Airplane Graveyard

chrismoore

Processed the images from the "Airplane Graveyard" in St. Augustine, FL. These are actually abandoned Grumman S2 Trackers, naval bombers from 60’s and 70’s. One of the first aircrafts designed to combine the detection equipment and armament to hunt and destroy submarines while operating from aircraft carriers. They have been kept in the yard of a local man for about 15 years, and largely neglected as you notice the weeds and vines have taken over some of the instrument panels, windows covered with grime and mold. The wings are folded over and most parts are stripped, but the fuselage is intact. Feedback appreciated.

Awais Yaqub

very nice work !

Tao Zero

I really like number 5, great composition. I wish there was a place like that around Portland OR.

kts

wow these are great. i'd love to shoot a place like this.

1, 3, and 5 are my favorites.

JustPlainMe

These are all great---we have a very small version of this (two large planes, two small ones, and a helicopter) here in town, and I've been trying to figure out how to shoot it. You've given me inspiration. I love the mystery of the growth and rust.

Doug Solis

Really nice shots, I love the B/W's. Thanks for taking the time to give us some history.

grimace

Beautiful work!!

schmoo

Fantastic! I love the dynamic range in the first. I've not seen subjects quite like this, but you've captured it so well.

Grampa Doug

Chris,

I live in Savannah and St. Augustine would make an interesting over night Photo Trip. I do a lot of Historic Savannah stuff and need to have a change. I hear that the architecture in St. Augustine is quite noteworthy. Is this Grumman Bone yard on the map or would you be willing to share the location?

Thanks,
Grampa Doug

chrismoore

Grampa Doug wrote:

Chris,

I live in Savannah and St. Augustine would make an interesting over night Photo Trip. I do a lot of Historic Savannah stuff and need to have a change. I hear that the architecture in St. Augustine is quite noteworthy. Is this Grumman Bone yard on the map or would you be willing to share the location?

Thanks,
Grampa Doug

Thanks everyone for your kind comments. To answer your question Grampa Doug, here is the geotag. Keep your eye out while driving down Hwy-1, its about a half mile south of the St. Augustine airport and you can see it from the highway. It would make a great day trip for you. Some advice:
- Bring a telephoto lens if you have one, you can get most of your shots through the front fence.
- Shoot in the morning, in the afternoon you will be shooting into the sun and the light is very harsh on a sunny day.
- Be careful-- this is private property and I've heard the St. Johns county police are bored. I've heard that the fence is covered with No Trespassing signs, but I didn't see any
- if you're so inclined, the fence on the south side is somewhat incomplete.

Here is the full gallery with some more shots if you need some ideas.

In St. Augustine itself, the historic downtown area of full of good architecture. The fort and lighthouse are safe bets.

Howe Creative Photography

really cool! Do you know who owns this property?

chrismoore

Howe Creative Photography wrote:

really cool! Do you know who owns this property?

yes, the signs give a name and number, though I can't recall offhand ( if you're serious about shooting there I can pm you the #). My shots were from the fence with a tele, and we called and left a message for the guy to schedule a legitimate shoot at night but he never returned our calls.

Dogdots

What wonderful photos, but it kind of makes one sad too.