Air Force One 1-19-2012 [Archive]

Joe

2012-01-18, 09:02 AM

Thanks for the heads up, I would love to go there and photograph AF1 as I haven't done so yet. Any idea where the best spot to photograph it would be? Thanks in advance.
Joe

moose135

2012-01-18, 09:12 AM

Bayswater Park, Joe. 99.99% of the time, that will be the place to catch his arrival.

gonzalu

2012-01-18, 10:07 AM

Innwood Park is a little closer to the pattern but no views of the airport.

NIKV69

2012-01-18, 11:20 AM

Innwood Park is a little closer to the pattern but no views of the airport.

Lot closer, it depends on what you want. If you want to get the detail of the aircraft and if the sun is out. Inwood that late, this time of year is golden light. With the forecast of clouds Bayswater may give you a better shot though. With that fuselage I would do my sun dance because you could get a great exposure on it with late sun up close.

Joe

2012-01-18, 06:09 PM

Thanks guys for the tips on location, I will try to get there tomorrow by 3:30 so as to not be sitting around for so long. Do the secret service give you a hard time there being in plain obvious sight? I remember a few years back when Bush visited Farmingdale, you couldn't stop for a second without being hassled. Is anyone else planning on attending?
Joe

moose135

2012-01-18, 10:03 PM

I don't know that I'll be out for it - I have some things going on, and it depends on the weather. I've never had anyone - PD, SS, or otherwise - question me when photographing AF1. In fact, I've never seen any LEOs, other than the occasional NYPD helicopter, in the area when I've been at one of the usual spotting locations. That's not to say that someone won't have eyes on you, but you shouldn't have any problems if you are out in a public location.

When GWB flew into FRG in 2004, security was tight, and New Highway, past where the airplane was parked, was probably closed, but you could get to spots to photograph it without a hassle...

http://www.moose135photography.com/Airplanes/Airliners-and-Airport-Spotting/Republic-Airport/JM200403C-32AF198-0001FRG009/633977653_SsCKw-L.jpg

gonzalu

2012-01-18, 10:10 PM

During UN week, some of use shot AF1 standing next to Nassau SWAT and NYPD ... I know during the departure some days later, at Bayswater, I was openly photographing with my long lens on a monopod all while NASSAU PD helicopters hovered and observed me overhead.

It's probably far more dangerous to try and get a closeup shot of the helicopters as they are much more vulnerable than AF1 ... but either way, it has never been a problem for me taking pictures of AF1

1993808
1987939

Gerard

2012-01-18, 10:17 PM

It's probably far more dangerous to try and get a closeup shot of the helicopters as they are much more vulnerable than AF1 ... but either way, it has never been a problem for me taking pictures of AF1

Go down to KJRB when the copters come in and you will have no problem there. Lots of great vantage points.

Gerard

2012-01-18, 10:20 PM

When GWB flew into FRG in 2004, security was tight, and New Highway, past where the airplane was parked, was probably closed, but you could get to spots to photograph it without a hassle...

http://www.moose135photography.com/Airplanes/Airliners-and-Airport-Spotting/Republic-Airport/JM200403C-32AF198-0001FRG009/633977653_SsCKw-L.jpg

Actually New Highway was open when the Pres was on his activities. But the traffic was quite slow from all the gawkers (like me) driving past.

Mateo

2012-01-18, 11:36 PM

Anyone know if the C-17 parked in front of the triple hangars this morning was the same one that arrived a few days ago (03-3125)?

gonzalu

2012-01-18, 11:38 PM

One in the same :biggrin:

http://pictures.mannyphoto.com/photos/i-NnN6gWM/0/O/i-NnN6gWM.jpg

Joe

2012-01-19, 08:02 AM

Thanks for the replies guys. The weather calls for mostly cloudy at that time, at least it's not rain, although they are calling for flurries later in the evening. I will probably go to Bayswater and try my luck.

Joe

2012-01-19, 08:05 AM

Also, for the GWB visit, at one point New Highway was open, however when I got there after work, they had closed New Highway as I tempted to drive down it and was turned away. I had approached from the Conklin side and didn't bother from the 109 end. The only spot where I was able to stop was on the 110 side, oh well.

eric8669

2012-01-19, 08:34 AM

Anyone know if the C-17 parked in front of the triple hangars this morning was the same one that arrived a few days ago (03-3125)?

actually here is the one that landed yesterday 1/18
http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/ac155/southpawcaptures/Becca_shoot-5109.jpg

gonzalu

2012-01-19, 09:55 AM

Sorry ... I thought you actually saw the one yesterday was 03-3125 and were wondering if the same landed on Monday... What I tried to say was that if you saw 03-3125 on Tuesday, it is one in the same that landed on Monday :tongue: You have to love language!

emk1219

2012-01-19, 11:51 AM

Go down to KJRB when the copters come in and you will have no problem there. Lots of great vantage points.

looks like no KJRB for this one,

Instead of his normal route -- a helicopter to Wall Street and then a motorcade that shuts down the FDR Drive or West Side Highway between the financial district and midtown -- Obama will be coming into Manhattan over the RFK Triborough Bridge, said traffic guru "Gridlock" Sam Schwartz, which will likely lead to closing the FDR drive above 63rd Street.
“The Secret Service is really shaking things up a bit,” Schwartz told amNewYork. “Maybe they’re reacting to complaints from lower Manhattan about traffic jams.”
Obama’s first fundraiser, “Cocktails & Conversation with the President” for a cool $15,000 per person, starts at 4 p.m. at restaurant Daniel on E. 65th Street.

http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/obama-back-in-nyc-thursday-for-three-fundraisers-1.3462262

Matt Molnar

2012-01-19, 12:00 PM

looks like no KJRB for this one, Instead of his normal route -- a helicopter to Wall Street and then a motorcade that shuts down the FDR Drive or West Side Highway between the financial district and midtown -- Obama will be coming into Manhattan over the RFK Triborough Bridge, said traffic guru "Gridlock" Sam Schwartz, which will likely lead to closing the FDR drive above 63rd Street.
“The Secret Service is really shaking things up a bit,” Schwartz told amNewYork. “Maybe they’re reacting to complaints from lower Manhattan about traffic jams.”

Last time he was here Marine One landed on Randalls Island and then he limo'd over the Triborough. I doubt they care about traffic at all but I suspect Randalls is a much more secure place to land.

gonzalu

2012-01-19, 02:42 PM

Ah, miss that 59th st Heliport... would have been perfect for this trip

Zee71

2012-01-19, 04:12 PM

Well....they light has gone down the tubes, and they're on the 13s and 22L. I may get lucky catching AF1 from the back yard.

moose135

2012-01-19, 04:50 PM

Well....they light has gone down the tubes, and they're on the 13s and 22L. I may get lucky catching AF1 from the back yard.
Probably not - current active runway has little to do with which approach they make. ATIS has the winds at 6kts - that's not nearly enough to get them to change normal AF1 ops...

Zee71

2012-01-19, 04:54 PM

This is very true!!!

yankees368

2012-01-19, 05:06 PM

anyone have an updated ETA?

ch2tdriver

2012-01-19, 05:08 PM

Cleared ILS 31L approach

yankees368

2012-01-19, 05:09 PM

Runway 31L now

ch2tdriver

2012-01-19, 05:09 PM

Cleared to land w/ tower 31L

Zee71

2012-01-19, 05:15 PM

Yes......31L, NYPD helicopter buzzing around. I didn't bother trying to catch it.........very ugly light.

ch2tdriver

2012-01-19, 05:29 PM

MArine One now up on JFK tower 123.900

PhilDernerJr

2012-01-19, 05:45 PM

Saw two sea knights pass over Astoria. One in Presidential colors, the other in US Navy colors. I'm used to seeing more helos.

Matt Molnar

2012-01-19, 05:47 PM

There was a shooting on a city bus at Mott and Central Aves around the time AF1 landed, in case anyone was out at Bayswater and noticed a bunch of cops.

ch2tdriver

2012-01-19, 05:48 PM

Great scanning today on 123.100 - Helo activity.

"Wheels down now...all wheels down"

Joe

2012-01-19, 06:59 PM

I was at Bayswater all by lonesome, with the exception of a patrol boat or two plus a helicopter circling every few minutes. I just got in, almost an hours drive back to Farmingdale in rush hour traffic. I didn't stay to see Marine1, it was getting dark. I think that I got some great shots as it came right in front of me. It was funny, there was so much traffic, planes landing and taking off. All of a sudden, nothing but a lone helicopter then silence for a minute or two and then Air Force 1 shows up. Although it was getting dark, I swear that the plane was basking in a glow for a minute while it passed as the lighting looked real good through the viewfinder. I will review my shots momentarily and post any good ones.

moose135

2012-01-19, 07:17 PM

It was funny, there was so much traffic, planes landing and taking off. All of a sudden, nothing but a lone helicopter then silence for a minute or two and then Air Force 1 shows up.
That's about the way it usually works - you need to pay attention to the scanner, or he'll sneak up on you. Looking forward to seeing your shots.

eric8669

2012-01-19, 07:27 PM

I had a somewhat unique view of AF1 landing, I was doing a shoot at the allegria hotel in Long beach on one of the upper floors. Saw her bank in for 31L. would have made a nice silhouette. unfortunatley i did not have the right lens on.

Joe

2012-01-19, 07:56 PM

Here are my shots from this afternoon from Bayswater of AF1:

This image looks almost fake, but other than a little cropping, not too much done to it.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6728129649_62a454dce4_b.jpg

Getting closer:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6728129447_cd6e6877ed_b.jpg

Closer:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7007/6728129341_719a2ff407_b.jpg

Passing the tower:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6728129539_73447d3e72_b.jpg

And touching down:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6728129221_8546e672b9_b.jpg

I have shots of him actually touching down, but with the Chinese plane in the background, the image was a little crowded in my opinion, more so than it already is.

Gerard

2012-01-19, 08:31 PM

Last time he was here Marine One landed on Randalls Island and then he limo'd over the Triborough. I doubt they care about traffic at all but I suspect Randalls is a much more secure place to land.

Yup that's what I read also. Makes sense with all his stops Uptown. Plus his motorcade doesnt impede rush hour traffic heading North or into Queens on the FDR. What will be interesting is the forecast for snow showers after 8PM, some steady.

Gerard

2012-01-19, 08:31 PM

Great scanning today on 123.100 - Helo activity.
"Wheels down now...all wheels down"

NYPD uses that as their "company" frequency.

Zee71

2012-01-19, 08:54 PM

Nice set Joe! The first time I saw AF One was very moving, she is one awesome bird.

Gerard

2012-01-19, 09:06 PM

Ah, miss that 59th st Heliport... would have been perfect for this trip

Manny as far as I can remember they never used East 60 Street for Marine 1 and its entourage. The pad wasnt big enough to handle the Big Metal of the
Sea King or Sea Knight. The biggest copter I saw land there was Trumps old Super Puma, the Pan Am Westland WG30 and on one Saturday morning while I
was on Roosevelt Island a Flying Crane landed on the empty pad but landed parallel to the river as opposed to tail to the wall. They were in and out. And I dont
think the size of the pad, its configuration and its location was conducive to Presidential Ops. Would have been cool though.:cool:

NIKV69

2012-01-19, 11:12 PM

Great scanning today on 123.100 - Helo activity.

"Wheels down now...all wheels down"

I think I heard one helo on 119.100 call AF1 "the principal" LOL

yankees368

2012-01-19, 11:24 PM

I think I heard one helo on 119.100 call AF1 "the principal" LOL

haha, I heard that as well. I believe that came from Nassau County helo 5. I laughed when I heard that one.

moose135

2012-01-19, 11:30 PM

Nice work in some tough conditions, Joe!

Mateo

2012-01-20, 12:13 AM

Same reason they use JRB and not East 34th St: E34 has no room to stage all those helos and all the assets for the motorcade (if you've never seen the POTUS motorcade, it's huge - within DC moves were easily 20+ vehicles).

Apparently Nassau PD saw two people on the railroad trestle near 31L and sent someone over to check it out. If that was anybody reading this - not cool.

NIKV69

2012-01-20, 12:52 AM

Apparently Nassau PD saw two people on the railroad trestle near 31L and sent someone over to check it out. If that was anybody reading this - not cool.

You mean the one near 13R? Charles Park?

ch2tdriver

2012-01-20, 10:26 AM

You mean the one near 13R? Charles Park?

I heard that to on 123.100 at the time but decided against posting it until now. SS advised that they had 2 white males on the 'trestle south of 31L' and had NC PD helo check it out. They initially requested a helo who responded that they were 'still at Randalls, do you want me to head over?' At that point they changed the request to someone more local and repeated the description of the perps. I googled earth'd it and hey what a great view of the rollout of AF1 on 31L, but not cool.

I also heard one of the heli's ask "Got an ETA on the Package?" :cool:

NIKV69

2012-01-20, 10:52 AM

I googled earth'd it and hey what a great view of the rollout of AF1 on 31L, but not cool.

Looks tight, there can't be a walkway but yea that would be a great spot to shoot it. Watch for an upload. :eek:

Arinyc

2012-01-20, 04:04 PM

I was at Bayswater all by lonesome,

Hi Joe, there was another NYCAv'er hidden in the reeds... me. I was about, uhm, 500ish yards east of your position. You took some good shots in crappy light conditions. I put a couple of mine on my tumblr (http://arinyc.tumblr.com/post/16153061633/waiting-for-air-force-one), and uploaded one to A.net, but with little hope. Really not the best light. But this is a campaign year, and NYC is where the money is, so we can count on a few more opportunities.

Zee71

2012-01-20, 05:40 PM

Sound like maybe fishermen. I've seen guys in the past from HoBe going to fish near the bridge. Also, earlier in the day, I was spotting from Bayswater and I saw three hunters across by Inwood in their hunting attire, camouflage boat, etc. (at one point I thought I even heard a gun shot). Maybe they were on bird watch patrol for the Port Authority.

Here is a shot from the backyard of 1 of the 3 helio's that passed by.
http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Aviation/Odd-Stuff/i-XvbNtdR/0/M/Helio01JFK19Jan2012HoBe-M.jpg

http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Odd-Stuff/Miscellaneous/i-NKJMrnH/0/M/Hunters01JFK19Jan2012Bayswater-M.jpg

PhilDernerJr

2012-01-20, 09:59 PM

I am kinda doubting they were hunters. I believe hunters are required to wear orange on top of their camo (silly in a way, I know). Also, gunshots are common at JFK from Port to get rid of birds in the area. It's common to hear it a few times a day while spotting within eye-shot of the airport (Bayswater/Hobe).

Joe

2012-01-21, 05:37 AM

Nice work in some tough conditions, Joe!

Thanks Moose!

Joe

2012-01-21, 05:42 AM

Nice set Joe! The first time I saw AF One was very moving, she is one awesome bird.

I was very happy to finally see it in person, I almost wanted to put down the camera and just take it in, like the first time seeing a B-2 or an F-22, but I'd rather have a photograph instead of a brief memory. It's kind of like airshows, I always try to go two days, with the first being a heavy photo day and the second, I try to enjoy the show. Unless I didn't get that shot that I wanted, or our local Jones Beach air show where one day is at the airport and one day at the beach.

Joe

2012-01-21, 05:44 AM

Hi Joe, there was another NYCAv'er hidden in the reeds... me. I was about, uhm, 500ish yards east of your position. You took some good shots in crappy light conditions.

Thanks, I didn't see anyone around, you should have come out and said hello, it's always nice meeting new people.

Joe

2012-01-21, 05:51 AM

I am kinda doubting they were hunters. I believe hunters are required to wear orange on top of their camo (silly in a way, I know).

I'm not a hunter, however my brother in law is a big hunter. They wear something orange so that they are visible to other hunters as to not get shot. It's only during rifle season as some people get excited when sitting still all day and when they finally hear something, they take a shot without fully seeing their target. While not ethical, there are a lot of yahoos out there. No such restriction with the bow as you generally only have a range of 30 - 40 yards at best. As for those guys, their main intent may be to stay hidden as there may be no concern of other hunters in the area. They could be security as well as bird clearers.

Zee71

2012-01-21, 10:21 AM

My Uncle hunted and as stated they were required to wear bright orange stuff to make sure they don't get shot at. I believe they are bird control representatives for the port authority, to keep the bird population in check!

Gerard

2012-01-21, 10:52 AM

I believe they are bird control representatives for the port authority, to keep the bird population in check!

Or the Spotter Population in check!!!:eek::tongue:

Matt Molnar

2012-01-22, 02:05 AM

I did some hunting research, as that sure looks like a rifle standing up just to the right of the guy on the left.

1. They might work for Port, but believe it or not, it is hunting season for a lot of different animals in Nassau and Suffolk right now, including sea ducks. I didn't think shooting outside in Nassau was allowed...but it is.
2. Those birds in the water in front of them: Were they real? Maybe decoys?
3. There's no law in New York requiring orange vests, they're just strongly recommended, especially for big game shooters. Visibility isn't much of an issue if they're out in the open, as opposed to in the middle of the woods.