A Dulles Farewell for Dennis Hazell

March 25th, 2022 marked the end of an era.  At least, at Washington Dulles International Airport.  If you’ve spent any significant time working at Dulles, you’ll surely recognize Dennis Hazell, IAD’s Customer Service Manager, and a friend of mine with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with for over a decade now.  I lovingly call Dennis “Captain Airport” among other names, and he always has called me not “David,” but “J. David” - a comfortable and familiar sound when Dennis talking on the phone with Dennis, but still throws me for a loop when it’s called out for my Starbucks order.

Dennis has been the friendly face of Dulles’ customer service program, including initiatives such as the Going the Extra Mile program, working a the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority since 2007, and has been at Dulles since 1997, as Station Manager for American Airlines for 10 years.  It’s hard to imagine Dulles without Dennis, who has been a perpetually extroverted presence and source of fun at the airport for 25 years.  The DC region’s airports have not lost Dennis however, as he moved in his Customer Service Managerial role to Ronald Reagan National Airport, “The Little Airport by the River” as of last week.

Over the years Dennis and I have worked together in both organizing and documenting some of Dulles’ most memorable events, including the first ever Discover Dulles: NASA SCA 747 and Space Shuttles Discovery and Enterprise, which will have its 10 year anniversary in two weeks.  Many of the events Dennis spearheaded or was otherwise involved in are among my fondest and most memorable, and the earliest ones such as the numerous events involving NASA and the Air and Space Museum were unquestionably formative and influential to my own career as a commercial event photographer.

On his final day at Dulles, a large group gathered to speak about Dennis’ time at the airport and the memories they had with him, and present commemorative gifts and awards to mark his time and impact on the Dulles Airport family.  It was an emotional event for everyone, but most of all Dennis, who was somewhat overcome by the memories and kind words shared with those in attendance, and had to pause a few moments while giving his farewell remarks.

Dennis will be truly missed, but at least we won’t have to go far to still walk through the Terminal with him and need to stop every 50 feet because someone else runs up to say hi; all you have to do is step over to DCA and I’m sure the same thing will be happening there on his first day.

If you’d like to see the full set of images, head over to the gallery here, which includes downloadable group photos from the receiving line after the ceremonies.

Dennis at Dulles

I’m including a handful of my favorite moments with Dennis; this includes my portrait of him on the airfield that is one of my first-ever published photographs, Dennis presenting Swiss Solar Impulse pilot Captain Bertrand Piccard with a box of Dunkin Donuts on live television, my earliest photo of Dennis I’ve since coined “Airport Jesus” (he hates this picture, but I still enjoy it to this day), me sitting at Dennis’ desk holding his fathead, juggling phones as usual, and Dennis and I standing on the airfield in front of the freshly landed SCA 747 and Space Shuttle Discovery, still in awe that everything that day had gone completely to plan.

Best of 2020

Let’s just say it: 2020 sucked. For everyone. At moments the year flew by, at many others the year seemed endless. But 2021 is upon us, and although for many, myself included, it meant more time at home than out in public, I still captured perspectives of this year the World will never forget.

It’s unsurprising that many of my photographs in this year’s Best of 2020 are barren of people, and those that do have people are individuals or small family groups. I quickly enacted a number of COVID-19 best-practices that meet or exceed those required by Virginia law, and have strived to maintain the safety of not only myself and my vulnerable family members, but those of my clients. Because of the unprecedented reduction in assignments this year, particularly of commercial clients due to the cancellation of events, a greater portion of this year’s Best Of consists of personal work, but you’ll see that although it’s personal work, much of it is relatable and has affected everyone in some way or another.

Here’s to 2021 redeeming all the hardship, loss, and overwhelming disappointment 2020 inflicted on the World. May these pictures put 2020 to rest, and may your 2021 be filled with joy and prosperity.

A “barn find” Porsche on display at the 2020 Washington Auto Show.

A Foggy February morning in Northern Virginia.

Toilet paper became scarce in early March as shifts in the supply chain shifted from commercial to retail bathroom supplies, while more population working from home, and public fear incited hoarding, drove demand, emptying store shelves of basic cleaning supplies for months.

Hand sanitizer, gloves, surgical masks, and N95 respirators became nearly impossible to come in Spring. By Summer, the market was flooded with price gouged, counterfeit, or unregulated KN95 masks, antibacterial sanitizing wipes, and hand sanitizer.

At Ronald Reagan National Airport, nearly all concessions closed indefinitely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

At Ronald Reagan National Airport, airlines cancelled all flights indefinitely for the safety of passengers, and due to low demand while citizens quarantined in place.

Inside Ronald Reagan National Airport’s nearly empty National Hall, a COVID-19 branded hand sanitizer station is affixed to a shuttered Information Desk.

As air travel all but halted, entire terminals of airports were shuttered. With fewer travelers, ad spaces receive fewer impressions, leading to marketing campaigns to be rolled back or cancelled entirely. Above a closed terminal at Ronald Reagan National Airport, a digital ad site displays a creative encouraging proper hand-washing technique in place of normally cycling ad campaigns.

"Black Lives Matter" blazed several neighborhood trailheads, but were defaced with the arguably racist "All Lives Matter," then subsequently corrected back to BLM during the height of nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd under the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

In Northern Virginia, many parks and playgrounds were closed by guerrilla citizens even before executive orders explicitly closed such facilities. Meanwhile, other inhabitants ripped away barriers or ignored HOA shutdown orders, creating a kind of suburban anarchy.

Jack Zarinsky, CFP, walks into his office in Fairfax City, Virginia.

Jack Zarinsky, CFP, speaks into a microphone while recording for his podcast.

A Polaroid of pickerel hyacinth growing at Ellanor C. Lawrence Pond.

Erik and Jennifer walk in a lavender field on their wedding day, June 27th, 2020. Many engaged couples had to delay or downsize their 2020 wedding due to COVID-19 safety and legality of gatherings.

Polaroid of Alyssa McGuire carrying an elephant ear plant at Merrifield Garden Center, Centreville, Virginia. Alyssa’s favorite animal is the elephant, and as a self-proclaimed “crazy plant lady,” she chose a Colocasia to add to her Rhode Island garden. Alyssa drove from Providence to Memphis, stopping in Washington, DC for a week, to care for her aging grandparents who struggled to get supplies and home maintenance during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

At Washington Dulles International Airport, a health supply kiosk is shuttered inside a deserted terminal.

Rubin and Madonna stand on the ramp at Washington Dulles International Airport with the historic ATCT and taxiing aircraft behind them after Rubin proposed to Madonna minutes prior at the gate they first met.

Elizabeth laughs at James’ jokes during their July engagement session. James and Elizabeth planned for a Spring engagement session coinciding with the April Cherry Blossom Festival, but this became unsafe and illegal as DC enacted executive orders that made visiting the Tidal Basin legally impossible, while the National Park Service feuded with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser by continuing to sell photography permits. Meanwhile in Virginia, early executive orders explicitly closed or kept open specific businesses, but failed to provide operating guidance for unlisted non-essential businesses, forcing many people, like Elizabeth and James, to postpone scheduled sessions.

Lily pads float at Ellanor C. Lawrence Pond, seen through an antique Lubitel 2 medium format lens converted to work on Canon EOS mount cameras, shot on an EOS R mirrorless camera.

The Cumberbatch family poses among the Autumn leaves during their family portrait session in Sterling, Virginia.

J. David Buerk, owner and photographer of J. David Buerk - Photography poses in a werewolf mask and gloves, holding an authentic rusty scythe on Halloween in Fairfax, Virginia. Despite ample candy and decorations, not a single trick-or-treater showed due to COVID-19 scaring off young goblins and ghouls.

Kevin drops to one knee and asks Rhoda to marry him at a snow-covered Stone Tower Winery.

With vines in the background, Rhoda places her hand on Kevin’s chest to display her engagement ring minutes after saying “yes” atop a snow covered hill at Stone Tower Winery.

The sun shines on the steering wheel of an Infiniti G37 S 6MT coupe’s steering wheel.

A handmade, artisan designed and crafted embossed leather journal cover with pewter clasp, featuring a flourishing acanthus leaf pattern. I first spotted this journal five years ago at the Renwick Gallery, and have regretted not getting it at the time, and had been unable to find the creator until recently. To my surprise, it is still available, and the maker even has an Amazon storefront now, with limited supply available. My most loved Christmas gift this year, this beautiful, naturey journal in my favorite color holds the notebook I’ve been using for years, and will hold future notebooks as this one nears filling, fitting perfectly into my daily leather Tumi backpack.

Alitalia at IAD

Washington Dulles International Airport - Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport

This past Thursday, May 2nd, 2019, Washington Dulles International Airport welcomed Alitalia’s A330-200, formally beginning non-stop service to Rome. Fabio Lazzerini, Alitalia CBO, and Armando Varricchio, Italy’s ambassador to the United States, spoke to guests and passengers at the gate preceding a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially mark the beginning of service from IAD to FCO.

Embassy of Italy

Later in the evening, guests within the aviation and Italian / United States economic and cultural fields gathered at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC to celebrate the new link formed by Alitalia’s newly launched flight service. Guests enjoyed a fashion show featuring every Alitalia cabin crew uniform since the airline’s inception in 1946 while sampling Italian dishes and cocktails.

And here I am!

Huge thank you to Ryan Ewing of AirlineGeeks.com for capturing me in my element.

NASA's Orville and Santa Claus Visit the Dulles Funway

This past Wednesday, just a few days before taking off on his 'round the World trip to deliver toys to all girls and boys on his nice list, Santa and Mrs. Claus landed at the Dulles Funway to meet kids and wish them a Merry Christmas.

Santa's timing was perfect; Orville, NASA's flying squirrel mascot (named after Orville Wright), also dropped by to present Santa Claus with Quiet Super-Santa Transport (QueSST) technology which will enable him to circumnavigate the World faster and quieter than ever before, thanks to NASA Aeronautics.

After the technology transfer, it was time to relax and have some fun; Santa and Orville spent some time playing with kids awaiting their flights at the Dulles Funway kids play area.

Even flight crew stopped by to with Santa a safe Christmas flight and show off their holiday cheer!

All that play wore Santa out, and he decided to get a massage at Be Relax in Dulles' Concourse B.  He is sure to now be loosened up and ready to fly tomorrow night!

Meanwhile, Orville had decided to head outside and check out the aircraft; he is a flying squirrel after all!  A Southwest flight was just arriving and he helped marshal in the 737, and even  assisted ramp crew offload luggage!

Before going back inside, Orville greeted passengers boarding the outbound flight, giving high-fives and taking selfies.

As his day came to a close, Orville checked the flight status boards to see when he was scheduled to take off from Dulles; thankfully, Travelers Aid was there to help Orville find his way to the gate.

...and of course on the way there Orville had to join in singing with the carolers!

Click here to find out more about NASA Aeronautics, or find where Orville is right now!