Aviation photography can be super challenging, to say the least... The hardest part is probably finding a location where you can get close enough to "live" aircraft without breaking any laws. One of my favorite vantage points has to be this parking lot. With normal AOA ops in place, heavy aircraft will usually be using the Reef Runway or 8 Right as it's known as for departures. If the winds switch direction from the south, or as it's known, Kona winds, they will use this runway which will be known as 26 Left and land in the opposite direction. For those who are wondering how runways are designated, or numbered, the numbers stand for compass headings and R & L stand for right and left when there are parallel runways. So, 8R stands for 80 degrees compass heading. The right designation means it's the right hand runway since there are two parallel runway 8's. Thus, 8L means, the left of the two runways. This area also gives a nice vantage point to arriving aircraft using runways 4R, which will accommodate larger aircraft as well or 4L for smaller aircraft. During off hours, mainly between the hours of 7pm to 7am, arriving aircraft are routed offshore as to avoid flying over populated areas of the island. During these hours, most heavy aircraft are limited to runway 4R, but in certain circumstances, 8L can still be used by them for approaches at the pilot's discretion.
Besides this lot, there are several other vantage points to get some great shots. Cell phone waiting lot on Aolele St gives photographers some great shots of planes departing from 8L. Bring a ladder you can stand on so you won't have to crop out the perimeter fence from your photos. Sand Island Boat Ramp is another good spot, but my recommendation is for you to have the right equipment. When out at the parking lot, capturing aircraft departing 8R, you can probably get away with using an 80- 200mm telephoto, and if you are using a DX format DSLR, you can utilize your camera's crop factor to get a larger image. But if shooting from the cell phone lot or Sand Island, you should use a 400mm or larger telephoto as it does a pretty good job of getting close up enough. Happy shooting and enjoy the view! read more