DFW | May 2009 | Founders' Plaza | Areas of convective interest....

Back in the middle of May there were some storm cells approaching from the north and well, I just can't pass up a chance to go spotting in severe weather because that's how I roll.

Now we're talking. That's what a I call an *ominous* sky. This is the airport beacon that's at the center of the spotting park at Founders' Plaza.

Well that sky means nuthin' if it doesn't have some whoop-ass along with it. Let's check the doppler radar feed....ahhhh yes, now we're talkin' business now. The blue crosshairs marks my location at Founders' Plaza and that red moxie is moving south with "make my day" written all over it. Yes. 'Cause that's how I roll, baby.

First off, here's a UPS MD-11F pushing back from the ramp adjacent to Founders' Plaza. This particular aircraft is N294UP, built originally in November 1991 for Delta Air Lines as N801DE, the first Delta MD-11. She was then passed to World Airways for a short while in the passenger role and was even leased for a short period by Ethiopian Airlines. In the first quarter of 2008 she was converted to freighter configuration by ST Aviation Services (SASCO) at Paya Lebar Airport in Singapore before entering service with UPS.

The morning Alaska departure to Seattle was delayed due to incoming weather but they weren't going to stick around for a hold. These guys, there were going to get out of town. Fast. And they did. This aircraft, N568AS, is a young'un, built in January 2007 as a 737-800.

Next up to bat and damn sure to expediting their departure with the approaching storm cells, is American's 757-200 "Flagship Freedom" with its special markings.

This NWA Airlink flight (operated by Compass Airlines) was headed north to Minneapolis, and well, that was a no go with the wall of storm bearing down on the area. They radioed to the East Tower that they were electing to head back to the gate. This particular aircraft, an Embraer ERJ-175LR, was built and delivered to Compass in October 2008.

A rather unusual sight in the morning was to have two Continental 737s on the NW hold pad preparing for departure. This particular 737 is a 737-500 that's been retrofitted with blended winglets- N14645 is a relative youngster as far as 737 Classics go, she was built and delivered to Continental in September 1997.

Following a Continental 737-500 was this Continental 737-800 headed out for Houston Intercontinental. This particular -800, N11206, was built and delivered to Continental in July 2000.

Last shot for this initial set. This just shows how bad it was getting, this Frontier A319 was one of the last to get the hell out of Dodge just before the storm shut things down. I don't have a good shot of which Frontier bird she is but was able to catch the landing lights coming on and the beacon flash.

These were tough as nails shots to get. Poor light, bad weather, I had to jack up the ISO on a lot of these shots and try all sorts of combinations of exposure compensation, shutter and aperture settings. Sheesh. Good way to learn all sorts of things about your camera.