KIAH-Winter 2011

[NickPeterman]

Hello all,

Spent a hectic day and a half at KIAH a while back. Finally got through all the photos, and figured I'd share 'em with y'all and inspire you to get out to Texas someday!


IAH's parking garages allow for incredible access and views of the many terminals, both during the day and at night.


This bird was a former JAL passenger bird that was slated to be scrapped. Atlas jumped in and saved her. I later found out that this was the first photo of her with her new livery :biggrin:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6502537575_2dd4bdbd6b_b.jpg



Unfortunately the weather didn't quite cooperate 100% of the time (so little light we were shooting on a tripod at 3PM :mad:).

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6836709425_716674ab4f_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6485027969_cea9a9f544_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6836709891_51670dda57_b.jpg



How does a plane get this dirty?

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6836710059_3aa677c91e_b.jpg


One of the best locations puts you right above a busy regional jet/turbo-prop area. Lots of Q400s and ERJ's for sure

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6836708625_b9dff43730_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/6836709185_d6314e39a4_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7030/6836714211_f6e86a1681_b.jpg



I'm yet to come up with a suitable caption for this one...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6836710441_c15f5fb0fa_b.jpg



If 777LR's are your thing, IAH gets two of them in a 10 minute window.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7035/6836710681_5c63731d3b_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6836712643_2ab5e5f96c_b.jpg



Depending on the direction of operations, you are perfectly situated to get that touchdown shot, smoke and all.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6836712107_ef3626f340_b.jpg


It's also a great place to shoot the elusive 757-300. They sure do look odd when you are used to -200s.

-200

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6836712485_f29f01c13d_b.jpg



-300

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6836713949_764a2df8df_b.jpg



I had been hunting a Cathay 747 for almost 2 years. While she's only a freighter, it still counts as it's a BCF :cool:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6836714093_9809a7dcd3_b.jpg



IAH at night is far more exciting than IAH during the day for sure.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6836819583_195deaaaf0_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6836819403_264413b507_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6503212777_4d52b74f0a_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6503212685_11c8698665_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6505850329_c79ec18459_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6505849915_78823e58aa_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7162/6505848763_993e8379c7_b.jpg



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6836709605_e1b69146d4_b.jpg


I hope you enjoyed the set! If you're ever looking for an airport to hit, maybe give IAH a try. Although the weather prohibited it, they can get LHR/JFK style banking shots down there too.


Nick

[Roush6NY]

Very nice, Nick ! Really loving the night shots, great work and thanks for sharing

[megatop412]

AF seems to be notorious for operating aircraft with fuselage staining- for a flag carrier to allow this is disgraceful

excellent shots! I wouldn't normally associate IAH with serious spotting with the softness-inducing humidity levels but these look great!

[Zee71]

Nick.........fantastic night shots!!! As far as the Air France, they should be band from landing dirty aircraft like that in the states. Looks like IAH is a spotter friendly place.

[NickPeterman]

Thank you all. IAH is indeed very spotter friendly. A quick call to their security folks to let them know where I was, and I was good to go. Was never bothered once. As far as humidity and IQ was concerned, you are actually very close to the action, which definitely helps. That being said, I could foresee heat haze being a major issue for shots like the Cathay 744 and UniCon day stuff posted above.

As for Air France, it never ceases to amaze me how filthy those aircraft are. Either they simply don't wash them, or they fly them through airborne ash clouds for fun. Strangely the A330, 340, and 380s I've seen from them were clean. Maybe they don't clean Boeing aircraft anymore :)

[steve1840]

Nice set Nick! Some pretty good views from there. The night shots are killer!

[seahawks7757]

Great set Nick!

[nexpos]

Great shots!

[Ychocky]

Great set!

IAH is definitely on my shortlist!

[sporky]

Wow! I really need to make the trek 4.5 hours south soon and explore this great state, well just the airports of the state! Amazing shots!

-Tad

[NickPeterman]

Thanks guys! IAH was on my "to do" list for a while and finally just got it done. Glad I made the trek down from DFW in the end.

[Hiflyer]

Nick,
Brilliant night photos you've captured.
Could your share your camera settings used to take those pictures. I seriously admire those willing to go the extra mile to capture night images, truly amazing & thanks for sharing.

Best Rgds, Hiflyer

[NickPeterman]

I certainly can. I will sit down and copy the exif information for you this evening,




Nick

[Kris V]

Very fantastic Nick, the Continental night shot and the BA 747 is just stunning. :cool:

[moose135]

Great work, Nick! That's quite a variety of subjects, and I love the night shots. Quick question - in a couple of the shots, the UA 752 and Cathay, it looks like an old USAF T-43 on the far side of the field. Was that just out there by itself, or was anything going on with it?

[NickPeterman]

Hiflyer, I swear I haven't forgotten you!


Kris, Thank you so much. That Continental shot was the shot I was most pleased with from the trip. ( I may be dropping you a PM if a possible ANC trip comes together)



Moose, that is indeed a T-43. I asked about it several times, and they all said it has been there for some time. The story I was told was that it came in with some sort of issue, and was being stored (!) but the T-43 has been retired. Someone else seemed to think it was for the firefighters. The mystery of the IAH T-43 remains...



Nick

[Perriwen]

We can now say mystery solved: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/HPD-gets-old-737-for-anti-terrorism-training-1711954.php