Red Arrows
Red Arrows performing smoke trails whilst in practice over their home base at RAF Scampton, England.
Red Arrows performing smoke trails whilst in practice over their home base at RAF Scampton, England.
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Feb, 2016Views
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Awards
Chatter Award
Top Shot Award 22
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Contest Finalist in Everything Smoke Photo Contest
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Spring Selection Award
Contest Finalist in Smoke Trails Photo Contest
Peer Award
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Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photograph was taken over RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, the home/base of the Red Arrows.Time
Well I don't remember exactly, but it would have been around 16-17:00hrs. I am fairly certain it was the last practice of the day.Lighting
The sun was low in the sky, behind and to the left of the aircraft as they were coming towards me.Equipment
This was shot with my Nikon D7000, with a 150-500mm lens, hand held.Inspiration
I love taking pictures of aircraft and watching the Red Arrows practice is a great fun. I feel like I am having my own personal display. If I don't get the shot I was trying for, then the RAF's finest often just do it again. We both get a good practice session when they are in the air. This shot is one of a series where they were practicing a manoeuvre which I think is called the corkscrew. It was not a particularly nice day, cloud everywhere so I thought I would try to get a very different shot to the blue sky backgrounds that we often see.Editing
The Photograph Is a year old so I can't remember exactly what post processing I did. I know I would have tweaked the sharpness very slightly and I am fairly certain I increased the saturation to enhance the slightly sepia look. The smoke was made a little more defined by playing with the shadow and highlight buttons. It was tweaked using windows own photo software. Nothing really fancy and quite minimal.In my camera bag
My bag is full of stuff I don't need but insist on carrying around "just In case"...lol. I carry a 70-300mm zoom, a 18-70mm wide angle lens and 2 small remote flash units. The camera manual lives in the bag with cleaning cloths and brushes, a variety of cables to attach to my tablet for "on the go" editing and an MP3 player.Feedback
For this particular shot a fast shutter speed and a steady hand is the best advice I could give. Obviously the time of day is important, this was late afternoon with a rapidly setting sun and it was a white cloudy drab day. This was shot at 1/1600 at f6.3 with an ISO of 250. Most people will not be lucky enough to be able to get to RAF Scampton in the winter months to watch the Red Arrows practice. It is a bit hit and miss also. I have been before (when they were supposed to be in the air) only to have a few hours sat in a field. Also recently there have been a few idiots climbing fences and getting in the direct path of the aircraft near the runway . Sooner or later this could spoil it for everyone. Be sensible if you can get. There are many places around the general area to watch and take picture's. You do not have to be on the base's immediate perimeter. This photo is proof of that. Stay safe so we can all enjoy the aircraft.
