Tag Archives: KLAX

The APM at LAX is Almost Ready

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If you have ever flown out of LAX, you will know the delights that the road access to the airport provides. The time it can take to get around the loop of the terminals can often be awful. If you are on a shuttle bus looking to get to the other side of the airport, it can seem like forever. Combine that with the offsite rental car facilities and the journey from gate to car and in reverse can be a big deal. LAX is currently building a people mover system. It will connect the new consolidated rental car facility with the terminals and will, hopefully, address a lot of the congestion. The system is in test at the moment and, while I was at my hotel, I got a view of some of the system. Vehicles were on the tracks so hopefully the testing program will go smoothly and the APM will soon be active!

Asiana A380 Takeoff

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While at LAX, I did see two Korean A380s depart in close proximity. Korean Air is buying Asiana (or may have done so by the time this appears) so I imagine this won’t continue for long. The Asiana colors will, presumably, vanish before too long. I decided a bit of video was in order so shot the take off roll and climb out. Below is that video.

A Little Time with Some LAX Arrivals

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A while back I posted some shots from a hotel at LAX that I took at night. The next day, I was also able to work from the rooftop terrace at the hotel which allowed the occasional arrival to make their way into my viewfinder. LAX is a great airport to see some different airlines and types but, like a lot of major airports, it does get a ton of movements that are the same airlines and types. Consequently, you can afford to be picky about what you shoot.

This also means you can get other stuff done most of the time and just keep an eye out for something more interesting when the opportunity presents itself. Even so, I didn’t have a lot of time there with the various other things I had going on so it was not the full selection of interesting arrivals and departures that LAX can offer. Despite that, I was happy to get a few shots of things that interested me at least.

Wrong Lens for Night Photography

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I had a trip that took me to Los Angeles and, while it wasn’t a photography trip, I did take a camera in case I had the chance to get some images. I took the 200-800 as my one lens since I didn’t know what my shooting options would be so wanted maximum flexibility. The only downside to this choice was that this is a slow lens with small maximum apertures. As it turned out, I got to my hotel at the airport in the evening and the roof terrace was open so I had a chance to get some shots of the planes arriving to the norther complex.

Having a slow lens when doing night photography is not the ideal plan. However, you work with what you have. Also, since I know the R3 can produce some good results at silly high ISOs, I figured I would see what I could get. Even at the the max ISO of 51200, the shutter speeds were very low. While I wasn’t always at the full extent of the lens, this was not going to make things easy. There were areas where the ambient light provided more illumination for the planes, but I still went with high frame rates to see if I could get a few sharp results.

Surprisingly, things worked out pretty well. There was definitely a very low hit rate but the fact that I was getting sharp shots at all was very pleasing. The Enhance AI noise reduction in Lightroom could then do its thing provided the shot was basically sharp to start with. This combination gave me results I was very happy with. If I were to be back at this spot another time, I would definitely bring other lenses along that would provide better light gathering capabilities. Even so, knowing that this can work was a pleasant surprise.

Water Treatment Plant by the Pacific

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The departure from LAX takes you out over the Pacific on most occasions.  As you climb out and reach the shoreline, just south of your track is a large water treatment plant.  Oceanfront property would be in high demand, I imagine, but this spot is taken with a far more functional purpose.  The size and shapes involved are quite fascinating to me and I couldn’t resist getting some images as we flew by.

NEO Versus Not-NEO

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For some reason I was thinking about the comparison between the neo and classic versions of the A320 family and it got me wondering whether I had any shots that would provide a good direct comparison between the old and new versions.  The answer I came up with was shots of American Airlines’ A321s departing LAX.  They provided the combination of reliable lighting and similar angles on the climb out.  I was able to put the two together in one shot.  Externally, the differences are there to be seen but, if you are not knowing what to look for, you probably wouldn’t tell them apart.  Given the significant performance increase the neo brings, it would be easy to miss.

Battle Of The Alliances

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The creation of the airline alliances has allowed airlines to serve a wider range of routes than they could sustain themselves.  Part of their obligation as a member of the alliance is to have some of their aircraft painted in alliance colors.  Sadly, these liveries are not that exciting but I suppose it is some variety.  I was quite surprised to get an Air France 777-300ER in SkyTeam colors vacating the runway at the same time a United 777-200ER in Star Alliance colors was taxiing the opposite direction.  I felt like the scene for a stand off but no such thing occurred.

New Bradley Midfield Terminal

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When I was last at LAX, there was plenty of construction underway in the middle of the field.  The Bradley International Terminal was being expanded to accommodate the growth that had taken place.  This was all pre-pandemic of course.  On this visit, it looked like everything was complete.  The new midfield terminal area was looking finished and there were aircraft on the gates including a China Southern A380.  With that fleet due for retirement, that might be my last chance to see one.  Not sure whether I will get to use the terminal or not but it looked good.

Is This Airline Really British?

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I got another new freighter while at LAX although not a great shot of it.  Cargologic has a pair of 747-400Fs in service.  The threshold for the south runways is a long way east of Imperial Hill so it is easy for freighters to stop and turn off before they get past all of he buildings that are in the way.  Consequently, I didn’t get a clear shot of this jet.  At the time I took this, a bunch of restrictions had been imposed on Russian operators as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.  Cargologic is a British registered airline so was not restricted.  Its ownership traces back to Volga Dnepr which is restricted.  Not sure the distinction is a real one but, at the time, it was enough to allow them to keep operating.  I suspect the UK government is not going to look too hard.

Finnair Before Sunset

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The light was getting low in the sky and I was needing to drop my rental car back at the lot to get my flight home but a Finnair A350 was on approach.  I could see it was coming in to the south complex so the Proud Bird parking lot would be the spot for me.  The nice evening light was going to work out well.  I had shot a Finnair A350 once before when one came to SFO but this would be only my second encounter.  No point in missing it.  The sky was warming up nicely so it was hard to miss getting the shot.