CONSTRUCTION: Greater Rochester International Airport

Above: A jet plane lands on runway 10/28 at the Greater Rochester International Airport (GRIA). On a cold, windy day in early February we climbed the runway’s farthest East approach light tower and harnessed-in. The afternoon couldn’t have turned out better. Every jet and commuter plane was lining-up for this East-West runway. Each time a jet passed overhead the tower shook noticeably above the regular vibration we were experiencing in the face of 30 to 40 MPH sustained winds—challenging photo shoot conditions.

Before I upgraded to a digital camera system I would hire photographers and direct them. This post contains edits from several photo shoots I arranged and art directed at GRIA to capture finished project work for a customer. As art director I had specific ideas for image capture and composition and developed detailed sketches to work from. Louis Sabo of LRS Images took these photographs under my direction.

Above: After an hour of shooting from the rooftop of the air traffic control tower we climbed back into the warmth of the main control room to capture some night shots. My goal from these Winter photo shoots was to come away with imagery I could use for both traditional and panoramic formatted display.

Above: This image is actually a composite of two photographs taken atop the GRIA air traffic control tower on a bitter January afternoon. The plane was captured forty minutes earlier from the same perspective when lighting was adequate to stop-action. The base image utilized time exposure to capture the blue evening sky and lights from the terminal. I added the same ambient color to the plane so that it would seamlessly blend into its new environment.

Above: A jet plane lands into a stiff Westerly headwind. My customer installed the approach lighting system as well as the in-pavement lights for this runway. GRIA’s Runway 10/28 is positioned for East-West approaches and take-offs. It is a few thousand feet shorter than the airport’s primary North-South runway and doesn’t see jet airplane traffic unless conditions demand it.

Above: A commuter plane landing at sunset. I wasn’t happy with the planes we captured landing on this runway our first go-around and was determined to make it back when larger aircraft was utilizing it. Our chance came when I learned of a front that was anticipated to yield high West winds. I was able to schedule access to the Eastern-most approach light tower, opposite the runway across Interstate 390, a few days earlier. We rented a high-magnification zoom lens for the late afternoon February shoot and were blessed with 35 to 40 MPH winds.  More than fifteen jets landed and took off from the 10/28 runway on this day.

Above: As part of FAA improvements at GRIA, Runway 10/28 was lengthened, mandating the construction of two traffic tunnels that run underneath the expanded runway to maintain access between both sides of the airport.