As well as working with models, I really enjoy aviation photography... Not the people carriers, they dont really do much for me, but mainly Military stuff floats my boat... And I don't mind admitting that I don't mind spending a day sitting at the end of a runway... (or night)
So. you already know that I'm not a fan on humans.. And the aviation community seems to have more than its fair share of plonkers attached to it.. Especially airshows!!! Jesus... Airshows....
So, what I dont get is the fact that some people take stepladders to an airshow?? then get in early and stand at the front, then stand on stepladders? as if the extra couple of foot will make much difference...
So no... not for me.. I much much prefer to bide my time and do a base tour or a photoshoot on an airfield.
May 2018.. and a 2 day shoot up on RAF Lossiemouth.. with 1Squadron... A live base... one that supplies the northern QRA coverage for the UK... They're a busy base.. with 2 qra shouts this week alone, Russian Bear's testing the UK's response
BBC News - Lossiemouth jets scrambled in QRA
What a couple of days shoot this was... a mix of weather conditions, which always helps... The images on this post were from the morning of day 1... which was cloudy, windy and wet... but that doesnt stop them flying!!! War's dont stop just cos of shitty weather.
One thing I always like to capture and document is the groundstaff... without these guys and girls... we're fucked.. the aircraft aint going up... so while the pilot's get all the glory... it is a real team effort..
Before the pilots even get near the aircraft, they are fuelled, prepped, armed in some cases and ready for flight... Before that the engineers are constantly servicing, repairing, upgrading the aircraft... it never stops....
Another bonus of base tours is seeing stuff like this, speaking to the people that work them... Even smelling the fuel.. fuck me, there's nothing that comes close to that lol.... best smell in the world for me.
While the pilots and ground crew feature in my images, I always blur their faces to protect their security... there's too many fruitcakes about.. It's an absolute pleasure to work with these people and see what they do... If only I had concentrated at school...
So. a quick walkaround the aircraft doing final checks before climbing into the cockpit...
In all. there's probably a good 30 mins of checks and stuff before these guys go out on a sortie... QRA is different... Those guys are airborne in a matter of minutes... We don't get anywhere near the QRA sheds.. the aircraft are armed and ready... The pilots are in their flying suits 24/7 ready to go.. the engineers are in there ready... and when 2 QRA aircraft launch - they always launch in pairs.. Another 2 are brought in, prepped and armed ready should they need to go up... It's a constant state of readiness!!
However, these guys were on training sorties.... and while the stress levels would still be high I would imagine..
They have the best job in the world..
