From news reports I knew that during its last hurrah, Space Shuttle Endeavour would be doing a flyover of the Griffith Park Observatory today, Sept 21st, 2012. I wanted to get a shot of it crossing over this iconic landmark, as well as the neighboring Hollywood sign.
I used Google Maps to help find a suitable location to capture the images I wanted. This lead me to Barnsdall Art Park, home to the famous Hollyhock House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
When the time came, Endeavour, atop a specialized NASA 747 transport and guarded by two chase jets, passed over myself and thousands of others scattered about the Hollywood Hills. If any other Angelenos got some pics, share them here!
I decided to view the shuttle at the viewing area directly south of LAX because I wanted to see it land. The shuttle did two low altitude fly overs before it landed; this shot is from the 2nd one:
I work for Oracle - office at Sepulveda and El Segundo Blvd 2 miles south of LAX. I was on the top level of the parking garage with hundreds of others. It was fascinating to see the crowds on the roofs of Mattel, Boeing, Raytheon, etc. It was very festive!
Thanks for sharing these photos. I got to see Endeavor's maiden lift off at Cape Canaveral, and I admit that I'd hoped like anything that the Air Force Museum would have been able to be Endeavor's final home (I live near the museum), but seeing these are great. Take care of her out there in California!
@cjphoto - Thank you! I took a day off from work so I could get these shots and enjoy its final flight. Of course, my coworkers told me it flew directly over our building 3x. Someone there described it as being "as big as a house!" One unfortunate person at work somehow managed to miss all three flyover passes. :( He was pretty upset.
@mikegifford - Fog or not, still a great picture, Mike. We were worried that the fog would prevent a flyover up by you. Glad it thinned out so y'all had a chance to see it. :)
@bernicrumb - This was a really moving event for me. I was very choked up watching it cruise overhead. Back in 1981 my dad and I saw the very first landing of Columbia at Edwards AFB in California. It was the last big thing we did together as he died later that year. 30 years later, in Feb 2011, I got to see my first-ever Shuttle blast-off, which was Discovery's final launch.
Endeavour's flyover completed the cycle of the Shuttle Program in my life.
@beteljooz You've really come full circle! Sadly I never made it to a launch. This was an epic day for me, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
@beteljooz I did get several of crowds on rooftops. i wish i could shoot it over. i was so excited all my photography training went out the window. :-) i have a real appreciation for the pros.
Did anyone else catch the Shuttle making its way through the streets of Los Angeles yesterday? I got a good view on Crenshaw. The rest of my photos are here.
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And here are the rest of my photos.
Endeavour Album
Endeavour's flyover completed the cycle of the Shuttle Program in my life.