbotsford’s bonanza for aviation photographers in 1989 were these Soviet aircraft – a SU-26M, MiG-29UB and the huge AN-225. This was the first time a North American air show attracted USSR involvement, all three types flew during the air show too.
Toronto, Ontario’s Old Terminal 2 Rooftop Parking Lot
A Boeing 737 taxies to the gate at Toronto Pierson International Airport in the 1980s. This photo was taken from the old Terminal 2 rooftop parking garage which has been demolished and replaced by a newer building without an observation deck or rooftop parking structure.
Toronto’s main airport has always attracted a large amount of European air traffic and the Terminal 2 rooftop parking lot was a great place to see older charter aircraft like Boeing 707s and McDonnell Douglas DC-8s. Cubana would fly a TU-154 in from Havana on weekly flights too. Here’s another case of a great observation deck being lost as upgrading of the old terminal buildings didn’t include a place for photographers to record more of the airport’s history.
A Worldways DC-8-63 is being readied for an international trip from Toronto. Yet again, a prime photography perch has been lost as this terminal was demolished years ago.
