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The official photo blog of J. David Buerk Photography.

Air Line Pilot, April, 2017

Today I have some exciting news to share with you dating back almost a year ago!

Early March of last year, in partnership with the Air Line Pilots Association, I helped commemorate Captain John Prater's final commercial flight before retiring by photographing his arrival landing to Dulles from Paris.  Captain Prater began his aviation career in 1978, going on to be elected President of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) in 2006.

This was an event photoshoot I coordinated with Dulles Airport Operations to capture several key shots desired for the article being written in Air Line Pilot magazine about Captain Prater's retirement; OPS ensured I had speedy access to the airfield to capture the planned shots of the United 787 Dreamliner's landing on R/W 1C, ceremonial water arch in front of the historic Main Terminal Building, and subsequent ceremonial events in anticipation of capturing a cover image.  Unfortunately, even though it was a scene I've captured at previous photoshoots, I wasn't able to capture the image planned for the cover this time due to weather interference; since that was the case, and I never heard any other information after the photoshoot, I thought I'd missed the cover shot and my images would just be included in the article, and didn't think much more about it, moving on to new projects.

Flash forward to December, while assembling my annual "Best of" for 2017, I decided to check for a press release on ALPA's website after coming across my portraits of Captain Prater in the 787's cockpit.  I found the article which included some of my pictures, and on a whim decided to check if there was online access to the magazine so I could see how it looked in a print layout.  What I found caught me completely by surprise.

Air Line Pilot magazine's April, 2017 issue features my photograph of Captain John Prater landing his United 787 at Dulles.  I had my first-ever magazine cover and didn't even know about it until nine months later!

air-line-pilot-april-2017-41-FADED.jpg

When I found this, I reached out to my contacts at ALPA to see if I could get any paper copies of the magazine.  I was worried it would be impossible 9 months after publication, but sure enough, they sent me a whole stack of them a week later!

Air Line Pilot has a circulation size of 78,000; that is a lot of magazines and a lot of people who saw my photograph!  I couldn't be happier or more honored!  I say go grab a cup of coffee and enjoy some some aviation!  Thank you so much to my friends at ALPA, and at Dulles Airport Operations who helped make my first-ever cover image possible.

Air Line Pilot Magazine - April 2017 Cover (3 of 3) (IMGL7282-Edit).jpg

Etihad at Dulles (April 2013)

Following up from Etihad Airways' sneak peek I covered in January, Dulles' newest airline celebrated its first commercial flight from Abu Dhabi to Washington, DC, and a few days later opened a new Diamond First and Business Class Lounge at Gate A14.  Individuals present for the events included Etihad President and CEO James Hogan, as well as HE Michael Corbin, US Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. The entire set can be viewed here.

Monday, April 1st, 2013:

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Finally it was time for the A340-500ER to arrive at Dulles, where the aircraft was greeted by a water arch, followed by welcoming remarks from Etihad PCEO James Hogan and MWAA CEO Jack Potter.

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Thursday, April 4th, 2013:

Several days later, Etihad formally opened their newest Diamond First and Business Class Lounge adjacent to their Gate at A14.  Members of the airline and delegation were also present for the Lounge opening ceremony.  Amenities the lounge features include business connectivity and meeting areas, showers, prayer areas, entertainment pods, family and children's play areas, and a fully staffed kitchen with gourmet chefs, among other relaxing ways to spend time before or after your flight.

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The executive delegation began arriving, and after a full tour of the lounge the opening remarks and ribbon cutting ceremony commenced, followed by a reception.

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My coverage from last week's events at Dulles was used in the Official Etihad Press Releases, and also ended up in anna.aero and Jeff Clabaugh's article in Washington Business Journal, among other aviation news outlets around the world.

Etihad---anna.aero

Etihad---anna.aero

Etihad---Washington-Business-Journal

Etihad---Washington-Business-Journal

ANA 25th Anniversary at IAD: UPDATE!

Press

Press

UPDATED (August  11th, 2011):  Two of my ANA photographs have been featured in USA Today's Travel section photo gallery, accompanying an article about ANA's Annivesary flight.  Check out the article and the gallery (images 24 and 27).

A brief update on my coverage of ANA's 25th Anniversary flight between Tokyo and Washington, D.C.:  My photography was featured in an article on anna.aero last week, and now this week is featured on the cover of Capital Newspaper (Japanese).

Press

Press

Press

Press

ANA 25th Anniversary at IAD

ANA recently celebrated its 25th anniversary flight between Washington Dulles International Airport serving Washington, D.C. and Narita International Airport in Tokyo.  The passengers and crew for both arriving and departing flights were treated to special Wadaiko drummer performances and complimentary gifts to mark the occasion. UPDATE (August 3rd, 2011):  Some of my photography from the ANA Anniversary has been published in an article in anna.aero.  Check out the article here.

UPDATE (August 12th, 2011):  I made the cover, and provided all images for the Capital Newspaper (Japanese)'s coverage of the ANA Anniversary, and as of August 11th have two photographs included in USA Today's Travel section story on ANA.  Read more about all my ANA press coverage here, or read the USA Today article, or skip direct to the gallery (look for images 24 and 27).

ANA 25th Anniversary at Dulles

ANA 25th Anniversary at Dulles

ANA 25th Anniversary at Dulles

ANA 25th Anniversary at Dulles

ANA 25th Anniversary at Dulles

ANA 25th Anniversary at Dulles

ANA 25th Anniversary at Dulles

ANA 25th Anniversary at Dulles