Fake picture?

[Dave Benjamin]

The shadow is very large and very dark. that means he'd be pretty close to the deck. Unless the pilot was way offf the normal climb profile I don't see how it would be a real photo.

 

[Skyboss]

Is there that much ground cover (shrubs) off the end of runways at LAX?

 

[JBcrjca]

Yep, those pics are the real thing. As English and njcapt stated, those hills just west of LAX are covered with scrub brush and overgrown remains of streets and house foundations. Easily photographed from the VFR corridor with a good lens...on almost every departure from LAX, you can look up and see Cessnas, Pipers, etc buzzing along just over the shoreline. Some heavily loaded 747s don't clear the hills by much when they're headed across the Pacific. But what do I know, I've only flown into LAX a few thousand times.

The TUS pic...that sand/scrub is just east of the threshold of 29R, again easily photographed from a Cessna on final to 29L. The threshold of 29L is displaced, so naturally the Cessna would be higher, and in a good spot for photos.