My last post (please ignore for the moment, if you don’t mind, that it was quite a while ago) featured some things photographed from my back garden, most of which I’d never really expected to see. This post, it turns out, is basically on the same theme.
Last Friday evening I was sitting in my living room after work with the back door open, as I often do on a summer’s evening, when I heard the approaching roar of a jet engine. Round these parts that’s rare but not unheard of; a couple of years ago a fighter jet flew past lower than the level of my bedroom window, and more commonly passenger jets both commercial and private circle overhead waiting for a spot to land at Gatwick Airport.
This, however, was louder than I’m used to, and warranted running out into the garden to take a look, and saw none other than the RAF Red Arrows flying past. I watched in amazement as they went by, then immediately regretted not grabbing my camera, or even my phone, to grab a shot. That won’t happen again for quite a while, I thought.
It did make me do an internet search to see if there was a way I could’ve been aware ahead of time of such a thing happening again, which is when I found out that the same thing would be happening again the following day.
Moreover, they’d be coming back again the other way too. It turns out they were performing at the Eastbourne air show over several days and their flight path took them pretty close to the end of my garden.
Now, I am out of practise quite a bit, but that isn’t the sort of opportunity I’m going to, if you’ll pardon the pun, let just fly by.
So the next day I was ready.
Despite having recently bought a new camera, this time I stuck with my trusty EOS 60D, solely for the reason that it has a crop sensor and so would allow me to get closer to the planes than my new camera, which is full frame. For maximum reach I used my 70-300mm telephoto lens.
The first challenge was the information I found only had certain points on their journey, so I had a five minute window they’d be flying by – assuming they were on schedule.
Second challenge was the relatively narrow view of the sky where they’d be flying. My neighbours’ roofs block a bit of the view meaning when they were approaching from the east you don’t get much notice of exactly where they’re coming from, and only had a few seconds of prime shooting time before they disappeared behind another roof.
Still, this is the sort of one-chance shooting I enjoy. No thinking in the moment, just get the shot, and hope that whatever prep you’ve been able to do is good enough.
Anyway, I’ve waffled enough without giving you a picture.
I know what you’re thinking: there’s only three of them. I believe their standard practise is to fly in two groups, and on this occasion I was a bit slow for the front group of jets – but I managed to get a good shot of the three at the back.
And then a roof got in the way.
I did get one shot of the first batch of planes on this pass.
I continued to snap them as they flew into the sun, but more roofs and the harsh light made for not great images.
A couple of hours later they came back in the other direction.
Although when they were travelling this way I could see them coming a bit better, there was still only a tiny window in which to get any decent photographs of them.
With my camera in high burst mode, I still got plenty of pictures in that little window.
And just like that, they were gone.
This was one of those little photographic opportunities that I’ve not had in quite a while, and I was quite pleased to be able to pounce on it, and get some decent results even if I’m really quite rusty at it. I
It has also, somehow, been 12 years since I last photographed the Red Arrows – the last time being their fateful display at Bournemouth Air Show in 2011. I really shouldn’t let it be so long until the next time.