Pictures Of The Week
Week 8, February 2015
Clockwise from top left:
First uploads don't get much better. The only issue Harry has with this image is the height of the bar he has set for himself. Taken back at Flying Legends in 2013, we love the use of the panning, which keeps the focus on the aircraft. Technical points aside, you can almost feel the warmth of the sun and gentle summer breeze. Though it makes us pine for the 2015 season to get into action, there are few better ways to kick up this week's top seven.
Image © Harry Silcock
Canon EOS 700D + Canon EF 70-300mm IS lensA different classic British design features next, with some of the most sublime composure and use of sunset colours we have seen for some time. Marek's shot was taken at the much-loved Lightning Night Shoot organised by the Lightning Preservation Group. If you're stuck for creative ideas, we think that when looking at this shot, you could do a lot worse than take a leaf out of Marek's book.
Image © Marek Gembka
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f4 lensEarlier in the year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) took place at Davos. The events at Davos meant that the Swiss base at Meiringen was once again very busy with fast-jets. Taken when the Swiss Air Force F-18s on QRA duty were finally shut down, Studer made use of a full 10 seconds of exposure to capture this moody shot that's worthy being some sort of expensive Swiss wristwatch advertisement!
Image © Studer David
Sony A-77 II + Sony 70-200mm f2.8 G lensPOTW regular Andrzej has started his aviation year off in fine fettle spending time the 23rd Tactical Air Base at Mińsk Mazowiecki, Poland. Home to the much-loved and fearsome MiG-29, he caught a gaggle of four "Fulcrums" breaking to land following a 2v2 air combat exercise in what seems like utterly perfect conditions.
Image © Andrzej Rogucki
Canon EOS-1Dx + Canon EF 500mm f4 L IS lens & Canon 1.4x TCThough they are based in Italy, we don't often see the USAF Aviano-based F-16s on the forum. This has been balanced by Carl's spectacular offering from the base. It was difficult to pick a highlight, but this shot of one of the USAF's 31st Fighter Wing's finest with the spectacular Alpine scenery behind was too good to miss.
Image © Carl Brent
Canon EOS 1D MkIV + Canon Ef 300mm f2.8 L IS lensUKAR's own Mr. McDonagh has had a decent winter/early spring all things considered. Hot on the heels of his Red Flag and Death Valley trip, he visited the Aero India show this year. The RAF's Jaguars may be but a fond memory in the eyes of aviation enthusiasts in the UK, but those in India are alive and very much kicking. Be sure to check out the rest of the thread for some very special aircraft indeed.
Image © Rod McDonough
Pentax K-3 + Sigma 50-500mm lensWe'd be remiss this week not to feature an oldie this year, and where better than Stuart (yet again) and his shot of this F-111 Aardvark, then based at RAF Lakenheath. Once again it was a mighty challenge to choose just one shot for to feature in this week's top seven, but it made us think on how times change. Back then we were bored of the surplus Buccaneers, Tornados, A-10s, F-111s and more! These days we are faced with calling an RAF Tucano a "rare" sight.
Image © Stuart Freer Stuart Freer (Touchdown Aviation)
Pictures Of The Week
Week 7, February 2015
Clockwise from top left:
The venerable Queen of the Skies' retirement date draws ever closer. In our book there is no better place to start this week's top seven than with Wallace's magnificently composed image of HMS Gannet(Prestwick)-based Royal Navy Sea King HU5. The lovely old lady was taking part in a joint emergency services photocall at Scone/Perth Airport. Perfect lighting conditions and the use of a slower shutter speed has netted Wallace a shot to be proud of before the Sea King finally bows out of service.
Image © Wallace Shackleton
It's about this time of year when images of the RAF display acts undergoing their work-up to PDA appear on our boards. One-such is of Flt Lt Johnny Dowan, this year's Typhoon solo display pilot. With perfect conditions at hand, Barrie once again wowed us with his shots from the Lincolnshire base. He notes that this year's display is a little more flamboyant, something to look forward to, then, as the display season creeps ever closer.
Image © Barrie May
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 300mm f4 L lens & Kenko DGX 1.4x TCMyrtle Avenue near London Heathrow is almost hallowed ground for the aviation enthusiast looking for some decent angles of aircraft in all shapes and sizes. No further evidence is needed of just how special the place is than Andrew's perfect shot of this Qatar Airways A380.
Image © Andrew Whitaker
Canon EOS 500D + Tamron 70-300mm VC lensSpeaking of hallowed ground for aviation enthusiasts, UKAR's own Rod McDonagh spent a day after Red Flag trip (not jealous at all...), and where better than to stretch the legs of a new lens than the challenges of low-level photography. Judging by this, and the other shots he presented, we'd say that he was in the right tune so-far!
Image © Rod McDonough
Pentax K-3 + Sigma 50-500mm lensNext comes further evidence, as if any was needed, that Stuart is the undoubted king of the golden oldies. It's not only the variety of old hardware that is posted, but it's the quality of those images, too. More fantastic stuff, this time in the form of the much-loved English Electric Lightning. This photo of XS458 streaming her breaking 'chute stood out in particular.
Image © Stuart Freer (Touchdown Aviation)
From the old to the new, next. London's Battersea Heliport has hosted several unique visitors recently, few of them military. What a surprise it is, then, to see this Nigerian Air Force (pre-delivery) machine drop into London. A smart-looking machine, indeed, and a great catch.
Image © Thomas Hemburrow
Canon EOS 70D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensDanny's excellent shot concludes this week's offering. As the much-loved Lynx AH7 is quietly hurried out of service in the coming months, It's good to see it's replacement, the Wildcat, stepping boldly into it's older brother's big shoes. We know it's not de rigueur for new machines, but dare we say that, in this environment, it looks just as charismatic, if not more so than the "legacy" Lynx?
Image © Danny Bowie
Pictures Of The Week
Week 6, February 2015
Clockwise from top left:
Timing is vital within photography, whether it is in terms of the exposure or choosing the right moment to photograph, and the timing of this image is integral to it's success. Peter has seen and photographed this AW101 Mk641 multiple times since it's first emergence from the Westland Hangar in January so he initially elected to rest his camera on this occasion. However, with the presentation of the rainbow resulted in some impromptu photos being made in the short time that Peter had make the most of this opportunity, with the great resulting image taking top spot this week.
Image © Peter Mitrovitch
Over the last few weeks we have seen plenty of images where the photographer has taken advantage of the conditions that the winter weather presents, and Duane's image is possibly the most extreme example of this. This Army Air Corps Lynx Mk9A, seen at Kirkcudbright Range, was on a training mission to qualify door gunners and maintain currency on the M3M .50 Calibre and GPMG weapons systems used on the aircraft.
Image © Duane Hewitt
As part of Geoff's trip to Denmark last summer he took in a visit to the Stauning Museum, a venue with hangars that allow plenty of natural light onto the aircraft and despite the usual tight layout of museums Geoff took advantage of the available light to make some interesting images. This image depicts Sikorsky S-61A U-240, the sole example to be preserved, after it's retirement in 2005 following forty years of SAR operations with 722 Eskadrille. Despite the aircraft being returned to it's original metal/dayglo finish the nose radome remains, even though it was a much later addition.
Image © Geoff Stockle
This image from Hampshire takes advantage of some early February sun, conditions that couldn't be any more different to Duane's Lynx image. Richard's image portrays a more contemporary SAR helicopter with this HM Coastguard AW139 returning to it's Lee-On-Solent base, following a training mission.
Image © Richard Davies
After a fairly quiet day at the GLV-5, a low flying area used by helicopters in the Netherlands, Joan was treated to being able to photograph this RNLAF Chinook during its short period of training. Despite long telephoto lenses being commonplace among enthusiast photographers the close proximity of the Chinook is apparent in this image, proved by Joan having to use the minimum focal length of the 70-300mm lens used to be able to fit as much of the aircraft in the frame as possible.
Image © Joan le Poole
Days of photographing commercial aircraft at major airports such as Heathrow can sometimes lead to a repetitive image haul. However, this Kalitta Air Boeing 747-200F is one of the rarer examples that we have seen posted on the forums from Heatrow. Tony captured it on 8th February while it was delivering parts required for a US Airways Airbus A330.
Image © 'Bestlasham'
Philippe's work will be familiar to regular to those who regularly peruse the POTW offerings and his camera's first outing of the year has resulted in another inclusion. Once again he takes full advantage of the scenic locations that Switzerland offers with this Boeing 737-800 BBJ of Gama Aviation landing at Sion providing the subject on this occasion.
Image © Philippe Rey
Pictures Of The Week
Week 5, February 2015
Clockwise from top left:
A phantastic Phantom gets things started this week. With relatively few operators left using this magnificent machine in active service, any shots of F-4s are great to see, let alone one as well-composed as this. Tom took this excellent shot at Hyakuri. As he states, his objective was some recce Phantoms, and we think he's managed it and then some. Excellent stuff indeed. It's without wonder that this base is near the top of many enthusiast's wish list.
Image © Tom Wittevrongel
Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensNext up is an oldie, and most definitely a goldie. UKAR's very own Tim was granted permission by his friend to share some excellent shots of HMS Eagle's Commission of 1967. This shot in particular stood out. Visiting VIPs were often treated to a "show of force" to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Fleet Air Arm. Here, A Sea Vixen of 899 Squadron performs such a flypast. Oh to have been one of those VIPs!
Image © The Barry Young Collection
This An-26 has recently been familiar at Birmingham, and it's fair to say that it has to be the best looking "Curl" around at the moment. Operated on behalf of the Bulgarian company, Air Bright Ltd. This An-26 is available for charter flights, doing mostly cargo-work. Here's hoping she becomes an even more familiar sight around Europe in the years to come.
Image © Ian Bowley
Canon EOS 700D + Canon EF 70-200mm ƒ4 L IS lensIt's certainly warmer than the Mach Loop, and it certainly has a cooler name, too. POTW regular, Peter, travelled to Rainbow Canyon in California to shoot some low level action over there, and came away with a mighty fine set of images. The sheer volume of shots posted made it difficult to pick a favourite, but one we had to choose, and one we did. This EA-18G Growler belongs to VX-31, or Test and Evaluation Sqn 31, and we feel is living up to the Squadron's nickname of "The Dust Devils".
Image © Peter Steehouwer
Nikon D800E & Nikkor 400mm f2.8 VR lensIt seems that the Polish Air Force have recently given some of their F-16s a makeover. Wearing a smart new two-tone blue/grey camouflage, they still manage to have some of the most attractive-looking Fighting Falcons in Europe, comparable only to Greece. We were bitten with the green-eyed monster that is jealousy when Rob informed us that he was lucky enough to be aboard a Royal Netherlands Air Force KDC-10, refuelling twenty Polish Vipers. Mouth-watering stuff.
Image © Rob Hendriks
Canon EOS 40D + Canon EF 70-200mm ƒ4 L IS lensThe deliveries of T-6 Texan IIs to the Royal New Zealand Air Force has been well-documented on the forum recently. In another wave of deliveries, UKAR's Peter Reoch was on hand at Birmingham airport to catch the 8th and 9th models being delivered. It's a shame the weather didn't play ball, but he's lucky enough to caught two machines that are unlikely to ever set foot (or, more appropriately, tyre) in the UK again.
Image © Peter Reoch
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensConcluding this week is a throwback to Yeovilton Air Day in the year 1979. Amongst a fantastic thread full of Tomcats, Harriers and Starfighters, we actually had to choose this charismatic-looking Wessex HAS3 of 737 Squadron. Delivered in 1963, this machine had a great many years of service before tragically coming to grief at Predannack in 1992.
Image © Richard Digby
Miranda Sensomat + colour negative film