Pictures Of The Week

Week 47, November 2013

Pictures of the Week
Pictures of the Week
Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week

Clockwise from top left:

  1. Kicking off this week’s POTW section with a Golden Oldie from Fred Martin. This superb approach shot was taken during the summer of 1985 at RAF Waddington during a deployment of A-7 Corsair II’s from the Ioha ANG & South Dakota ANG.

    Image © Fred Martin
    Nikon FM camera with Kodachrome 64 slide film

  2. The days are drawing in now as winter sets in, but Gary’s set of images from RAF Coningsby shows that winter time spotting can still be very rewarding with some beautiful light on offer. This sunset shot of a Typhoon on final approach is our favourite of the bunch.

    Image © Gary Stedman
    Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lens

  3. Some more beautiful winter light in our next image, this time featuring a Wildcat AH1 operating on Salisbury Plain. The Wildcat may definitely be the ugly sister of the Lynx, but we’re hoping the rumours of a Royal Navy Wildcat solo display on the 2014 display circuit come true to see the new beast out and about.

    Image © Rich Pittman

  4. We’re a big fan of night photoshoots here on UKAR, and the Lightning Preservation Group held another dusk event in November. Andrew confessed his messed up the afterburner run images, but we think this stunning shot of the mighty Lightning outside the QRA shed at Bruntingthorpe makes up for that.

    Image © Andrew Kelly

  5. Another group to hold a recent night photoshoot was the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar who seem to be restoring new Spitfires & Hurricanes at a brilliant pace recently. Our favourite image from the event came from Gary Beale, who got this beautiful shot of RW382 during an engine run.

    Image © Gary Beale
    Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS lens

  6. Our final image this week comes from UKAR’s favourite Chilean photographer, Antonio. Our favourite image from his set from Santiago Airport was this CN235 operated by the Chilean Army sporting a lovely camouflage paint scheme.

    Image © Antonio Segovia Rentería
    Canon T3 + Canon EF 75-300mm lens

Pictures Of The Week

Week 46, November 2013

Pictures of the Week
Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week
Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week

Clockwise from top left:

  1. The late autumn light can make for some wonderful images. Chris chose the right day to visit Lakenheath to put his newly purchased 500mm lens to the test. As Chris says "On a clear but cold winter's day Eagle activity was at a high with over 20 launches. As evening approached the sun fell below a distant cloud base delivering an amazing sunset. If the sight of the sunset wasn't enough several aircraft returned from their sorties right at the moment the sun clipped the far side of the runway. On recovery, the F-15's glided straight into the suns path creating a memorable moment as captured."

    Image © Chris Heal
    Canon EOS 1D MkIV + Canon EF 500mm f4 L IS lens

  2. More sunset action from another East Anglian airfield RAF Marham. Mark's picture shows one of the resident Tornado GR4s just before the brakes come off and the afterburner fires up.

    Image © Mark Ranger
    Canon EOS 70D

  3. Hamilton Airshow, Canada was the place to be to catch a glimpse of the seldom seen (certainly on this side of the Atlantic) 'Snowbirds'.

    Image © Peter Fenwick
    Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lens

  4. This picture of an Apache operating on Salisbury Plain has been enhanced by the warm autumnal sun bringing out all of the detail on the Apache's dull green camouflage.

    Image © Jonathan Coombes
    Nikon D300 + Tamron 70-300mm lens

  5. The airshow season in this country may seem in the dim and distant past but if you are lucky enough to be able to travel there are opportunities to visit international airshows. Here Peter has captured an F-16 'Desert Falcon' of UAE Air force displaying at the Dubai International Airshow.

    Image © Peter Steehouwer
    Nikon D3X + Nikon 400mm f2.8 VR lens

  6. Continuing with the international theme the next image is of one of Republic of China's last few F-5F Tigers taken at Hualien in Taiwan.

    Image © Mark Rourke
    Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 75-300mm lens

  7. The final picture this week is of the much missed Bf-109G 'Black 6' but not as you may have seen it before. Here it was photographed at Swanton Morley in 1996 during the filming of the TV mini-series 'Over Here'. Chris reveals that "The Messerschmitt couldn't be flown if there was any threat of rain as there was a risk that the temporary paint could've washed off revealing the well-known desert scheme underneath, in fact this paint scheme was very temporary and was cleaned off within ten days of it being applied so there's probably not too many pictures of 'Black 6' wearing this scheme".

    Image © Chris Jefferson

Pictures Of The Week

Week 45, November 2013

Pictures of the Week
Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week
Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week

Clockwise from top left:

  1. Low level, American style. Taking the top spot this week is Tim's ultra sharp image of a Fresno F-16 making a dramatic pass through Rainbow Canyon in Death Valley National Park. Showing the patience of a saint, the photographer got lucky on his sixth day in the US with a unique photo capturing the pure power of the Fighting Falcon in full afterburner.

    Image © Tim Laurence
    Canon EOS 5D MkIII + Canon EF 500mm ƒ4 L IS lens

  2. With Hesja's Nikon almost melting in the Polish sun, we were glad his memory cards had cooled down enough to post another cracking set of shots on UKAR. Taken at Łask is this atmospheric image of taxying Polish F-16s complete with their distinctive conformal fuel tanks.

    Image © Slawek Krajniewski
    Nikon D800 + Nikkor AF-S 500mm VR lens

  3. Cutting a dash across the Doha Skyline is this Hawk from the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows. The team popped over from the Dubai Airshow to Doha, Qatar (well, it would be a shame not to!) together with the RAF Typhoon Display to perform a one-off show. Olly was happy with the photos, we at UKAR were too.

    Image © Olly Tindall
    Canon EOS 1D-X + Canon EF 400mm ƒ5.6 L lens

  4. Taken at the Temora Aviation Museum "Warbirds Downunder" airshow during the first weekend of November is this stunning close-up of the TAM's RAAF CA-27 Sabre. Powered by a Rolls-Royce/CAC RA.7 Avon Mk.26 axial flow turbojet, the museum's Sabre saw service with the Royal Australian Air Force on the Australian mainland and then later with the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

    Image © Brendan Cummins
    Nikon D7100 + Nikkor 300mm ƒ2.8 & 1.4x TC

  5. A historic moment for the Royal Air Force. Expertly captured on short finals to runway 20 at RAF Waddington following an overnight delivery flight from Greenville, Texas is the first Air Seeker for 51 Squadron. ZZ664 is the first of three examples due to join the RAF ISTAR wing in Lincolnshire.

    Image © Mark Meades
    Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lens

  6. Another historical moment, this time from March 2004. A line-up of North American T-2C Buckeyes from VT-9 "Tigers" sit in the sun at NAS Key West. Taken during the unit's final major training detachment with the type, the venerable Buckeye was retired from United States Navy service in 2008 and replaced by the T-45 Goshawk.

    Image © Richard Collens

  7. Time for reflection. Taken after sunset on Remembrance Sunday at North Weald is this evocative image of the Hurricane gate guardian together with a Union Jack and RAF Ensign on a still evening. See the rest of this excellent thread for some other moving photos depicting the history of this classic Battle of Britain airfield.

    Image © Trevor Jago
    Nikon 300s + Nikkor 18-300mm lens

Pictures Of The Week

Week 44, November 2013

Pictures of the Week
Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week
Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week Pictures of the Week

Clockwise from top left:

  1. Top spot on this week's POTW goes to the late, much missed, Mick Freer. His image of a Royal Navy Phantom FG.1 of 892 NAS at RNAS Yeovilton was posted by his son Stu. It is seen with the Spey engines in full reheat as it roars off the runway. On the nose are the special markings applied for Her Majesty The Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977.

    Image © Mick Freer (via Stu Freer)
    Minolta SLR + Minolta 200mm lens on Kodacrome 25 film

  2. Night shots and shoots are very much "in" for many aviation photographers at the moment. Their visual appeal is obvious, but the different challenges to be overcome add another dimension. Here, Bartek shot a brand new Casa C-295M on delviery to the Polish Air Force, at Krakow. The light from the cockpit and the way the landing lights have illuminated part of the blurred propeller disc is particularly eye catching.

    Image © Bartosz Bera
    Canon EOS 5D MkII + Canon EF 70-200mm ƒ4 L lens

  3. The second of two night shots this week comes from the annual night taxi event ofy Lancaster BVII "Just Jane". Harry posted this black and white image, with contrast between the dark sky and the illuminated nose of the aircraft. Also note the poppy wreath in the bomb aimer's position.

    Image © Harry Measures
    Canon EOS 7D & Canon EF 17-55mm ƒ2.8 IS lens

  4. Gary was rewarded on his first trip to photograph the helicopters on Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) with this visit by Gazelle ZB693. This is a colourful shot of the Gazelle against the landscape at Everleigh, well composed as the pilot manouevres close to Gary's position.

    Image © Gary Beale
    Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lens

  5. UKAR Staffer Mike Hall posted a thread of "oldies" featuring the Italian Starfighter at the end of service. The one airframe featured was painted in a striking red livery by Ducati, the 999 celebrating their new superbike at the time. The prancing horse on the tail was the personal motif of First World War Italian fighter ace Franceso Baraccas.

    Image © Michael Hall
    Canon EOS 1D MkII + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lens

  6. Shot from one of the locations familiar to LHR enthusiasts, the 'ESSO Garage' for departures on runway 27L, Rob captured this beautiful image of an Emirates Airbus A380. The evening light gave a gold tint to the white fuselage and the huge wings cast a shadow on the rear fuselage.

    Image © Rob Laker

  7. Vincent captured some spectacular effects in the light and cloud at Amsterdam Schipol Airport, shooting the departures. In this well composed shot, an A330 casts a shadow as it passes above a cloud, whilst also trailing voritces from the tips of the winglets.

    Image © Vincent Kok