Good Places To Spot And Take Pictures At SMF? — Aviation Photography Forum

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Good Places To Spot And Take Pictures At SMF?

BA286 From United States of America, joined Jul 2006, 108 posts, RR: 0
Posted (6 years 10 months 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 2936 times:

Hello,
I had a rather bad experience spotting today over on Power Line Road. I parked my car on the edge of the street on a small gravel area and watched the planes come and go. But 15 minutes later the Sherriff shows up and tells me that the "people at the airoprt" are getting nervous! And he politely "asked" me if I could relocate. He was very nice and joked around with me, even told me about some other places I could potentialy go. I checked them out and they were ok, but too far from the runway. So I was wondering if anyone has some pointers about spotting at SMF.
BA286

E190 A318 A319 A320 A343 ATR42 717 732 733 734 735 737 738 744 752 772 DC-10 MD-11

7 replies: All unread, jump to last

CO777 From South Africa, joined Apr 2000, 261 posts, RR: 12
Reply 1, posted (6 years 10 months 3 days 14 hours ago) and read 2926 times:

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Hi BA286,Try the top of the parking garage at SMF.For pics its only good in the afternoon.The only catch is you will only get Southwest,Delta and America West/US Airways.When i go there this time of the year i go there after 5pm.Thats when the light is at its best.

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Photo © Jason Whitebird

Hope this helps Jason Whitebird

Chrisair From United States of America, joined Sep 2000, 1770 posts, RR: 4
Reply 2, posted (6 years 10 months 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 2921 times:

The only good thing to see in Sacramento is the freeway sign that says "80 West: San Francisco."

Sorry. Couldn't resist. Though, Sacramento certainly isn't as bad as Fresno.

BA286 From United States of America, joined Jul 2006, 108 posts, RR: 0
Reply 3, posted (6 years 10 months 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 2919 times:

Quoting CO777 (Reply 1):
Hi BA286,Try the top of the parking garage at SMF

Thank's I'll check it out, hopefully I wont have any problems with the Sheriff this time.

Quoting Chrisair (Reply 2):
The only good thing to see in Sacramento is the freeway sign that says "80 West: San Francisco."

Sacramento is a nightmare...especially for someone who has lived in Europe most of their life.

E190 A318 A319 A320 A343 ATR42 717 732 733 734 735 737 738 744 752 772 DC-10 MD-11

CO777 From South Africa, joined Apr 2000, 261 posts, RR: 12
Reply 4, posted (6 years 10 months 3 days 5 hours ago) and read 2907 times:

I have had no problems at the parking garage.Course what i have done is sit in the truck and then go out and take the pic when the subject is leaveing.
Jason Whitebird

JohnJ From United States of America, joined Jun 2000, 1620 posts, RR: 3
Reply 5, posted (6 years 10 months 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 2882 times:

I was there a couple of weeks ago and spent several hours along Power Line Road - no problems, and I liked the location a lot. I tried the parking garage but found it challenging with a 300mm lens - 400mm would work a lot better. Heat haze was also a problem up there until it got very late in the day. To be honest, since I'm not familiar with enforcement policies at SMF, I felt a lot more vulnerable up on the garage than I did along Power Line Road.

Chrisair From United States of America, joined Sep 2000, 1770 posts, RR: 4
Reply 6, posted (6 years 10 months 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 2874 times:

Quoting BA286 (Reply 3):
Sacramento is a nightmare

I couldn't have said it better myself.

At least there is a Cinna-bon in the airport.

CO777 From South Africa, joined Apr 2000, 261 posts, RR: 12
Reply 7, posted (6 years 10 months 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 2868 times:

There isnt much of a food court there.
Jason Whitebird

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