Cary Liao Photography Blog

TWA Flight Center Open House

Cary — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:41:38 +0000

On October 16, 2011, the TWA Flight Center opened its doors to the public for 3 hours, in conjunction with openhousenewyork. Built by Eero Saarinen, the TWA Flight Center opened in 1962, as the terminal for Trans World Airlines at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). After nearly 40 years in operation, the complex closed in October 2001, and has gone largely unused ever since.

“Miracle on the Hudson” Move

Cary — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:08:33 +0000

On June 4th, the US Airways Airbus A320 that successfully ditched in the Hudson River began a road trip to its final resting place, the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, NC. Due to low overpasses, signs, toll booths, sharp turns, and other obstacles, the journey of over 500 miles which originated in Harrison, NJ, is expected to last nearly a week. US Airways Flight 1549 made worldwide headlines on January 15, 2009, when it lost both engines to a bird strike shortly after departure from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA). Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and first officer Jeffrey B. Skiles were able to safely land the disabled plane on the Hudson, without any loss of life.

After a day of chasing N106US around New Jersey, I caught up with the historic aircraft at the base of the Delaware Memorial Bridge in Pennsville, NJ, at Route 9 in New Castle, DE, and as it traveled on I-95 through Newark, DE.

US Airways Airbus A320-214 (N106US) at base of the Delaware Memorial Bridge in New Jersey

US Airways Airbus A320-214 (N106US) on Route 9 North Ramp in New Castle, Delaware

US Airways Airbus A320-214 (N106US) on I-95 in Newark, Delaware

Streamline Air Commences Flights

Cary — Wed, 04 May 2011 07:36:30 +0000

On April 4, 2011, Streamline Air commenced service, flying 2 roundtrips each weekday between Trenton-Mercer Airport in Ewing, NJ and Hanscom Field in Bedford, MA. It marked the first time in 3 years that either of the airports had seen commercial passenger service (Boston-Maine Airways previously operated the same route). Streamline uses a single Embraer EMB-120ER Brasilia turboprop, operated by Charter Air Transport.

Streamline Embraer EMB-120ER Brasilia (N651CT)

Charter Air Transport Embraer EMB-120ER Brasilia (N650CT)

Pan American World Airways DC-7B

Cary — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 03:07:46 +0000

The Historical Flight Foundation brought its DC-7B to Republic Airport in Farmingdale, NY on Monday, wearing partial Pan Am markings on the port side. The decals were applied as the plane will be filmed for an ABC TV show about Pan Am in the days to come. Here are a few photos of N836D arriving and parked on the ramp.

Historical Flight Foundation Eastern Air Lines / Pan Am DC-7B (N836D)

Here’s a preview of the show, with the DC-7B at the 1:12 mark:

Balance and Composure

Cary — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:31:19 +0000

In November, I met up with Balance and Composure to shoot for Alternative Press’ annual “100 Bands You Need To Know” article. The Doylestown, PA band was at Starland Ballroom winding down the Out With the In Crowd Tour with Senses Fail, Bayside, and Title Fight. I had initially planned on doing the photo shoot outdoors, but less-than-ideal weather forced us to work within the venue. Grab a copy of the April 2011 edition of Alternative Press to read the article!

Alternative Press – April 2011

AP’s 25th Anniversary Party with The Starting Line

Cary — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 08:10:14 +0000

On December 17th, Alternative Press held a special fan appreciation party at the North Star Bar in Philadelphia, to celebrate the magazine’s 25th anniversary. The show featured The Starting Line, who last played together a year earlier, and opened with a new song entitled “Luck”. Check out some of my photos at SonicShooter, or in the March 2011 issue of Alternative Press.

TNCM/TFFJ – 11/26/2010-12/01/2010

Cary — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 21:03:48 +0000

Finally made a trip to St. Maarten after a few years of procrastination. Decided to go before the busy season, as hotels were pretty cheap compared to mid-December onward. The only downsides were the unpredictable WX and reduced flight schedules. I took Continental’s flight out of EWR, mainly because I have a NJ Transit train station near me, for an easy connection. The flight landed 30 minutes early, and since I only had carry-on luggage, I went through customs and was out of the airport in no time. I knew the Sonesta was within walking distance of the terminal, but what I didn’t know is that it’s not really walkable with a heavy rolling suitcase. There is paved sidewalk about half of the way, and the rest is a mixture of grass, sand, gravel, and rocks. Since the road there is pretty narrow, I opted to drag my stuff through that mess instead of getting run over (not fun on 1 1/2 hours of sleep, in pants and 85 degree weather).

After checking into my hotel, I showered and was at Maho Beach by about 2pm. I spotted until sunset, but didn’t bother with the nighttime arrivals since I was exhausted and hadn’t eaten all day. On Saturday afternoon, I saw someone who looked familiar at the beach, and it turned out to be Roman and Janice (who spot at JFK). It was great having someone there who knew all about SXM. I also met/talked to spotters from Canada, England, Switzerland, Puerto Rico, and Georgia (USA) – and pilots from JetBlue, Air France, and a US biz jet.

The weather throughout the trip was pretty good, despite it being fairly cloudy on Saturday and Sunday. Monday, I walked to the airport at 7am to catch a WinAir flight to St. Barts. I checked in, only to find out that the first flight of the morning had been canceled, and the next flight was an hour later. So, instead of waiting around in the terminal for 2 hours, I walked back to my hotel to check FlightAware, and out to Maho Beach. I was expecting a Shorts 360, but to my surprise, a Convair 580 came in first. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite have my camera set up correctly to get a good side shot. Can’t complain much, as I wouldn’t have been out there in the first place, had my flight not been canceled. After the Shorts came in, I walked back to the terminal. At my gate, I was confused because there wasn’t a flight displayed on the screen, and when it finally did show, it said “Now Boarding…wait for announcement”. It showed that for about 15 minutes, and it was past boarding time, so I went up to ask them if it was boarding. They said not yet, but called me to the desk about 5 minutes later. There were a few people seated in the same gate area, but as I walked down to the ramp and onto the plane, they closed the door behind me, and I realized I had the entire cabin to myself. The pilots went through their checklists and took off from the middle of the runway no more than 5 minutes after boarding. The Twin Otter is my favorite plane, but up to that point, I’ve only flown it in Flight Sim (usually from TNCM-TFFJ). After about 10 minutes in the air, we started the infamous approach into St. Barts. The wind was gusting around 25mph that morning, making the descent especially interesting. However, the pilots made a nice landing on Runway 10, and after going through customs, I got some drinks from the supermarket and walked up the hill (not fun with 20-25 pounds of camera gear) to catch arrivals, and then back down for departures.

I repeated that cycle at least 3 times, and returned to the terminal around 4pm to catch the last WinAir flight back to SXM. Again, I was the only passenger on the flight. The approach into SXM looked great, but my 7D decided to die at the worst possible moment, and my spare battery was in my bag, across the aisle from me, so I wasn’t able to get it in time to take pics.

Here are some of my photos from the trip, in no particular order.

More to come in the next few days/weeks!

KLM Boeing 747-400 Over Maho Beach at Sunset – Buy a print

All Time Low

Cary — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 21:12:08 +0000

Back in October, I photographed All Time Low at their “My Small Package” show at Irving Plaza, New York City, for Alternative Press Magazine. Visit SonicShooter for some previews from the January 2011 issue (on stands now), along with a few photos that didn’t make the cut.

The AP Tour Fall 2010

Cary — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 05:10:29 +0000

The Fall edition of the AP Tour came to Philadelphia on Thursday, showcasing Bring Me the Horizon, August Burns Red, Emarosa, Polar Bear Club, and This Is Hell. Check out some of the scenes at SonicShooter.com!

The Dresden Dolls 10th Anniversary Reunion Show

Cary — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 05:36:47 +0000

On Halloween night, The Dresden Dolls performed a reunion show at Irving Plaza in New York City, on the 10th anniversary of the band’s creation. It ended a two year hiatus for the band, and is the first of a dozen shows on the reunion tour. If you weren’t able to make the show, check out some footage at SonicShooter.com!

Rusko Photo Shoot

Cary — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 23:44:36 +0000

Back in August, I was asked to take some portraits of Christopher Mercer (aka Rusko), for an upcoming piece in Alternative Press about dubstep. Initially, I was concerned about doing the shoot backstage, but I soon discovered the greatness that is the Electric Factory backstage. The main lounge was big and contained 2 pool tables, a shuffleboard table, a retro television, a big camel statue, and quite possibly the nicest one-handed bartender in Philadelphia. I had a few ideas in mind for the shoot, but ultimately it was the spontaneous shots using the elements from the room that I liked the best. Check out a few photos from the session at SonicShooter.com!

Union County MusicFest 2010: OK Go

Cary — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:27:46 +0000

If you haven’t heard of OK Go, I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Internet. The band, whose video for “Here It Goes Again” won a Grammy Award and has more than 52 million views on YouTube, rained confetti on Oak Ridge Park during the Union County MusicFest on Saturday. For the photos, head over to SonicShooter.com!

Revelation Generation 2010

Cary — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:56:56 +0000

I’ve posted photo sets from this weekend’s Revelation Generation festival in Frenchtown, NJ at SonicShooter.com.

Historical Flight Foundation Eastern Air Lines DC-7B

Cary — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:15:02 +0000

The Historical Flight Foundation brought their Eastern Air Lines DC-7B (N836D) to Teterboro, NJ this week, following appearances at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010 and the 2010 Thunder Over Michigan Air Show. The DC-7B, originally delivered to Eastern Airlines in 1958, is flying again after an extensive six-year restoration, and returned to the sky on July 4, 2010. Check out photos from both of Saturday’s flights below:

Historical Flight Foundation Eastern Air Lines DC-7B (N836D) – Flight #1 Departure

Historical Flight Foundation Eastern Air Lines DC-7B (N836D)- Flight #1 Arrival

Historical Flight Foundation Eastern Air Lines DC-7B (N836D) – Flight #2 Departure

Historical Flight Foundation Eastern Air Lines DC-7B (N836D) – Flight #2 Arrival

Save Image As: Combating Internet Photo Theft

Cary — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 05:29:35 +0000

If you’re a concert photographer and have posted your work online, chances are at least one of your photos has been downloaded and reposted without your permission at some point. Photo theft on the internet is nothing new, but with the rising popularity of band fansites, fan pages, and an increasing disregard for intellectual property rights, the problem has gotten a lot worse. Read on for some simple steps you can take to protect your work, and to learn what to do if your work has been stolen. Continue reading at SonicShooter.com.

Vans Warped Tour 2010: Oceanport

Cary — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:29:29 +0000

Another hot Summer day, another Warped Tour date. The annual festival swept through Oceanport, NJ on Sunday, and didn’t disappoint the large mass of sweaty fans. Jump over to SonicShooter.com to view the photos!

A Day with VersaEmerge

Cary — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:20:14 +0000

This Friday, I had the opportunity to spend the day with Sierra Kusterbeck and the rest of the VersaEmerge crew at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ. The goal was to document how the band spends an average day on the Warped Tour for Alternative Press. Check out the pics at SonicShooter.com.

KPHL – 06/21/2010

Cary — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:56:08 +0000

A short trip to Philadelphia International Airport (KPHL) netted two nice surprises – the first Chautauqua ERJ-145 in full Frontier Airlines colors and the AirTran Boeing 717-231 promoting “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal Orlando Resort.

Frontier Airlines (Chautauqua Airlines) Embraer EMB-145LR (ERJ-145LR) (N271SK)

AirTran Boeing 717-231 “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” (N925AT)

Red Bull Air Race New York Training

Cary — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 16:10:44 +0000

After high winds forced cancellation of the Red Bull Air Race training sessions a day earlier, I returned to the track to catch Friday’s practice. The lighting from my vantage point was less than ideal in the morning, but by the time the afternoon runs started, the sun was in a favorable position for nicely-lit aircraft. This was the first time the Red Bull Air Race has been held in New York City, and my first time attending the event, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

After watching the aircraft navigate the course repeatedly, it became easier to plan when to shoot and how to compose the photos. I used my Canon EOS 7D and Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM for most of the day, and was relatively pleased with the results. Check out some of the highlights below:

Nigel Lamb’s Breitling MXS-R passes through a gate in the shadow of the Empire State Building

Matt Hall

Péter Besenyei

Alejandro Maclean

Paul Bonhomme

HB-ZJF

Kirby Chambliss and HB-ZJF

Kirby Chambliss

KJFK – 06/15/2010

Cary — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 03:43:06 +0000

Spent the day at JFK, and had one of my most productive spotting days to date. In 9 hours, I was able to cross 6 planes off my wish list, including the brand new Swiss “Summer of Love” A340-300 and the pink Delta “The Breast Cancer Research Foundation” Boeing 767-400. Other highlights included equipment subs for Icelandair (Boeing 757-300) and Turkish (A340-300).

Swiss International Air Lines Airbus A340-313X “Summer of Love” (HB-JMJ)

Delta Air Lines Boeing 767-432/ER “The Breast Cancer Research Foundation” (N845MH)

China Eastern Airlines Airbus A340-642 “Expo 2010 Shanghai” (B-6055)

Delta Air Lines Boeing 747-451 (N669US)

Turkish Airlines Airbus A340-313X (TC-JDN)

Star Alliance (LOT – Polish Airlines) Boeing 767-341/ER (SP-LPE)

SkyTeam (Air France) Boeing 777-328/ER (F-GZNE)

Icelandair Boeing 757-308 (TF-FIX)

Air Europa Airbus A330-202 (EC-JQG)

SkyTeam (Delta Air Lines) Boeing 757-231 (N717TW)

British Airways Airbus A318-112 CJ Elite (G-EUNA)