A Presidential Afternoon-KRIC March 9 2012

[NickPeterman]

I am not sure where to start this one. It began when my Step Dad casually mentioned that Obama was coming to Richmond at 11 this morning. When he was planning to tell me, I don't know, but I took off like a shot. I had TFR's, ATC feeds, maps, tower frequencies, etc, open inside of a few minutes. Remembering Dennis and his recent plight, and knowing ,y luck, I knew I was bound to get stopped. So, I got cleaned up and dressed up real nice, hey, may as well go down looking sharp, no? I figure I look better in a suit on the front page of the Times Dispatch than in a T-shirt.

I got down to KRIC well before the TFR went into effect, and the cops prevented me from shooting his arrival. I sulked around various local businesses listening to the tower, and sprung into action when I heard him check in with ground. Today was my first day shooting with my new 7D, I had not even done test shots with it at home. As such, actuation #1 on the camera wound up being Air Force One. I got my shots, thankfully.

And I didn't get detained!


Actuation #1





Getting on I-64 West (he was headed for Houston) and some context for location





And a turn out to the West





I apologize for the monotony of subject, and the scarceness of photos. I hope you enjoyed!



Nick

[lijk604]

Congrats on the shots Nick. Not too many people can claim actuation #1 as Air Force One.
I actually like the shot with the road signs, some people may see clutter, I see composition. Well done!

[Zee71]

Excellent catches Nick, the second shot is sweet with the Richmond Interstate sign. I was in Terminal B awaiting for my departure back to JFK. Unfortunately my flight left before Air Force One arrived. While waiting to depart I was able to get a shot of the C17, looking to the left I believe these are the steps positioned for AF1.

[NIKV69]

Well done!

[coachrowsey]

I agree well done & thanks for sharing.

[NickPeterman]

Thank you guys! The shot with the road signs will be going up on the wall, proof positive that AF1 was here indeed!

Mark, how'd you like our little airport? I was SO relieved to see that C-17 when I got there-I had no real definitive evidence that he was coming down in a VC-25. He had driven down before, and even caught the VH-3D before if I remember correctly. I kinda thought I might get the 757 (AF2) instead. How we went from cloudy and rainy to sunny when he departed was a miracle that I will never understand.



Nick

[viapanam]

Great shots; thanks for sharing. I have to chuckle at the idea of flying from Washington DC to Richmond VA on a B747. It is a 90 minute drive and probably about 90 miles. Nonetheless - enjoyed seeing the pix, and I agree, the sign was a great addition to the photo.

[NickPeterman]

I found it somewhat ludicrous myself. The fact of the matter is that he flew on to Houston directly, hence the use of AF1. I doubt they needed to take on much in the way of fuel at KRIC, having barely flown at all.

[megatop412]

Great job Nick! Enjoy the 7D, I heard it's a hell of a camera

[Zee71]

Nick..........RIC is a nice and quaint airport, definitely a pleasure. I'm not exactly sure what the spotting situation looks like, because I haven't had the time to really scope out the area. Hopefully next I'll have a little more free time to do some shooting. From a traffic standing point it looks pretty slowly with mostly CRJs, etc. One thing I've noticed were a couple of 727's sitting across the field from the main terminal (more near RWY 16). Unfortunately I didn't have any long lenses with me to get a shot of them.

[NickPeterman]

They belong to Kalitta, and they mostly just sit there, tempting me. Let me know next time you are down if you feel like spotting. I'd be happy to meet up with you/ drive you around the field if you have a lengthy layover.



Nick

[JDANDO]

Good stuff Nick. Well done with AF1.