JFK 01/11/2011

I was drawn to JFK this afternoon by what turned out to be a no show. FA was showing SVA905 and I wanted to catch it in case it was the normal scheme (caught a white one on Sunday)

Anyway, took a few shots

http://manny.smugmug.com/Airplanes/S...08_MFfks-O.jpg

For Gordon as I always think of his Avatar whenever I see this plane :-)

http://manny.smugmug.com/Airplanes/S...94_dbvT3-O.jpg


http://manny.smugmug.com/Airplanes/S...18_VJU8x-O.jpg

http://manny.smugmug.com/Airplanes/S...86_UginU-O.jpg

Sometimes it pays off to be stuck in traffic :-) After finishing up at Panera when ATC switched to the 4s, I headed down Rockaway Blvd and noticed an American 757 taking off 4R and it looked quite nice since the light was completely smooth! I hear China Airlines 747 check in with tower and get lined up and decided I would try and catch it from the sidewalk on Rockaway (a suicide shot as some call it) I knew it would rotate late as they are usually fully loaded for the long flight. It did not disappoint!

I made the U-Turn and held up as much as I could as it was cleared. I tried to time it and then the traffic and the traffic light in front of the Cargo Center between 22L/R went red and the traffic came to a halt. Perfect. I waited and aimed the lens to my left and as soon as she roared overhead I just aimed and held the shutter. Some came out blurry as there was little light and my shutter speed was already low at ISO 1250 and f/4 wide open. This is my fav of the set.

http://manny.smugmug.com/Airplanes/S...03_SXYMQ-O.jpg

Good Stuff!

WOW ... That last shot is sweet !!!!

thanks guys... that Air China was very exciting to witness, never mind the crappy shot, the light totally sucked! But it was a very very low takeoff...

Great shots Manny! As far as the Air China jet... At least the outside of it is clean... Hahaha

Of course I love LOT 767 :P Good job Manny, I should be back after JAN 20th Hope to catch up with you for some spotting :)

Thanks, Manny. :) I miss my Iberia A340s. Great shots!

Great shots, Manny!! Last one is a really nice angle.

Thanks guys!

@Gordon! Well, you will forever be branded as the Iberia A340 for some reason, I always see this plane and makes me thing of you LOL.

@hiss srq Funny! I wouldn;t say the outside is clean .. some look slightly dingy. You want to see clean, DELTA 767s and 747s, Lufthansa 747, Virgin Atlantic, Egypt Air. American and JetBlue and Virgin America are always clean to me.

I think the real bad ones are United 757s ugh!! oily, dirty scrappy. China Eastern A340, time for a new paint job.

@chrisparypa Looking forward to it! The more the merrier. I got a taste of it when it was still warm to have a lot of spotters around at Panera. It felt great, made me feel strong. Sometimes when spotting alone, I feel like an outsider, people stare. But when I got my peeps!! look out hahahah.