KLAS April Spotting 4/6 - 4/9/13 Image Heavy

To say that the spotting experience in Vegas is awesome would really be an understatement. For me it's second only to SXM perhaps.
The place offers many locations and interesting juxtapositions. See http://www.nycaviation.com/spotting-guides/las/

(Usually) you can't beat the weather and great light there. I just happened to pick the 4 days that had one overcast and one with rain. Rain on the desert?? :mad:

Met UK spotter Gerry L. out there. What a character and a heck of a nice guy. He's with BA maintenance at LHR when he's not out spotting around the globe. I'd also like to give a shout out to Steve F. for tipping me off to renting an SUV. Necessary for that over the fence shooting advantage. Aside from the inclement weather days, heat distortion was a minor issue. Mainly for those long distance shots with the casino backdrop. My suggestion if you are going there for that- avoid shooting during the summer months when heat distortion is at it's worst.

I'll be adding more images over the next week, or so as I process them.

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The "tulip" lives!
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You can smell the burning rubber when the wind is blowing in your direction.
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sweet shots Don!

Good to see you got some Runway 1 ops. Viva Las Vegas!

Great set, well done !

The new Tower is looking good... I had no issues with Heat Distortion unless shooting on the ground across both runways towards the Allegiant ramps... never shot from the Parking Garage. The SUV is the best thing you can do aside from getting a ladder ... Wind can be a pain too on windy days standing on top of your car could be challenging. But man when the Virgin Atlantic 747 lands, sights and sounds are a joy :smile:

Thanks guys

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Originally Posted by gonzalu

The new Tower is looking good... I had no issues with Heat Distortion unless shooting on the ground across both runways towards the Allegiant ramps... never shot from the Parking Garage. The SUV is the best thing you can do aside from getting a ladder ... Wind can be a pain too on windy days standing on top of your car could be challenging. But man when the Virgin Atlantic 747 lands, sights and sounds are a joy :smile:

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Manny, Strangely, I only had a problem with heat distortion on the parking garage shots (casinos backdrop) not at ground level. The outer edges of the fuselage is where I noticed it most. Also, the window edges tend to get slightly wavy. This is with sharp focus, f/10+, and 1/1000 shutter. Subtle heat distortion, but enough that could mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. A local told me it's almost impossible to avoid heat distortion in LAS during the summer months.

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Originally Posted by Aviation.High.Guy

Manny, Strangely, I only had a problem with heat distortion on the parking garage shots (casinos backdrop) not at ground level. The outer edges of the fuselage is where I noticed it most. Also, the window edges tend to get slightly wavy. This is with sharp focus, f/10+, and 1/1000 shutter. Subtle heat distortion, but enough that could mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. A local told me it's almost impossible to avoid heat distortion in LAS during the summer months.

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Almost impossible? It is impossible LOL. You can see it as early as March from the garage but summer is downright crazy. I slept at Dave's once when I went in June and he thought I was nuts going out to shoot early one morning. He was right.

Don ..... Sweet set, looks to me like hit the jackpot spotting wise if not at the casinos. I need to make it other for some spotting action as well.

Don you did very well out there! The Condor landing is excellent

Thanks Mark and William. Spotting kept me out of the Casinos just long enough that I didn't lose my shirt. :smile:

Here are some more from KLAS...

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Ya gotta love the Janets

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Beautiful Don! Can't wait to take a trip west, probably next break...

Thanks Jared. You wont be disappointed spotting out there. The light is awesome.

Great shots. The Frontier with the Mandala Bay as the backdrop I have never seen before, was that from a location other than the Main parking garage? Looks like you had a great time, pretty hard not to out there even without the great airport. My favorite being the amazing buffets LOL !

Cheers

LGA777

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Originally Posted by LGA777

Great shots. The Frontier with the Mandala Bay as the backdrop I have never seen before, was that from a location other than the Main parking garage? Looks like you had a great time, pretty hard not to out there even without the great airport. My favorite being the amazing buffets LOL !

Cheers

LGA777

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Thanks! The Frontier was from the main garage. Same spot as the others. She rotated early, so that's why
she was at that altitude in front of Mandalay. Head winds were incredibly strong that day.

That Volaris was really up there speaking of the Mandalay Bay

Very nice stuff Don, great traffic, great lighting, and great moments captured, top notch!!

Beautiful shots, Don! I'm hoping to get out there one day--would love to see the Janet's and the Las Vegas Sands fleet!

Thank you folks!

Great stuff! Any of the Las Vegas Sands planes?

Liking the Janet jet also!

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Originally Posted by JDANDO

Great stuff! Any of the Las Vegas Sands planes?

Liking the Janet jet also!

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Thanks man. The Sands 74 was out on the ramp in the usual spot. Didn't bother posting it because
she's been so well covered from that angle by others.

Don, reat stuff! Wish I had been lucky enough to get a Janet Jet while I was there. And you're certainly welcome for the SUV rental tip :)

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Originally Posted by steve1840

Don, reat stuff! Wish I had been lucky enough to get a Janet Jet while I was there. And you're certainly welcome for the SUV rental tip :)

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Thanks Steve. Hey, your overdue for a trip down to this neck of the woods. :smile:

Finally got around to processing more Vegas-

Caesars Palace Gulfstream.
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This one is surreal. Looks like she's sitting on the roof. :tongue:
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One handheld from the garage at night.
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From my seat while we were waiting to deplane.
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Don you were just killin it out there! Great job with the Southwest classic

Thanks again William. It's a ton of fun spotting there. You can really lose track of time- hours go by and you don't realize it.