8/1/2012 JFK, from Rockaway Community Park
I had gone to my usual 22R departure spot, but the weather that day was a combination of light rain, about 90% humidity and low clouds, meaning I'd get nothing but a lens full of haze. I hadn't gone to bayswater yet, and another park, Rockaway Community Park, came up on my GPS as being closer. Has anyone taken photos from there before? The park runs along side and behind the Edgemere Houses. I'm honestly not 100% comfortable with it from a safety standpoint. I made sure I was long gone before nightfall as opposed to the McDonald's on the Rockaway side of the Cross Bay, where I'll usually stay until nightfall. If you're going to go, you're probably better off bringing a companion just to be on the safe side, and bring a lifetime supply of bug spray because the shooting spot is right on some relatively calm water and surrounded by marsh grass. The spot I shot from is pretty easy to find. Go to the westernmost entrance to the park that is still on the backside of the Edgemere Houses. You should see a baseball backstop ahead of you, with tons of tall marsh grasses to the left of it. Walk towards the backstop. As you go, keep looking to your left. There is a walkway that been carved out, just a dirt path and a small clearing to walk through. Go through there and there should be a small clearing before the water. The views are similar to bayswater, but rotated somewhat. Arrivals on 22L are distant towards impossible, but you can get side view shots as planes taxi towards and across 22R. The main drawing point is that departures on 22R are slightly rotated from head on, whereas bayswater are side shots. If you like shots looking right down the engines, this is as close as you will get for 22R departures. You can get some tower passing shots as well, from a different angle than the shots you get at bayswater. They are slightly less consistent, but they do line up properly. The planes climb rapidly and directly in front of you. You can get numerous shots of the gear coming up as they climb out, simply by following the climb and rotating to the left. You can follow them all the way through tail climb out shots.
I can't speak for anything regarding cops, etc., as I've only gone once. I did see several precinct cars as I looked for a spot to park and as I was leaving. The park is open until about 9, so I suspect the only questions would be cops wondering why some guy wearing a suit was driving through the Edgemere houses near sundown (I had just gotten back from an interview, and didn't want to lose the last of the light by taking the time to go home and change), or the occasional overzealous cop making up laws about whether you can take photos from there. So I'd assume the usual "carry your ID and a smile" rules would apply.
I'll post some representative shots from this spot. I used a Nikon P90. Full zoom slightly into the digital/macro zoom was needed for rotation shots through tower pass shots. You could probably get by with a 300 but wouldn't have a full framed shot. Those with 400 or *gasp* 500 lenses should be fine and then some. Bayswater is somewhere I'd probably more regularly want to go due to arrival shots being feasible, but this spot is great for nearly head-on rotations and gear up shots. Let me know if anyone tries this spot and what you think of it.
-TJK
