Pictures Of The Week
Week 52, December 2013
Clockwise from top left:
Richard was extremely lucky to get the chance to shoot what was perhaps one of the most famous F-14 schemes of all time. The image was captured from a DC-130 photoship whilst flying just west of Point Mugu.
Image © Richard Collens
Canon EOS 1D MkII + Canon EF 28-105mm lensThere's something quite magical about looking down at a Helicopter over the sea, it is quite fitting then that the subject of this photo is a Merlin! Lloyd was lucky enough to spend some time with the Portugese Air Force and Esquadra 751 during a training exercise.
Image © Lloyd Horgan
Nikon D300s + Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 lensThe Firecat has been seen at a few Northolt Nightshoots of late, however Antoine managed to catch this example hot-refuelling whilst on exercise at Liege Airport, Belgium, where the Securite Civile was training firefighting in the Ardennes mountains along with a Canadair CL-415. It's great seeing big cats in their element.
Image © Antoine Bosboom
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensAs it is the end of the year, the forums have been busy with a number of shots from throughout the previous year and Tony took us through some of his less than ordinary exploits throughout 2013. Perhaps the most special being a visit to Natal AB in Brazil for the Cruzex Exercise where he caught this lovely Brazilian Air Force F-5.
Image © Tony Osborne
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS lensAnother member that joined in with the "year in review" threads was Alex who posted this superb image of a big old bid, a Lithuanian Air Force AN-2. This is the last example in service and when it runs out of hours it will be retired.
Image © Alex van Noye
Nikon D600 + Nikkor 200-400mmThe Red Flag exercises at Nellis AFB are world famous for the variety of types that take part and the almost constant action throughout the fortnight of the exercise. Ivan spent a few days with the USAF during the exercise and caught this Dyess AFB B-1B thundering into the skies to take part in another mission.
Image © Ivan Voukadinov
Canon EOS 5D MkII + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lens
Pictures Of The Week
Week 51, December 2013
Clockwise from top left:
Yeovilton's annual battle set piece is known for the large number of Helicopters that take part with plenty of explosions. Shaun captured the finale of the 2013 set piece as the old and new boys of the Royal Navy Helicopter Force formate in front of the black smoke to salute the crowd.
Image © Shaun Schofield
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensBwlch Pass is infamous for fast action low level photography, mainly Hawks and the occasional F-15 from Lakenheath. However without any prior knowledge Pedro visited the pass in April to be treated to the final low level sortie of the Saudi Tornado that was based at Warton prior to it returning East. This powerful shot was caught on its second pass.
Image © Emilio Di Pietro
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 300mm f2.8 L lensSalisbury Plain is fast becoming a popular spot for photography. Rich went hunting on his way to Coningsby in September and caught this Chinook on the ground taking part in an Army exercise under close protection.
Image © Richard Pittman
Kecskemet was arguably the best European Airshow of 2013 with a massive flying display consisting of a mixed bag of Western and Eastern hardware. The venerable Mig-21 was one of these acts and Laszlo Fabri caught this stunning image of a top side pass. One can only hope that we get to see a Mig-21 one more time in the UK before they finally go to the scrap heap in the sky.
Image © Laszlo Fabri (via Peter Ivanyi)
Nikon D3200 + Nikkor 300mm f4 AF-S lens & + 1.4x TCWhen a military branch puts on a special show you know you are in for a treat. When the (now former) German Defence Minister visited Laupheim in August, the based CH-53G's put on a CSAR demo to show how they would rescue a downed Typhoon pilot.
Image © Alex Klingelhöller
Canon EOS 5D MkIII + Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS lens & 1.4x TCRussian heavy metal makes any enthusiast stop dead in their tracks and stare in wonder. It's not surprising then that a thread full of heavy metal from DJ peaked out interest! The IL-76 is a mean looking beast head on especially with a dark background.
Image © 'DJ'
There's nothing like getting close to an active military runway with your camera, especially somewhere exotic. Derek caught this F/A-18C returning to NAS Lemoore, a shot that many can only be jealous of.
Image © Derek Heyes
Pictures Of The Week
Week 50, December 2013
Clockwise from top left:
What more can you ask for than sun, sea and some nicely camouflaged military hardware? The Merlin is no stranger to photographers on UKAR, but I'm sure many aviation photographers in this country wish that the UK military fleets of this type were painted as beautifully as this Portugeese Air Force example. The aircraft is operated by Esquadra 751 and this image was captured by Dirk Jan de Ridder on an air-to-air photoshoot over the Atlantic Ocean.
Image © Dirk Jan de Ridder
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8 L lensShooting on an active US Navy aircraft carrier is what many photographers dream of, and Mark Rumble got the chance on USS Nimitz as part of the ships homecoming 'Tiger Cruise' to San Diego on December 10th. Our favourite shot was this formation of nine F/A-18E Super Hornets from VFA-147 'Argonauts' as they say goodbye to the USS Nimitz before returning to NAS Lemoore from a nine month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Image © Mark Rumble
Nikon D7000 + Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 lensIvan Voukadinov posted a stunning selection of images from an airbase most have probably never heard of, let alone seen pics from. The Russian Air Force station at Voronezh is home to MiG-25s, Su-34s and this Su-24 we selected as our favourite as it highlights the rough and rugged nature of traditional Soviet fighter aircraft. Check out Ivan's thread for a massive array of brilliant images.
Image © Ivan Voukadinov
Canon EOS 5D MkII + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensNo bad luck on Friday the 13th for Michael Clarke, who took this lovely shot of RAF Voyager ZZ333 blasting off from a wet runway 12 at Prestwick after a fuel stop. The Voyager is beginning to come of age in RAF service, with the aircraft now operating the Afghan 'airbridge' replacing the venerable Tristar. Like many other RAF transport aircraft the Voyager has become a regular at Prestwick.
Image © Michael Clarke
Canon EOS 400D + Canon EF 55-250mm IS lensNightshoots are becoming more and more popular within the aviation photography community with many museums and bases now hosting events. This private event was Niels' first nightshoot and he said it was hard to get it right but we think he nailed it, shooting the flagship F-16BM of the Belgian Air Component's Operational Conversion Unit on the runway at Kleine-Brogel with external power providing illumination to the aircraft's exterior lights.
Image © Niels Roman
Canon EOS 7D + Sigma 18-200mm OS lensWhile much of the UK was covered in fog earlier in December, UKAR staff member Peter Reoch was at 28,000ft above it all flying in an RAF Tristar KC1 from 216 Squadron. 3 Squadron's 100 year anniversary marked Typhoon - nicknamed "The Reggae Jet" by a number of RAF personnel - was amongst the aircraft taking on fuel that day, and is seen here as it pulls up alongside 'Fagin 31'.
Image © Peter Reoch
We end this week's selection with another F-16 shot from the night shoot at Kleine Brogel. Marcel Bartwicki was among those invited for the event and captured the cockpit area of the Viper, silhouetted against a stunning winter sunset.
Image © Marcel Bartwicki
Pictures Of The Week
Week 49, December 2013
Clockwise from top left:
Well how's this for a rarity! In September, Pete went to the Flying Heritage Collection's Fly Day at Paine Field, Everett, Seattle and came away with (amongst many others) this superb shot of Collection's IL-2. It's the only flying example in the world and we're not sure about you, but we certainly never appreciated how much wing area the aircraft has!
Image © Peter Fenwick
As much as it's become the bread and butter of the UK military aviation scene, the Hawk really is a good-looking jet. And when it's adorned in this lovely US Navy scheme it just looks even better. Admittedly they have messed around with the name and called it the T-45 Goshawk, but we'll let them off. Check out more great T-45 photos of Derek's in his thread.
Image © Derek Heyes
If sunsets are your thing, there are plenty more excellent photos from Wattisham in Mark's thread - including a bit of F-4 action... We particularly love the sky in this shot; the short days are clear air at this time of year are great for catching the 'perfect' sunset.
Image © Mark Rourke
The debate over which mark of Spitfire is the best-looking is a hard-fought one. The UKAR team are very split - I (Ben H) love the clean lines and powerful stance of the later Griffon variants, whilst others (alright, everyone else) lust after Merlins. However, one thing we can agree on is how good it is to see a new warbird on the scene. This shot from Tony shows SM845, the latest restoration from HFL/ARCo, grabbing a breath of fresh air at wintry Duxford.
Image © 'Duxman'
Axalp is the gift that just keeps giving - even when it's cancelled! Several months on and we're still being treated to excellent photos on the forum, and shot from Mathias of a Swedish Gripen joining the low level fun is just that.
Image © Mathias Grägel
It could never be described as 'a looker' but the loyal Wessex was a stalwart of the RAF and Fleet Air Arm's helicopter squadrons for over four decades. Richard took this shot from the extended centreline of RAF Benson's runway, during the finale event for the type back in March 2002. What a sight and sound ten Wessex (Wessexes...Wessexi?) thundering overhead must have been!
Image © Richard Collens
Golden light on a golden aircraft. What a golden opportunity! Andrew took this excellent photo from the 27R roundabout at Heathrow earlier this month; click through to his thread for some more 'heavies' basking in a bit of winter sun.
Image © Andrew Whitaker
Pictures Of The Week
Week 48, December 2013
Clockwise from top left:
Liam Daniels' pinches top spot this week with a dynamic air-to-air capture of the last RAF C-130Ks as they took part in a farewell tour around the country they have served for decades. The photoship was one of the new C-130J models which will continue to operate for the RAF from Brize Norton for many years to come.
Image © Liam Daniels
Canon 600D + Canon EF 24-105mm ƒ4 L IS lensMark Kwiatkowski's thoroughly planned trip to Los Angeles paid off with this rare air-to-air of a Korean Airbus A380 topside as it was on finals. How, you may ask? Well, Mark managed to secure a helicopter flight and had it hover in a location where he could capture some commercial giants in action. He even lucked out with a shot of the Raytheon Boeing B727.
Image © Mark Kwiatkowski
Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensI'm sure every military aviation enthusiast is aware of the Japanese and their beautiful air force. Not only do they have lovely camouflage schemes but Niall Grant also caught this lovely F-4EJ Kai Phantom commemorating the 40th anniversary of 301 Hikotai's F-4 operations.
Image © Niall Grant
Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 400mm ƒ5.6 L lensTom Mercer spent a day with RAF Odiham and their Chinooks. This interesting shot of military members with a Chinook in the background had a very nice operational feel to it.
Image © Tom Mercer
Canon 50D + Tamron SP 70-300mm lensNo stranger to the UK airshow scene are Team Orlik of the Polish Air Force, Rob Hendriks captured them in lovely light in their home country at Radom Airshow. We were impressed by the stacking of the aircraft in the frame and it created an excellent end result.
Image © Rob Hendriks
Canon EOS 40D + Canon EF 300mm ƒ4 L IS lens & 1.4x TCApaches are infamous for their unphotogenic colour in dull light, young Nicholas Thompson was more fortunate with some great light on this banking gunship on a visit to the Salisbury Plains Training Area.
Image © Nicholas Thompson
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 300mm ƒ4 L IS lensConcluding this week's POTW in emphatic style is Stuart Freer with a beautiful banking SR-71 Blackbird in full afterburner departing RAF Mildenhall in the 1980s. Sadly now relegated to the history books, these elegant aircraft live on through Stu's quality scans in a thread which I actively encourage you to check out!
Image © Stu Freer
Minolta SLR + lens with Kodachrome 64 slide film