LGA … Outside and In … 06-15-2007

Greetings,

Yesterday I visited LGA Spotting Site B just south of the GCT pedestrian bridge off the end of runway 13. I avoid shooting from the elevated overpass itself since it’s an exposed visible spot with GCT traffic zooming by below. You know … “guy with black camera and long lens on overpass photographing planes departing La Guardia” … too many eyes … too many cell phones in hand … “if you see something say something.”

So I stuck to the path by the water … good aircraft visibility … plenty of benches and water fountains … relatively secluded with v-e-r-y few people at that hour … perfect.

I began shooting around 5.30pm and stayed at least an hour. Sky was sunny with some wispy high cirrus and the departures from runway 13 were banking nicely on takeoff. The usual domestic air traffic with perfect sun-at-the-back lighting conditions. And I finally caught the daily Frontiers A319-112 that had been eluding me! I even caught some live bird action … an egret family of three and even some gulls in flight. Nice. Like I say … I’m a bird-watcher … of all sizes and shapes.

Later I caught the local Q48 bus to the LGA Main Terminal and found a semi-secluded shooting spot to get some nice parked … taxi … and runway aircraft shots … with not a hint of problems.

Be unobtrusive … blend in … keep the camera gear out of sight when not in use. It works … when there are no T-Alerts.

Mike (shamrock838)

PS - See Photography Forum for what I used (first time) on this field trip.

Hey Mike, you should really look into uploading some of your photos.

Try http://www.photobucket.com to upload.

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Originally Posted by nwafan20

Hey Mike, you should really look into uploading some of your photos.

Try http://www.photobucket.com to upload.

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I'm very close to doing just that ... and a lot of them there will be!

Mike (shamrock838)

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Originally Posted by shamrock838

...Later I caught the local Q48 bus to the LGA Main Terminal ...

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Yeah Q48! That's my bus of choice when going to LGA. Quick, efficient and not too crowded.

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Be unobtrusive … blend in … keep the camera gear out of sight when not in use. It works … when there are no T-Alerts.

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These exact actions are the actions that will raise someone's eyebrow if they do see you taking pictures. There is no reason at all to be "unobtrusive", "blend in", and hide your camera. Really I think you're being ridiculous and a bit overly paranoid. Let me ask you this, why engage in this hobby if you’re scared of what people might think or report? I've spotted there many times with a few people and we've never "hide" our cameras, we have no reason to hide what where doing and either should you.

Mike you ask for a lot of advice which is great and I encourage it but the best advice I can give you is go out, sit back, relax, and enjoy. I tell yah if I was nervous every time I went out spotting I'd sell my camera and give up the hobby. A hobby is there to enjoy, not something that should stress you out every time someone comes walking by.

I have to disagree about being unobtrusive and hiding your camera by saying it works? I hope no one here takes that kind of advice because it’s wrong. We all know that if we follow the laws that any other citizen has to follow we are basically left alone to enjoy what we love. The fact is yes people are going to look at you strange and some might even call the police like many times in the past, but hiding only leads to suspicion. The best thing to do is be open about what we are doing. I can't tell you how many times someone will come up and ask "what are you doing" in a threatening manner. Once we explain what we are doing they too see the fascination in the hobby, including the police. Hiding is not the answer, education and being open about what we do is. So I ask everyone stop the paranoid behavior and just go out and enjoy.

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Mike you ask for a lot of advice which is great and I encourage it but the best advice I can give you is go out, sit back, relax, and enjoy. I tell yah if I was nervous every time I went out spotting I'd sell my camera and give up the hobby. A hobby is there to enjoy, not something that should stress you out every time someone comes walking by.

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Pretty much spot on. Your not doing anything wrong why would try to hide what your doing?

Greetings,

You guys are right, of course. I guess old habits die hard ... but I'll try to "loosen up" as they say.

I'm just not very good at "explaining myself" orally ... so I try to avoid or at least reduce the possibility of situations that might require this ... even though I'm entirely in the right ... as long as I'm in public areas.

I'll just have to try harder ... and thanks for your collective support.

Mike (shamrock838)