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The official photo blog of J. David Buerk Photography.

A Dulles Farewell for Dennis Hazell

March 25th, 2022 marked the end of an era. At least, at Washington Dulles International Airport. If you’ve spent any significant time working at Dulles, you’ll surely recognize Dennis Hazell, IAD’s Customer Service Manager, and a friend of mine with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with for over a decade now. I lovingly call Dennis “Captain Airport” among other names, and he always has called me not “David,” but “J. David” - a comfortable and familiar sound when Dennis talking on the phone with Dennis, but still throws me for a loop when it’s called out for my Starbucks order.

Dennis has been the friendly face of Dulles’ customer service program, including initiatives such as the Going the Extra Mile program, working a the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority since 2007, and has been at Dulles since 1997, as Station Manager for American Airlines for 10 years. It’s hard to imagine Dulles without Dennis, who has been a perpetually extroverted presence and source of fun at the airport for 25 years. The DC region’s airports have not lost Dennis however, as he moved in his Customer Service Managerial role to Ronald Reagan National Airport, “The Little Airport by the River” as of last week.

Over the years Dennis and I have worked together in both organizing and documenting some of Dulles’ most memorable events, including the first ever Discover Dulles: NASA SCA 747 and Space Shuttles Discovery and Enterprise, which will have its 10 year anniversary in two weeks. Many of the events Dennis spearheaded or was otherwise involved in are among my fondest and most memorable, and the earliest ones such as the numerous events involving NASA and the Air and Space Museum were unquestionably formative and influential to my own career as a commercial event photographer.

On his final day at Dulles, a large group gathered to speak about Dennis’ time at the airport and the memories they had with him, and present commemorative gifts and awards to mark his time and impact on the Dulles Airport family. It was an emotional event for everyone, but most of all Dennis, who was somewhat overcome by the memories and kind words shared with those in attendance, and had to pause a few moments while giving his farewell remarks.

Dennis will be truly missed, but at least we won’t have to go far to still walk through the Terminal with him and need to stop every 50 feet because someone else runs up to say hi; all you have to do is step over to DCA and I’m sure the same thing will be happening there on his first day.

If you’d like to see the full set of images, head over to the gallery here, which includes downloadable group photos from the receiving line after the ceremonies.

Dennis at Dulles

I’m including a handful of my favorite moments with Dennis; this includes my portrait of him on the airfield that is one of my first-ever published photographs, Dennis presenting Swiss Solar Impulse pilot Captain Bertrand Piccard with a box of Dunkin Donuts on live television, my earliest photo of Dennis I’ve since coined “Airport Jesus” (he hates this picture, but I still enjoy it to this day), me sitting at Dennis’ desk holding his fathead, juggling phones as usual, and Dennis and I standing on the airfield in front of the freshly landed SCA 747 and Space Shuttle Discovery, still in awe that everything that day had gone completely to plan.

Rubin and Madonna: The Proposal

If you’ve ever met Rubin, you know he always has something funny to share. One of my earliest memories with Rubin is from while I was covering Ethiopian’s 787 Dreamliner being introduced into service at Washington Dulles International Airport; Rubin said, “I honestly don't know what David looks like. I think his face might look like a camera.” Some say he may not be wrong.

When Rubin told me he was planning to propose to Madonna at the Dulles airport gate where they first met, I of course was excited to help capture the moment. Rubin spent several weeks planning the proposal, coordinating with the airport and IT to make his idea of the gate display boards play clips of all the travels and memories they’ve compiled over the years of their relationship, culminating with a special flight information display for the next chapter of their relationship to take off.

To-date I’ve photographed three prior proposals, two of which were also airport proposals, but like everything in 2020, this proposal presented new challenges to solve - namely, for me, how do I blend in with a crowd that isn’t there? 2020’s coronavirus pandemic has heavily impacted the aviation industry, and during a planning walkthrough a week prior to the proposal, it became apparent my usual tactic of hiding in plain sight may prove more difficult given that gate A25 was completely abandoned. Fortunately, given the video Rubin assembled to play on the FIDS, I wouldn’t need to hide much for very long, as the jig would pretty much be up as soon as Madonna saw the video - a marked difference from other proposals I’ve captured, and I’m happy to say it worked out exactly as Rubin planned.

Funnily enough, the day-of, gate A25 wasn’t abandoned! It was populated with passengers social-distancing in groups before their flight departing from an adjacent gate, so my gambit to “look like a passenger” paid off, and happened to come in handy much earlier than I’d planned - as it would happen, Rubin and Madonna were on the same AeroTrain as me when heading over to the gate to set up, while Rubin took Madonna to his office to pretend file some paperwork in order to throw Madonna off his plans and give everyone at A25 time to get in position. When I got off the AeroTrain, I spotted the couple getting off two cars ahead of me and hopping on the escalator - I decided to stick to my plan, and follow suit with everyone else moving through the station, and I walked my rolling camera luggage and backpack onto the escalator adjacent and a few steps behind them - don’t mind me; I’m just a passenger! Later on, Rubin told me he’d spotted me, but played it cool-as-a-cucumber the same as me. I was even able to grab a few photos of them before I paid them no mind speed-walking past with my rolling bag on the way to my “flight.”

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Once the time came, Rubin walked Madonna to gate A25, the gate they first met each other as airport employees, and Rubin’s video played on the FIDS with music filling the gate area. And Rubin’s plan worked, because Madonna was taken with emotion immediately. The pictures tell the rest of the story - when the “Will you marry me?” flight card showed at the end of the video, Rubin dropped to one knee to pop the question, and the rest is history!

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Just being around Rubin and Madonna you can feel their energy, and seeing how happy they make each other it’s impossible not to feel happy yourself. After passengers and fellow employees and friends alike had congratulated the newly engaged couple, we took some photos to formally commemorate the occasion. As Rubin and Madonna are both longtime airport employees, and to further celebrate the place where they met, we captured portraits on the ramp with Dulles’ historic ATCT in the background as onlookers watched from passing mobile lounges and taxiing aircraft, before heading back to the Main Terminal to meet with friends and family who had gathered to congratulate the pair.

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It’s 2020; you have to social-distance and wear your mask:

Also because it’s 2020, it must be said: masks were only off for photos, socially distanced from non-family members.

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With the help of a mutual friend of Rubin and I, video of Rubin and Madonna’s engagement was captured from several angles, which I’ve combined to show exactly how it went down.

Dulles’ tagline is “Your Journey Begins with Us,” and for Rubin and Madonna it truly did at Gate A25.

2018 National Night Out with the MWAA Police Department

Until only a few years ago I had never even heard of National Night Out. I still don't know when it is until it is happening as it's not something that's usually on my radar. That was the case again this year, when I went to DCA to photograph a newly opened store; though I knew the MWAA PD and FD would be participating in National Night Out whenever it was, I didn't realize it was that day until I arrived in the afternoon and they were just getting started... directly in front of the store I was on site to photograph.

After asking a few officers to kindly get the hell outta my shot, I completed the photoshoot I was there for, and then proceeded to stick around and check out the booths MWAA PD had set up.

Why yes that is a $10,000 thermal scope. — Why yes that is a $10,000 thermal scope.

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Air India at Washington Dulles International Airport

On a warm, drizzly Summer morning, Air India's inaugural flight between Delhi, India, and Washington, DC landed at Washington Dulles International Airport, greeted by a delegation from the Embassy of India, distinguished guests, and a crowd of media who gathered alongside the runway. Upon landing, the 777-200LR was welcomed with a ceremonial water arch, and the aircraft blessed upon arriving to its gate.

Following refreshments, a press conference commenced with performances of Jana Gana Mana and The Star-Spangled Banner, national anthems of India and the United States, and a traditional Indian dance. Speakers included Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, Ambassador of India to the United States His Excellency Navtej Sarna, Air India’s Chairman Ashwani Lohani, and representatives from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to include Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Margaret McKeough, and Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Jerome Davis. After remarks from each of the speakers, a ceremonial cake cutting and exchange of gifts was enjoyed by the distinguished guests.

After the festivities, I made my way onto the ramp for one more aircraft walk around, and finally onto the runway to watch Air India’s flight depart Dulles for the first time on it’s new non-stop route back to Indira Gandhi International Airport. Luckily the weather had cleared up during the press conference and the skies were now blue with heavy bands of clouds quickly moving across the horizon, creating additional dramatic effect for Air India’s first departure.

Air India IAD 9.jpg — *We don't believe in walls;*
*we believe in bridges.*

Terry McAuliffe, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia

Executive Order Travel Ban Protest - IAD, January 30th, 2017

Following President Trump’s executive order implementing a travel ban on seven countries, protests initiated at international airports across the United States where individuals affected by the rapidly enacted ban were detained. The Trump administration justified the executive order as part of the “extreme vetting” of immigrants promised during his campaign, while those opposed to the ban question the constitutionality, motives, and execution of the ban. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (D) was on-site denouncing President Trump’s travel ban in a press conference.

I captured these photographs while on-site for an unrelated meeting. During the several hours I spent watching the protest and presser, there were no Trump supporters visibly present; reportedly only one had been there in the morning, and only a handful over the weekend, and some cases MWAA police had to move in to ensure the supporters' safety as tempers of the crowd were exacerbated. During my time on-site, I witnessed only one individual lose their temper; a lawyer, who eventually calmed down when others spoke to them and explained they had already taken the necessary actions.

I am presenting these images and my account for the importance of photojournalism and documentation. Captions below each image briefly explain what is being seen in each image.

Do not use these photographs or videos without express permission of J. David Buerk.