This weekend Rhiannon and I packed our camping equipment, food supplies and camera gear into the car and headed west to attend the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford. Last year was my first time at this event on the recommendation of a friend and although the weather wasn’t great I really enjoyed the experience. We choose to stay at a nearby campsite, from which you can also view the display. The beauty of the location is that you are below the turning area of the display aircraft and you can therefore get some great photographs as they fly their displays.

We set off at 5am on Friday morning to get to the campsite for about 8am. The roads were clear and the 150 mile drive went very smoothly. We were pleased to be driving into warm and sunny skies as we neared our destination.

Just as we queued to enter the campsite the exciting sound of an F16 completing it display practice could be heard. Once parked up at our pitch we met up with a couple of friends and all looked forward to the events of the weekend, including the long awaited chance to the see the F22 Raptor in action.

The morning was slower than usual as the showground was being visited by royalty for the 90th anniversary of the RAF celebrations. At 2:30pm a large 90 aircraft flypast was due to show off RAF aircraft old and new. We were pleased to discover that the flypast route was very close to our campsite and we had a good chance to photograph the various formations as they flew overhead. Bad light levels and bland skies meant that the images weren’t fantastic but it was still an impressive event to witness.

The afternoon then saw some display practices, interspersed with heavy showers which really gave the new tent a good test of its abilities. Fortunately with a better forecast for the weekend we could save getting wet and watch the practices from the dry confines of our car.

In the evening we enjoyed a nice get-together and BBQ with some other friends and were treated to a late flypast practice of the Eurofighter Typhoon and Spitfire right over our heads. Not long after however we heard the extremely disappointing news that the Saturday of the show had been cancelled due to a waterlogged showground and car parks. It seems that the previous levels of rain added to the rain during the day were too much for the fields to cope with and parking would have been too tricky. Rumours of the news spread quickly and our spirits were lifted a little by the news that a display would happen for the attending VIPs so we would still get a show.

After an early night we awoke early to more promising skies and optimistically get ready for some displays. Cameras at the ready we met our friends and waited to see if anything would be flown. Early on we were hopeful when the sound of jet engines starting got us to our feet with cameras ready. However a pair of F16s took off but didn’t display, instead heading into the distance. By noon it was becoming clear that there would be no or little flying to enjoy. Instead we had to wait until 4pm to hear whether Sunday would go ahead. We killed some time with a relaxing walk into Fairford village and decided to grab some fish and chips for lunch. I can highly recommend them!

We then waited to hear the final news for Sunday. Thanks for mainly hot sunshine during the day things were looking good. The campsite had dried out very well and we hoped so would the showground. However at about 4:30 the news was that the Sunday was also going to be cancelled. It was a real shame as we had really assumed things would get underway and had geared ourselves up for a better result.

We decided soon after that there was little point in staying the extra night as it meant another night sleeping in a tent and the loss of Sunday morning while we drove back. We took down the tent, packed up the car and said our goodbyes, not really looking forward to the long drive home with barely 200 photographs taken for the entire weekend.

Here’s hoping for better luck next year and perhaps some summer weather for a change.

I spent an enjoyable but tiring three days at the Biggin Hill Air Fair last weekend and joined the official photography team at the event. It was a great experience and a chance to get closer than normal to the aircraft and pilots. Despite a faulty new lens I shot over 1500 photographs across the three days. That included a range of people and static shots required by the organisers as well as some aerial shots for myself.

I've carried out the initial review of the shots to select the ones I will submit to the organisers and now hope to spend time reviewing the images further and getting some ready for a gallery on the website as soon as possible.

I’m very pleased to announce that I have won myself a place on the 2008 Biggin Hill Air Fair photography team and shall be attending both show days as well as the press day on Friday with all areas access. I’m very excited about this opportunity to get closer to the aircraft and achieve (hopefully) some new angles and better photographs.

I’m very much hoping that the summer weather returns and that I can have three days of glorious sunshine to make the most of this opportunity.

The Biggin Hill Air Fair is held this year on the 7th and 8th of June and will adult tickets cost £21 at the gate. More information can be found on their website at http://www.bigginhillairfair.co.uk/

My photographs from 2007 can be found in my gallery

On Saturday Rhiannon and I spent the day at Lydd (London Ashford) Airport near Dungeness watching the 2007 Lydd airshow with a few friends and fellow photographers.

We started our trip from a friend’s house in Bexhill and a little later than planned arrived at the airport at 10:50am. Having pre-purchased our tickets we had quick entry to the show which was well organised and rapid.

We were the last to arrive out of our group and we found them at a great position near the press area on the display line. The walk from the carpark was quite short compared to what I’m used to at some other displays. With a bit of space left for us we set up our chairs and took a short wander around the aircraft parking area. Since it was the first day of the display there wasn’t a lot that had arrived, but I took a few shots of the Team Guinot aircraft and a Yukolev Yak-50. Already the clouds had formed up a bit and were presenting some dark stormy looking skies.

At 1:25pm the airshow began and we were treated to four hours of nearly constant flying displays. The crowd line at Lydd is fairly unique in that it faces north. This is great for photography as the sun is behind you throughout the display which gives clean direct light on the aircraft. It also offsets you from the runway and some of the pilots take this opportunity to perform some banked passes along the crowd line that show off the topside of the aircraft quite nicely. Quite often at other airshows you don’t get very many topside shots and Lydd presented a nice opportunity to collect some more original shots.

There was a nice mix of different aircraft at Lydd including the entertaining Tiger Club Turbulent Team which put on a very unique display. A show favourite was the Hawker Hunter “Miss Demeanour” jet in its bright coloured paint scheme and the Catalina PBY5A, a very photogenic aircraft. The Battle of Britain Memorial flight put on a good show with some nice formation passes of the Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane.

The weather throughout the day was mixed. We had quite a lot of heavy dark cloud which did leave some bland looking skies and made for some dark shots, but we did get spells of sunshine. The sun when it was out lit the aircraft beautifully and even some of the clouds formations made nice backgrounds for certain aircraft.

As will all events there was a bit of a rush getting out of the grounds after the final display by the RAF Falcons. We took our time packing up and walking back to the cars which allowed some of the crowds to clear. There were queues getting out of the carpark but they moved pretty freely. The stewards directed us to a recently opened route that saved some time and the police had good control of the merging of traffic onto the main road.

This was my first visit to Lydd and a very enjoyable one. A nice mix of less common aircraft and a great position for photography made it very worthwhile. The weather could have been better but it didn’t ruin the day. I’ll certainly be adding this event to my calendar for next year and if the weather is better I might even consider both days as the entry price is very reasonable.

I’m starting to build up the gallery from the event at http://www.sjgevents.fotopic.net/c1362559.html

As planned I returned to the pier for my photography again today. I was joined by a fellow photographer and we spent all day on the dome at the top of the pier. The displays seemed to come in less close today and the results have been hit and miss.

I’m returning to my usual location near the wishtower for tomorrow’s display.

RAF Chinook

BBMF Spitfire and Hurricane

Today was day one of Airbourne 2007. Thursday is always a quieter day for the show and this year was no exception with only the smaller displays taking part. I was disappointed to find that the display line seems to be further away than last year, making good photographs difficult.

We did however try a new vantage point from the end of the pier that yielded some reasonable passes for closer shots. I tried using my 1.4x TC during the day but was not happy with the results so switched back to using the 100-300mm on its own.

I will back tomorrow to try again. I’m hoping for more keepers and some good shots of the Eurofighter as I will be trying from the pier again. Here are a few shots from today...

Spitfire Mark 9

Royal Navy Seafire

Blue Eagles Lynx

With July nearly completed I’m starting to look ahead into August. The main event for me is the Eastbourne International Airshow (Airbourne) which takes place only a few miles from my home. It’s a spectacular 4 day airshow held on the seafront and over the years it has grown to be the biggest free airshow in the UK.

I’ve attended the airshow for as long as I can remember since I was a young child. In fact I’m pretty certain I have been to every show since it started as a much smaller event many years ago. The highlight for me was always the Red Arrows and even today I get a real buzz watching them perform. Their display is always a crowd pleaser and is great to watch over the seafront.

In the past few years I’ve had to put up with the torture of hearing and seeing glimpses of the Thursday and Friday of the show from my office nearby. Last year the best weather came on the one day I couldn’t do since I was working and that being the first year with my new camera it was a bit disappointing. This year I have booked off the Airbourne week from work so I can visit and enjoy all 4 days. There’s plenty to see and do so I’m sure I’ll manage to fill them all.

My current plan is to use Thursday (usually the quietest of the four) to look around and photograph the static displays and arena events. I’ll stop to get some air display photographs as well I’m sure. Then Friday to Sunday will be concentrated on enjoying the air displays and photographing the aircraft. I have a favourite spot which I’ve viewed the display from numerous times. It’s about display centre and provides a great view of the show. I’ll spend a couple of days at this spot but on one day might be adventurous and move further along the beach to get to the banking point for the jet displays. I’d like to catch some vapour and afterburner shots.

Being a seafront show you don’t get a close to the display as you can at the airfield displays. This means getting full frame shots is tricky. I’m hoping I can do reasonably well with my lens but I can remember last year I was craving something longer. At Fairford earlier in the month I tried using my 1.4x teleconverter which I’ve been avoiding as the results are not all that great in my opinion and again I wasn’t that impressed with it. I think I’m just getting fussy about sharpness but also it looses me some focus speed and accuracy which is important for photographing fast jets a long way away. With 4 days at the event I’m hoping to try using it again, so long as I’ve got some keepers of each aircraft before hand.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for decent weather. We’re certainly due some. I’d particularly like some nice blue skies to work with. RIAT was a bit dull and grey in that respect.

Airshow photographs take a long time to process as each one has different lighting and therefore different work required. With 4 days at the event I’m sure it will take a long time to get the shots processed completely. I am hoping however to get a few online after each day of the event. I’ve still got some Biggin Hill photographs to process and plenty from Fairford as well so my aim is to clear some of those before the display which takes place on the 16th to the 19th of August.

I returned on Sunday from my trip to RAF Fairford to watch and photograph the 2007 Royal International Air Tattoo. As planned I camped outside the airfield on a nearby farm and this is where I watched and photographed the display from as well.

It was a great weekend and although the weather wasn’t always perfect we did get some sun and blue skies on the Saturday which made things more pleasant. Sunday’s weather was less good but we made do until 1pm at which point we set off home to beat the traffic. The view from the farm was fantastic and although we were not close to the display line action we were able to get close-ups of the aircraft as they turned directly above us.

Thanks to the good company we were with the evenings were very enjoyable as well and I came away very relaxed. It was a tiring couple of days but well worth the trip. I will be aiming to do the same again next year.