Tag Archives: KSFO

Terminal View from the Shuttle

I was in San Francisco for a work visit a little while back.  I was picking up a rental car so took the shuttle that runs around the terminal areas and then out to the rental car facility.  This trip gives you a view of the apron areas by each terminal.  As you drop away from the central terminal area, you get a good view back across the ramp area predominantly used by United but also other Star Alliance carriers.  I grabbed some shots from the shuttle to give an overview of this area that is otherwise obscured from view.

Coming Over Coyote

Coyote Point on San Francisco Bay is a spot from which I have shot many times.  It provides the closest spot to the approach path for the planes coming in to the 28 runways at SFO.  It is also a pleasant place to hang out with a nice view of the bay, the marina below with plenty of boat traffic and a fair selection of wildlife.  When shooting from Fisherman’s Park, the approach line makes the planes appear to be coming from behind Coyote Point.  Given that it was a nice clear day when we were there, you had a good view of the approaching jets.  Only the widebodies are large enough to show up well but it makes a change from my usual close-cropped style of shooting to go wider and get something with some local context.

Timely Cloud Shadows and Backdrops

My afternoon of shooting at SFO with Hayman was a lot of fun.  However, we were a little thwarted by the weather at times.  Banks of clouds would roll in from the hills beyond the airport at odd times.  Sometimes, there would just be a thin layer of cloud that was over the water but it would, of course, be just behind the flightpath of the jets.  The sun might be on them but, with the cloud behind, a white airliner can be a lot less interesting to shoot.

Shooting at SFO is often about waiting for the international traffic.  Endless Untied jets is not really that special but the widebodies from overseas are the ones you want.  Of course, the weather can choose exactly those times to bring in more cloud.  If the sun disappears for a moment, you can bet it will be when the Cathay A350 shows up or something similar.  You just have to work with what you get and keep looking through the viewfinder for that brief instant when the plane pops into the sun through a small gap in the clouds.

Alaska Livery A320s – Something’s Missing

With Alaska Airlines taking over Virgin America, there is a lot of repainting to be done of the fleet.  I have seen a few of the newer A321neos around in Alaska colors (mostly special schemes) but I hadn’t had any luck with the A320s in the traditional Alaska scheme.  A visit to SFO was bound to change that given that this was the base for Virgin America.  Sure enough I got to shoot a few of the jets in their new livery.  I have to say, I think it looks quite good on the A320.  Of course, there is something of the livery that is missing.  None of the Airbus jets carries the “Proudly All Boeing” graphic.  None of the Embraers do either although that might soon be something they can add before too long!

Three Planes per Shot?

I haven’t shot at Fisherman’s Park before and I am glad Hayman suggested it.  The location provides a slightly different perspective on the planes coming in to SFO.  It also seems to be the right angle to get lots of planes in one shot.  Parallel approaches will give you two but you can also get the aircraft departing off the 01s in the background too.  Sadly, they were often in shade as they departed but it still provided some contrasting shots.  Then it was just a question of whether you could get two arriving and two departing jets in the same shot or not.  Sadly, not this time.

Racing Down the Approach

Shooting parallel approaches at SFO is always fun.  Despite the fact it is a relatively regular occurrence there, it is still a nice photographic challenge.  So often, the approaches are not at exactly the same time and the planes end up being further apart than you want for the shot.  Fisherman’s Park provided an alternative view of the approaches and also gave you new options.  While the jets might be offset, you got them coming towards you, passing you and going away which meant you could use the different perspectives to bring the jets into one frame.

It didn’t hurt that there were quite a few parallel approaches while we were there.  This provided plenty of opportunities to try out some different shots.  It was also good to go wider sometimes to give some context to how the parallel approaches looked.  This is lost if you go too close on them which is something that I tend to do.

Trailing Some Streamers

San Francisco Bay tends to provide a bit of moisture in the air that shows up as vapor clouds in the trailing vortices of approaching airliners.  Before the planes reach Coyote Point, they are often trailing these streamers but, as they get closer to the airport, something about the conditions must change as they do seem to peter out.  However, on some occasions, the moisture content must have been higher as the streamers lasted longer.

Reverse Ops While I Am Waiting

As some recent posts have covered, I made a visit to SFO recently to go up the old tower before it was demolished.  I got to the airport a little ahead of time so had some time along the bay shore awaiting my time slot.  I got some shots of operations while I was there.  The wind was out of the south so reverse operations were in effect which is always an interesting change to things.  The departures to the east are busy and a little different while the arriving jets come closer to you as they touch down and roll out.

The light was a bit subdued but there were a few heavies arriving.  A couple of 747-400s including a Qantas jet and an ANA 777-300ER.  However, the sun did pop out briefly as a Hawaiian A330 departed (presumably for Hawaii).  The sun caught it quite nicely as it climbed and, in the background you could see one of the jets lining up for arrival on the 19s.

Qatar Amiri Flight 747-8 BBJ

Just a quick post this time.  No big description.  While up the old tower at SFO, the Qatar Amiri Flight Boeing 747-8 BBJ was parked across the runway.  As private jets go, this is pretty well up there.  I haven’t been inside so I don’t know whether it is luxurious but I am willing to bet it doesn’t have a utilitarian feel in there.  I doubt I will get to find out though.

Over the Threshold

When the aircraft are approaching SFO from over the bay, they touchdown out of sight of the usual locations on the bay shore.  However, the old control tower provides a better perspective on these approaches.  While you are shooting through some pretty stout glass, you can get a good shot or two of the approaches.  A good example was the Lufthansa Airbus A380.  Watching it come in towards the land, drift across the shoreline and over the threshold before touching down a little way down the runway, you see things in a way that is not often achievable.  Since the tower will shortly be demolished, I doubt I will get something similar for a while.