Seemingly Quiet

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is ranked the world's busiest, but you'd never know it from this picture.  In this flyby from around 10,000 feet, the airport looks quiet and empty.

Runways Without Approach

Naval Air Station Alameda, Alameda, California, USA

Naval Air Station Alameda (NGZ) closed in 1997 and has not been used for much since that time.  We took this photo while climbing out of San Francisco International Airport (SFO), which is located just across the bay.

Holding Back Colorado at Nevada and Arizona

Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, and the Colorado River, Nevada and Arizona, USA

Hoover Dam is an incredible structure which holds back the Colorado River to form Lake Mead and provide hydroelectric power and water to millions of citizens in the Southwestern United States.

In this photo you can clearly see the dam, penstock towers, a spillway, Lake Mead, the Colorado River, and the bypass bridge.

This photo was taken near the end of the same flight from which we snapped yesterday's photo of Emory University and the CDC.  Like yesterday's photo, the plane was turning, but instead of climbing, it was descending.  This required being prepared and taking many shots in rapid succession.

We were lucky that there was no cloud cover and that our flight path flew past Hoover Dam where we could see it from our side of the plane.

On Top of the Class

Emory University and the CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

This photo was snapped shortly after take-off as we were making a slow, climbing turn over Atlanta.  Photography from commercial airliners is often difficult because of the aircraft movement, cabin turbulence, window clarity (smudges, scratches, frost), the sun, and our ability to lock in and focus on the subject.

Somehow everything was lined up to get this photo of Emory University and the CDC.  As we often do with our aerial photos, we darkened the photo slightly to reduce atmospheric noise.  For this photo, we also cropped the wing out since it wasn't integral to the photo.

A Grand for Around $400

The Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Overflying the Grand Canyon in a Delta Airlines Boeing 757 cost us about $400 each, but the view was priceless.

Save Me A River

The Everglades, Florida, USA

This was the Florida Everglades back in 2008, looking more wet and lush than it had in years.  A critical part of the ecosystem, The Everglades (aka River of Grass) have suffered from many ailments over the past decades.  Many of these issues were man-made, and it was nice to see that the efforts to fix what we caused were working.

Cities by the Bay

Miami and Miami Beach, Florida, USA

When you hear the phrase City by the Bay, you likely think of San Francisco.  Miami and Miami Beach are also on a famous bay, Biscayne Bay.  We took this shot during a scenic approach to Miami International Airport.  From the west, we overflew the Everglades, came south past the airport over Dinner Key and Coconut Grove, and then circled through Miami to land.

In this photo you can see Biscayne Bay, downtown Miami, Miami Beach, the cruise ships at Dodge Island, US 1 and Interstate 95, as well as the Rickenbacker, MacArthur, Venetian, and Julia Tuttle Causeways.

Where Are the Plains?

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

While we see no waving wheat and no open plains for the wind to come rushing down, we can see that you're doing fine Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city in Oklahoma.  The North Canadian River (bottom of the photo) passes through the city and is temporarily renamed the Oklahoma River for those few miles.

Like so many aerial photos taken from a commercial airliner, the original shot was washed out.  We used Picasa's I'm Feeling Lucky filter to enhance the photo's colors and contrast.

Ted's Happier Days

Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Turner Field (aka The Ted) is the home of the Atlanta Braves.  The baseball stadium began life as Centennial Olympic Stadium for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.  It was later reduced and remodeled to serve The Braves.

This is what The Ted looked like back in January 1999.  We took this photo during a site-seeing flight.  At that time, Turner Field was the pride of Atlanta.  Visitors and residents alike admired it inside and out.

The Braves have announced that they are moving north of Atlanta and will demolish Turner Field once their new stadium is built.

The Braves are reportedly moving to be closer to their fan base, but their move and promise to demolish Turner Field brings a sad and undignified end to an important part of Atlanta's history.  This, in our opinion, is another example of Atlanta's shortsighted outlook on historic sites, buildings, streets, etc.

Winter Wonderland

Southwestern Norway

During a trip to Israel from the States, we made our European landfall over western Norway.  Surprisingly, it added very little mileage to our trip.  This was the amazing view as we soared through the sky.

Shrunk By Sprawl

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Unlike the dense megalopoli of Chicago and New York, many sprawling cities look like a collection of small cities from the air.  Whereas New York is a continuous city of skyscrapers, Atlanta's skyscrapers are spread out in groups.

Farming on the Mighty Mississippi

Mississippi River, Illinois and Missouri, USA

Flying along a river, especially one as storied as the Mighty Mississippi, reminds us of how much of our nation's growth flows from river commerce and agriculture.  These fluffy, low hanging clouds add to the beauty of the river and farmlands.

A Line in the Sand

Subdivisions, Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, USA

This abrupt change from subdivisions to desert is like a line in the sand.

It Only Looks Like Mars

Mountains and Desert, Nevada, USA

It may look like Mars, but this is actually central Nevada!

Sea the Runways?

Victoria Harbour Water Aerodrome, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

The Victoria Harbour Water Aerodrome (YWH), also known as Victoria Inner Harbour Airport, is a seaplane airport for downtown Victoria.  You can see both runways and taxiways in this photo.

A Taxi Longer Than A Flight

Patterson Field, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Greene County, Ohio, USA

The first manned airplane flight by Orville Wright was just 120 feet.  The taxiways at Patterson field, which is part of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, are certainly longer than that.

Wright-Patterson has two airfields, Patterson and Wright.  Wright Field was originally named for Wilbur Wright (the 2nd man to fly, shortly after brother Orville), whose first flight was 175 feet.  Again, not only do the taxiways exceed that length, but so do many airplanes which visit these fields.

We're Not in Kansas

Mid-Continent International Airport (MCI), Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Despite the name, Kansas City (aka Mid-Continent) International Airport (MCI) is in Missouri, not Kansas. The photo's unusual hue was the result of the windows on this particular Beech 1900D aircraft.

The airport has some very unusual architectural features which made sense to the TWA designers, but are less attractive to and functional for modern travelers.  Nonetheless, it's an historic gem featuring a (mostly) single-level layout of three ringed terminals.

Rolling Cigars

Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida, USA

Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood is well known for its cigar factories.  At the Tampa International Airport, you might occasionally see a vintage, cigar-shaped Boeing 737 rolling down the runway.  We took this photo during a fly-by before our final approach.

We're Flying

Somewhere over Tennessee, USA

Sometimes you look out of an airplane window and experience that magical feeling of "I'm flying".  This was one of those moments.

I Can See For Miles

Above Ransom, Kanaas, USA

Sometimes when we fly, we marvel at how we can look out the window and see only farmlands or wilderness.  In this case, looking northeast from high above Ransom, Kansas, we see plenty of farmlands, but no sign of big cities.  Even with cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Atlanta, much of the USA is rural and wild.