Ted Stevens Int'l, Anchorage, AK, USA - 11/04/2008

Having spent an amazing morning in the company of the Alaskan Army National Guard, the latter part of the afternoon was spent at Ted Stevens International Airport, shooting a phenomenal amount of cargo movements, amongst others.

As of 2005, the airport ranked number three in the world, behind Memphis and Hong Kong for the crown of being the world's busiest airport by cargo traffic.

We'd undertaken a drive around the perimeter shortly after we landed and were confident we'd highlighted a couple of decent spots for rotation shots, but landers looked to be a tad more elusive.

We arrived to find somewhere in the region of fifteen Fed Ex MD-10s and 11s, eight UPS MD-11s, a further six 767s, plus 747Fs from all manner of carriers including Northwest Air Cargo, China Airlines Cargo, Korean Air Cargo, EVA Air Cargo and Cathay Pacific Cargo.

I'd never really shot any cargo heavies prior to this trip and when combined with the stunning backdrop provided by the mountains around Anchorage, this had to be one of the things I was really looking forward to doing.

Perhaps the best thing about Ted Stevens is that the movements aren't limited to modern day jet aircraft. Everts Air Cargo operate both DC-6s and C-46s from here. Northern Air Cargo have a couple of DC-6s and three 737-200s doing the same, and then you have the likes of Trans Northern who operate a fleet of C-117 Super Dakotas, and Desert Air who have a C-47 and a Convair on their books.

By 1730 the ramps were all but empty, so we elected to head off for dinner, with the intention of returning after we'd eaten, to take advantage of the gorgeous evening light.

Sadly, activity levels didn't really match the conditions...

What a location though...! We had a lot of time scheduled to be spent around the airport over the coming six days, and I for one couldn't wait!