My DCA Photo Collection

[BubblesAviation]

Inspired by @Charter, I decided I would make a thread dedicated to DCA. DCA has a boost in diversity at around 2:30p-4p which is almost always the time I go down, with light hitting the aircraft from the west. From 2:30p-4p with on average three scheduled 757’s, almost always we have a guaranteed United 753 from DEN and a Delta 752 from LAX, but the SEA has been on 752’s for the past year or so. If not, we have the A321neo instead, which isn’t the biggest disappointment. I have an EBike, which greatly increases the spotting places available to me, as it’s only a 30-40 minute bike, and many spots are easier to access via bike or foot.

Nikon D3000 and Tamron 18-270mm which is the perfect focal length for DCA!

Spotting Location rank:

1. Mt. Vernon Trail bridge (west of E gates, afternoon, 19 or 1 arrivals/departures)
2. Long Bridge Park (19 arrivals) in the afternoon
3. Gravelly Point (afternoon or morning depending on the side you’re on, pretty good overall)
4. Daingerfield Island (afternoon 1 arrivals, pretty good overall yet shots are very basic)

 

[BubblesAviation]

Delta Centennial A321, December 31st, last day of their centennial ironically.

Shot from the Mt. Vernon trail bridge.

 

[Charter]

Jus

Inspired by @Charter, I decided I would make a thread dedicated to DCA. DCA has a boost in diversity at around 2:30p-4p which is almost always the time I go down, with light hitting the aircraft from the west. From 2:30p-4p with on average three scheduled 757’s, almost always we have a guaranteed United 753 from DEN and a Delta 752 from LAX, but the SEA has been on 752’s for the past year or so. If not, we have the A321neo instead, which isn’t the biggest disappointment. I have an EBike, which greatly increases the spotting places available to me, as it’s only a 30-40 minute bike, and many spots are easier to access via bike or foot.

Nikon D3000 and Tamron 18-270mm which is the perfect focal length for DCA!

Spotting Location rank:

1. Mt. Vernon Trail bridge (west of E gates, afternoon, 19 or 1 arrivals/departures)
2. Long Bridge Park (19 arrivals) in the afternoon
3. Gravelly Point (afternoon or morning depending on the side you’re on, pretty good overall)
4. Daingerfield Island (afternoon 1 arrivals, pretty good overall yet shots are very basic)

Just a question: which kind of settings do you use on your camera? Nikon D3000 is still a wonderful camera and for spotting i prefer her to Nikon P1000.
But many spotters prefer the Autofocus with AF-A (camera decides if the object is moving or not), other decide to select AF-C (right choice for me because the airplanes are moving!), many other use personal settings (P, S, A, M)...
What about you?

 

[BubblesAviation]

Jus

Just a question: which kind of settings do you use on your camera? Nikon D3000 is still a wonderful camera and for spotting i prefer her to Nikon P1000.
But many spotters prefer the Autofocus with AF-A (camera decides if the object is moving or not), other decide to select AF-C (right choice for me because the airplanes are moving!), many other use personal settings (P, S, A, M)...
What about you?

I use autofocus and a spot on the sports setting to ensure a fast and level shot.

 

[BubblesAviation]

Alaska Toontown 738 moments before touching down on runway 1; 12-31-25