Hi people! It’s been a while since I’ve posted a spotting topic here, but I feel a lot more confident about my shots since last time. After December of 2020, I felt like I was missing something, so I tried to figure out how to optimize my camera more. After discussing tips with Mr. @AndrewWu, I tried out a new style in early January for taking plane pictures. That turned out not as well as I would have liked it to, but oh well. One quick trip to the Andrew Wu School of Photography® (or really just him yelling at me in a discord conversation on why I messed up badly, lol), I fixed my settings. After some positive results from a mini-session at the beginning of the month, I went out yesterday not expecting much, but I thought I did quite well. Long lecture aside, let’s get into the photos!
TL;DR: Mr. Wu yells at me and I grow as a spotter
Photo One: It’s just another day at DEN if you see a United A320, and I don’t really include them in my topics really (or really United at all) so I thought it would be nice to include one. Here’s N402UA, a 27 year old example, formerly with Ted as well, operating as “United 338” from a warm San Jose Del Cabo in Mexico.
Photo Two: Another common operator here in Denver is Southwest, which I saw 19 planes of theirs on this trip. I didn’t see too many 737-700s though, despite them being Southwest’s largest portion of their fleet. Here’s N7884G, a 19 year old example, formerly with Kenya Airways, arriving from Long Beach as “Southwest 2385”
Photo Three: Delta’s A220-300s are still relatively new, with them being sent to Denver twice or three times a day from Salt Lake City. I’ve spotted 1/2 of the 223 fleet now, with this catch of N305DU, a not even half a year old A220-300 arriving from (you guessed it) Salt Lake City, as “Delta 1577”
Photo Four: Frontier recently brought out the last of their A321s from storage in Roswell, with this one, named “Gordon the Golden Eagle”, being one of the last to leave, with it leaving around a month ago. This is also Frontier’s newest A321, with it still being quite young at only 2 years old. I still have yet to see around half of Frontier’s A321s, but anyways, “Gordon” operated “Frontier Flight 331” from Kansas City. I know @Alec liked this one.
Photo Five: Sheldon! I finally got to see Sheldon again, in nice snow-light light as well as a bonus. Sheldon turns 10 this year, and is seen operating “Frontier 404” from Los Angeles.
Photo Six: As usual, I have to include a Canyon Blue in my topics. Normally, that’s a 737-700, but today, it’s one of the four CB -800s I saw this day. Here’s N8611F, a 8 year old example that arrived from Nashville as “Southwest 2500”
Photo Seven: I don’t really see too many cargo flights at DEN, but when I did, they used to be not the best quality they could have been. I finally got a decent shot of a UPS A300, which they send often to Denver. Here’s N144UP, a 19 year old frame that operated “UPS 812” from Louisville.
Photo Eight: I did not expect to see this until around one day prior to going, was the American A321 NEO. It was operating on a one-off from just a regular A321. This frame, registered as N420AN, is only around half a year old and operated as “American 1692” from sunny Phoenix.
Photo Nine: After not seeing a Delta 757 for around three months, I finally got one to see. After the NHL’s first outdoor Lake Tahoe game went late, there was only supposed to be one 757 arriving in the time frame I was there, but this one came as well. This frame, being configured in Delta’s sports charter configuration, registered as N662DN, and being 30 years old, was operating as “Delta 8948” from Reno. I still don’t know if the Colorado Avalanche or the Las Vegas Golden Knights were on it, but one of them were. I missed the other 757 though, for a reason I will point out if you keep reading.
Photo Ten: As some of you know, I love the older Frontier liveries, and the main reason of going on this trip was to see a Frontier A319, which I haven’t spotted in a long time. This was not the A319 I was expecting to see, but I was glad I finally got to see one. After seeing N8611F, and deciding to skip out on the other Delta 757, I ran back to my car and tried to beat N943FR from moving locations from 56th avenue to 120th avenue. I got there slightly earlier but out of the car at the wrong spot, so I ran around a quarter mile to try to catch it, but my camera didn’t focus in time, leaving me with no shot of N943FR. Disappointed, but not defeated, I hung around for another 90 minutes, knowing that N941FR would also be coming soon. Fortunately, I did get a good shot of N941FR, named “Lobo the Gray Wolf”. “Lobo” is the first Frontier A319 I have spotted since Misty (N938FR) back in November of 2019. These birds are due to retire in around two months, so I would get them while you can. “Lobo”, who is 15 years old, is operating on Frontier’s new service from Oakland, operating as “Frontier 294”
TL;DR - Luke is happy he sees a Frontier A319.
And that is that! I really enjoyed seeing the results from this session. I hope to return to DEN sometime soon, and I’ll also make a part two or maybe even a part three from this session! Stay tuned for the next one!
I also have a Jetphotos account, but with only one photo, but it’s better than none. You can check it out here:
Previous Spotting topics
Luke’s Spotting Year in Review
Frigid Spotting - @ KDEN - December 12th, 2020
A busy, pre-turkey day - KDEN Spotting, November 22nd, 2020 (Part Two)
A busy, pre-turkey day - KDEN Spotting, November 22nd, 2020 (Part One)
Smoky Spotting @ KDEN - October 17th, 2020
Planes, Planes, oh, did I mention planes? Spotting at KDEN - September 12th, 2020 (Part 1)
My return to Denver - KDEN Spotting, July 25, 2020 (Part One)
Vintage Aircraft + others - @ KBJC - May 14, 2020
Some pre-lockdown spotting - @KDEN - March 24, 2020
Some other Airport other than BJC or DEN! Spotting at KAPA - February 15, 2020
Some pre turkey day spotting - @ KDEN 11/24/19 (Part 1)