Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:20 pm
Hi everyone...
I decided I would finally take the plunge and try capturing some planes with my Canon 20D I bought last year. I've always been interested in planes, I used to play Flight Simulator 2002 in the mid-2000s, and then five or six years ago I got serious and bought X-Plane 9.
A couple weeks ago an historic military plane came to town, so I went to capture it; it was an exhilarating experience to be so close to the airfield and I wanted to do more. So today I decide to go to a non-official spotting area where planes taxi close to the road (recommended spot by the wiki), and I saw a black cat cross the road. I tend to avoid believing in superstitions but this worried me, as I felt somewhat vulnerable to the airport police. I don't want to be viewed as engaging in suspicious activity.
So I go around the corner to a business park where there's an excellent view of planes taking off and landing, with the ILS and control tower in plain view. It's secluded and empty as it's a Sunday. So I park in a lot (don't know if that's legal) and go to the curb/grassy area away from the street as to not draw attention by passerby's. Again my paranoia and anxiety is heightened, but I knew I had to get over it. And I did, as I got great shots of what looked like a CRJ-900 and a Cessna. Not even 5 minutes later while I'm in the car with the door open, switching batteries and lenses, I see the airport police pass by 50 feet in front of the car, but with another car behind it. It was there for about a minute and then did a u-turn and left. Once again I'm sure it's paranoia, but since I'm so new to spotting I don't know if I'm doing it right.
Sorry if this is an unusual post. If anyone has any tips and advice on the do's/don'ts/rights/wrongs, I'd love to know. I'm sure there are others that were in my situation before.