The sight of a plane taking off from the airport is pretty impressive, but it's not exactly new. The sight of hundreds of planes leaving the runway at the same time however is definitely something we've never experienced before, until now that is!
Take a look at this stunning series of "Airportraits" to see what we mean. They were taken by Mike Kelley, an LA-based architectural photographer who spent the last two years taking pictures of planes departing the tarmac at eighteen different airports around the world. Afterwards he compiled the images to create these stunning compositions that serve to remind us just how busy our skies are.
"The inspiration behind these images was somewhat simple," Mike told Bored Panda. "After the first LAX 'Wake Turbulence' image I knew that I had to do more, owing to how successful that original shot was. There are a ton of amazing airports, airlines, and airplanes out there that I had to photograph, so the plan was set in motion to try and capture as many as possible. Since I'm obsessed with airplanes, travel, and seeing new places, it was also a great excuse to get me out of my comfort zone a little bit."
#1 Lax 24l - No Turn Before Shoreline
This is shot from Dockweiler beach in Los Angeles directly under the path of departing flights between the hours of 5-7pm, when light from the setting sun illuminates the bottoms of the planes.
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104points
#2 Dubai International 12r (morning Heavy Departures)
In the background, the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. I shot this between 6-8am, when there is a rush of departures to all over the world.
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75points
#3 Wake Turbulence: Lax
This is the original image which was supposed to be a proof-of-concept for the series. It was extremely successful and convinced me to expand the project to airports around the world. This image shows a day's worth of takeoffs from LAX's south runways, though some aircraft have been omitted due to redundancy - i.e., we don't need to see 84 737s!
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69points
#4 Zurich Airport Runways 28 And 16
Due to a complicated noise abatement scheme, Zurich Airport actually uses runways oriented in different directions depending on how light or heavy the winds are. This made for a very interesting photo when combined with the idyllic Swiss countryside that surrounds the airport.
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57points
#5 London Heathrow 09l (100, 50, 40)
This image was shot during the morning arrivals rush at London Heathrow as flights from Asia and North America descend on one of the busiest airports in the world.
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56points
#6 Amsterdam Schiphol, Polderbaan 18r
Amsterdam's Schiphol is surrounded by quintessential Dutch canals and plenty of green grass. Some stormy weather provided an interesting background for the image.
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54points
#7 Munich Airport 08r
This image was shot from the end of the runway as planes land during the morning rush hour.
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51points
#8 Frankfurt Am Main 25l (missed Approach By Lufthansa A380)
This image was shot in July of 2015 when mainland Europe experienced some once-in-a-decade storms.
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44points
#9 London Heathrow 27l (terminal 5 And Tower)
It took THREE trips to London to get these images. The weather there is no joke. It was very difficult to get a full day of clear skies, and even though the day I shot this image on was threatened by clouds, I got lucky and there was no rain or heavy shadow. It made for one of my favorite images of the series.
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38points
#10 Dubai 30r
Planes depart from DXB's runway 30R - with a background of ominous clouds over the neighboring Emirate of Sharjah.
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34points
#11 Tokyo Haneda 05 (great Wave)
Shot from a chartered fishing boat on Tokyo Bay. This one was quite the logistical headache due to needing utterly perfect weather and wind. By using a long telephoto lens I was able to show the iconic Mt Fuji behind the airport, even though it was over 60 miles away from my shooting location.
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27points
#12 Amsterdam Schiphol 24 (kaagbaan)
A farm in the foreground provided a nice touch of yellow to contrast the blue sky and predominantly KLM departures.
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25points
#13 Sydney Kingsford Smith 34l
Planes depart over Botany Bay and Sydney's Central Business District from Runway 34L at Sydney airport.
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25points
#14 Auckland International 23l
Auckland Airport is surrounded by an amazing landscape - complete with farm!
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23points
#15 Munich Airport 08r Takeoffs
Planespotting is really big in Europe - and an activity enjoyed by families all the time. When an airport is set in such a beautiful place, why wouldn't you want to watch these amazing machines in action?
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19points
#18 Frankfurt Am Main, 07c
Wingtip vortices are visible as planes fly through an amazing weather front that loomed over Frankfurt. This image was shot in July of 2015 when mainland Europe experienced some once-in-a-decade storms.
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17points