IAD 10/15

I spent last week in Richmond, VA on business. My meetings ended on Thursday so I drove up to IAD and stayed overnight for a full day of shooting on Friday. I had planned to hit up DCA and Gravelly Park but couldn't pull myself from the Udvar-Hazy parking lot, the spot was too perfect and there was a near steady stream of traffic all day. I was there from roughly 11-5 and shot just under a thousand photos. The clouds came and went throughout the day but for the most part I was able to avoid being back-lit shooting to the east. I was never once approached or questioned by anyone.

This one day extravaganza was pretty great. I'm still relatively new to the planespotting community, I've only been active for about 18 months. Living and doing business in the Midwest generally means I only get to see the heavies through photos from less geographically-challenged photographers. I added over a dozen new carriers to my library and saw my first 777, 747, and a340 up close and personal.

The weirdest plane I saw was the Piaggio P-180 Avanti II. I knew it wasn't a Beech Starship but it sure resembled one, to my untrained eyes, at least.

The carriers I caught are listed below. Yes, I'm even listing the regionals d/b/a the big guys.

Foreign:
Aer Lingus
Air Canada Jazz
Air France
Austrian
Avianca
British Airways
Lufthansa
Qatar
SAS
Saudi Arabian
South African
Virgin Atlantic

Domestic:
American
Delta
Delta Express
ExpressJet
jetBlue
Trans States Airlines
United
United Express
Virgin America

I was the same way when I returned to plane spotting last october. I was just shooting to get and not miss out. But 1 year later and over 1,600 photos later i've learned more what are good shots and what are not. I also now shoot for quality to improve what I currently have and I dont just point and click anymore. Like tonight I finally got a hammer down shot of a fed ex MD-11 subbing for luftansa cargo MD-11 that usually comes in. Will put them up later with my 3rd dreamlifter catch. Why dont you put some of your photos up for the rest of us to look at?:smile:

For those interested, please see link below. I'm not convinced that my stuff is good enough for jetphotos or airliners.net just yet. http://www.flickr.com/photos/user47/...th/5107987075/