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Pictures Of The Week
Week 22, May 2011
Clockwise from top left:
As the South Africans may say... "If there's grass on the wicket lets play cricket". Many of Gerard's shots suggest that there wasn't much "grass on the wicket" as the dust was really kicked up by The South African Air Force, who seemed to put on quite a performance at Swartkop Airshow. There was no "Apache production", but plenty of Rooivalk action and much more besides that grabbed our attention. This splendid capture of a Hawk displaying to the sizeable crowd wowed us the most though. You can of course read about the show in Gerard's report right here on UKAR.
Image © Gerard Griessel
In this night shot Peter shoots what looks to be a very proud Armée de l'Air pilot posing for the gathered photographers alongside his mount. The Alpha Jet is captured in front of a stunning dark blue sky at RAF Northolt's recent Nightshoot IX, which again, you can read our review of. Thanks for posting, Peter.
Image © Peter Reoch
A true British classic - rugged, dependable and capable. This beautiful shot of the Buccaneer was captured by UKAR regular Shaun at Bruntingthorpe last weekend. The sharpness of shot is evident when looking at the detail of the riveted undercarriage door. Well done Shaun, a really lovely shot from a top class set, which you can see more of in the UKAR report on this event too!
Image © Shaun Schofield
Canon EOS 40D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lens"I can see my house from here!" An F-16 of the Royal Norwegian Air Force blasts off in what looks to be a housing estate; all those freeloaders… really! A cracking shot nonetheless, with a most unusual background, which was captured by POTW first timer Fredrik at the annual "Flydag" held at Kjeller airfield outside Oslo. Along with this F-16, the Vampire pair that are due to attend RAF Waddington airshow also present.
Image © Fredrik Edvardsen
Krzysztof either has a huge zoom lens or a pair of brown pants. This head on with a Christen Eagle II looks terrifying. Krzysztof posted up a superb set of shots from Michałkow Air Picnic in Poland, most of which feature this biplane, in what looks to be a gutsy display that has made for some stunning stills.
Image © Krzysztof Baranowski
Nikon D300s + Nikkor AFS 500mm VR lensYou know you're low when you have to manoeuvre around a bush! This extremely low level Apache flight was captured by Henk Tito - another new name to these pages - during a recent exercise in Holland. One could imagine that the experience of witnessing these joint Chinook/Apache exercises were as spectacular as they appear in these images. Thanks Henk.
Image © Henk Tito
Nikon D3X + Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR lens"Ooh bit of Bush!" Finally the sting in tail this week comes from our third POTW debutant, Steve Matterface, who significantly becomes the 250th contributor to these pages since we started in August 2009 with a photo taken from onboard the US aircraft carrier George W. Bush. The shot features a line up of the Navy's legacy Hornets on the deck, as the carrier took shelter in Stokes Bay. Interestingly Steve's set also features one of the US Navy's latest "toys" the EA-18G Growler.
Image © Steve Matterface
Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 L lens
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Pictures Of The Week
Week 21, May 2011
Clockwise from top left:
The United States Navy arrived in force for the start of Exercise Saxon Warrior, with numerous Hornets stopping at RAF Lyneham and a few of these beautiful C-2 Greyhounds operating to and from RNAS Yeovilton. We were spoilt for choice really, with countless potential candidates, but in the end we went for a new photographer and David Powell's shot of a C-2 departing back to the USS George H.W. Bush marks his debut on these pages.
Image © David Powell
Nikon D3100 + Sigma 170-500 OS lensFor the second year running, the Royal Netherlands Air Force have decorated an Apache for the solo display, and this stunning black, orange and silver livery is striking to say the least. We look forward to seing it on these shores this summer at RAF Fairford, but in the mean time whet your appetite with Antoine's wonderful set of photos that show off the aircraft and the paintscheme beautifully.
Image © Antoine Bosboom
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensIt would seem that the European phenomenon of late - the nightshoot - has made it westward across the Atlantic! Sean attended one such event, arranged by the organisers of Wings and Wheels at Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Bridgeport, Connecticut. We were a big fan of how he employed a slow shutter speed in order to make a full propellor arc, as well as the perceptive use of reflection. All in all, a top shot from a top set!
Image © Sean Kelly
Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 17-40mm f4 L lensNext up is this sandy Buchon from Duxford's May Air Display, courtesy of UKAR stalwart Neil Cotten. Neil posted a great set, and we picked out this shot for its fine composition, exposure and sharpness. The afternoon Cambridgeshire sunlight making an appearance is an added bonus, too!
Image © Neil Cotten
Canon EOS 1D MkIV + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensGary ventured to Mildenhall last week to catch HMX-1 - the name given to US presidential helicopters - as it departed for London. He certainly got lucky with the light, which he used to his advantage, particularly on the shot we chose. Lovely suff!
Image © Gary Stedman
Canon EOS 550D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensUKAR Staffer Ian Matthews was the man behind this photograph of Gloster Meteor WM167 / G-LOSM, seen displaying at the very windy Duxford May Air Display. This Meteor is an NF11 two-seat night fighter variant and so was built not by Gloster but by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company under licence at their Baginton Coventry plant in 1952.
Image © Ian Matthews
Nikon D300 + Nikkor 300mm f2.8 lens
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Pictures Of The Week
Week 20, May 2011
Clockwise from top left:
Taking pride of place with week is this great capture of a De Havilland Twin Otter arriving at the Maldive islands in the Indian Ocean. The operator, Maldavian Air Taxi, are one of the largest seaplane operators in the world with a fleet of more than 24 Twin Otters.
Image © Philip Preindl
Canon EOS 40D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensWe're all at sea again with this excellent image of a French Navy Rafale landing aboard the Charles de Gaulle whilst she was taking part in the joint Indian-French Agapanthe deployment, part of Exercise Varuna. Our UKAR photographer has made the most of the sun and gorgeous Indian Ocean backdrop in capturing the French fighter's final moments as it prepares to engage the arrestor wire.
Image © Dr Séan Wilson (Prime Images)
Canon EOS-1D Mark IVA unique formation if ever there was one. Arriving at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire to mark the 70th anniversary of the first flight of Sir Frank Whittle’s jet engine, a pair of Gloster Meteors prepare to break into the circuit. These two ejector seat trials aircraft (WL419 & WA638) are normally seen operating from the Martin Baker airfield at Charlgrove in Oxfordshire. It is a rare sight indeed to see them in the air together.
Image © Tom Hill
Nikon D2x + Nikkor 300mm f2.8 VR lensProbably one of the nicest members of the Moth family of aircraft is the De Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth. Captured whilst flying alongside a Tiger Moth from RFC Rendcomb near Cirencester, Neil has made short work of the bumpy conditions to produce a classic air-to-air image of this 1930s icon which appropriately carries "British Heritage" on the cowling.
Image © Neil Jones
Paint the whole world with a rainbow, or in this case 23 Air Force Base in Minsk Mazowiecki, Poland. This classic silhouette shot of a Polish AF Mig-29 is produced by the rainbow effect from the flare of a 500mm Nikon lens whilst shooting near the sun. A difficult technique to master whilst trying to expose the image correctly - Hesja has done brilliantly here.
Image © Slawek Krajniewski
Nikon D300 + Nikkor 500mm lensWinning the "best looking uniform" award at the recent Nato Tiger Meet at Cambrai, France was this Mirage 2000 from Escadron de Chasse et d'Expérimentation 05.330. Captured during take-off, this excellent topside view shows the brilliantly designed all over tiger scheme, completed in style with 'tiger feet' fuel tanks!
Image © Stefano Gozzini
Some aircraft are difficult to photograph and the Storch is definitely a prime example. With this shot taken at the recent Shuttleworth Evening Airshow, Jamie has made the most of a low angle and the tree line background at Old Warden to capture Peter Holloway's pride and joy head-on with great effect.
Image © Jamie Pluck
Nikon D90 + Sigma 170-500mm lens
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Pictures Of The Week
Week 19, May 2011
Clockwise from top left:
Often seen in Pictures of the Week but she never gets dull! XH558 is seen during a spirited climbout from a low pass at RAF Waddington's second General Aviation Flight Safety Day. Chris was caught off-guard by the first pass but he more than made up for that when the Vulcan gave him another chance during its second flyby!
Image © Chris Hayball
Canon EOS 5D MkII + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensWith only two more months till RIAT 2011 Andy figured it was time for a game of catch up and posted a lovely set from last year's Air Tattoo. This interesting close up shows the MC-130E Combat Talon's self-defence systems. With the MC-130E slowly being phased out of service the opportunities to get a similar shot will increasingly become more rare.
Image © Andrew Beaumont
Canon EOS 40D + Canon EF 70-200mm L f4 lensNot many places in Europe where you can photograph aircraft in the snow during the month May but in Switzerland you can! This stunning photo was taken by Philippe during his annual glacier flight. He was in experienced company as he flew with a gentleman who started flying 70 years ago!
Image © Philippe Rey
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 lensContinuing with the first of three helicopter shots in this week's update Wattisham was the place to be for some Apache aerobatics. Gary was treated by not one, but two display practices resulting in some unusual angles. The display is planned to be performed at about five airshows this year and after seeing these shots we can't wait to see it!
Image © Gary Stedman
Canon EOS 550D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensNext up 'Grizzly 51' takes off having just dropped off some troops in the Dutch GLV-V training area near Eindhoven. The CH-47D belongs to the RNLAF's 298 squadron and is based at Gilze-Rijen. The RNLAF plans to upgrade the 11 remaining CH-47D's to CH-47F standard and has a further 6 new CH-47F's on order. D-102 was dropping off troops from Charlie (tiger) Company of the 11th Air Mobile Brigade in an exercise where stopping a vehicle and taking the occupants into custody followed by a quick extraction was practiced.
Image © Koen Leuvering
Canon EOS 350D + Canon EF 70-300mm IS lensNext we move our attention back to Switzerland. David visited Payerne airbase to capture a training session of the Swiss Air Force Hornet display but another shot in his topic stood out for us. This slow shutterspeed image of a government operated Agusta A109K2 gives a brilliant sense of speed and it's a bit more colourful than a grey Hornet as well!
Image © Studer David
Sony Alpha 700, 300mm f2.8 lens + 1.4x Teleconverter
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Pictures Of The Week
Week 18, May 2011
Clockwise from top left:
Some photographs provoke appreciative 'hmmm' noises. Images of small furry mammals may induce an 'awww' or two from it's viewers. This weeks top image, on the other hand is very definitely an eyes wide-open 'wow'. It was taken during a low-level sortie in the final hurdle in the British Army Apache Conversion To Role training - Exercise Crimson Eagle. Lasting for over nine weeks, it aims to test aircrew, ready for operations world-wide, and focusses on firing the range of weapon systems available to Apache crews in a tactical scenario coupled with ground and air asset integration. If Carlsberg did Facebook profile pictures...
Image © "Pavlov's Dog"
'Pictures of the week' stalwart and long-term forum member Kevin Jackson has once again come up trumps, this time with a superb air-to-air set. The 'targets' are - to give them their full name - 'BAE Systems McDonnall Douglas A-4N Skyhawks' of Dartstaffel 713 Richthofen, based out of Wittmund AFB, Germany.
Image © Kevin Jackson
The second air-to-air of this week's selection comes courtesy of Maciej Wolanski from Poland. The images are from a training mission over the coast of the Baltic Sea back in 2009; the three aircraft featured are M-28 Bryza from 30EL of the Polish Navy.
Image © Maciej Wolanski
Canon EOS 40D + Sigma 18-125mm lensF-4 Phantom; afterburner; twilight. Need we say more? If you want a quick if not necessarily easy way to the Pictures of the Week selection team's collective heart, you can't go wrong with that little equation. Chris captured this set back in May 2010 at Andravida, Greece.
Image © Chris Lofting
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 300mm f4 L lensIt could well be said that one surefire way to make a F-16 even more purposeful is to paint it up in camouflage. Crizz posted this set (much like the 'paint options' section in the back of a car brochure, except with much more skill and creativity…) from Eielson AFB, Alaska, with the aircraft in question participating in Exercise Distant Frontier 2011. The two-tone blue and grey example really caught our eye; nicely composed, exposed and as sharp as you like!
Image © Cristian Schrik
Canon EOS 1D MkIII + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensResplendent in somewhat fitting black-and-white, this excellent study of a Sopwith Triplane is the result of time Shaun spent before last weekend's season-opening show at Old Warden to experiment with some interesting angles and compositions. We thought that the heavy contrast adjustments and thick black borders worked very well indeed.
Image © Shaun Schofield
Canon EOS 40D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensWithout a doubt the cleanest Hurricane on the UK circuit, Dean stumbled across Peter Teichmann's pride and joy parked up at North Weald in some beautiful spring sunlight. Some spot-on compositions in this short but sweet set, and we settled on this wide-angle to take the spot on Pictures of the Week.
Image © Dean West
Canon EOS 350D + Canon EF-S 18-55mm lens
