Follow the Leader
The Blades Display team Extra EA-300s's, strutting their stuff at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall 2015
The Blades Display team Extra EA-300s's, strutting their stuff at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall 2015
Read less
Read less
Canon EOS 500D
Aperture f/8 ISO 400 Shutter 1/2500 Focal Length 200/1 
Helston, Cornwall, GB
Feb, 2019Views
127
Likes
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 20 rankCategories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This image was taken on my last visit to the RNAS Culdrose Airday on 30th July 2015, which turned out to be the penultimate Airday ever held at Culdrose. It was the first time I'd taken out my DSLR for some time that year but I ended the day having taken over 700 images from the air display, all of which were taken hand held, with no tripod or monopod used.Time
We arrived early at RNAS Culdrose and were some of the first few visitors through the gate, which gave us a chance to find a great spot to pitch ourselves for the flying later in the day. In the meantime we had an opportunity to visit many of the static displays. Once the flying started it was camera out and getting as many images as I could, with the original of this particular one being taken mid-afternoon, at around 3:30pm.Lighting
The day was almost perfect for photographing an air display, with nearly total blue skies and bright sunshine, with just a few wispy clouds. The sun was in the perfect position, lighting up the aircraft to show up the colours and details of each one.Equipment
Canon EOS 500D 90-300mm Canon Zoom Mode: Aperture Priority Hand Held Focal Length 200mm f8, 1/2500 sec, ISO-400Inspiration
I love all aspects of aviation and air displays and have done since being a child, when my father worked for British Aerospace (then Hawker Siddeley) at the Woodford factory in Cheshire and we lived close to Manchester Airport, which I visited many times. Even today, if I have a chance to visit Manchester or any other airport, I'm there. If I don't have my camera with me, I still have a decent smartphone whose camera will do a decent job.Editing
The only post work I did on this image was to crop it to a vertical aspect. The original image was 4752x3168 and had a lot of empty sky to each side of the subjects, so I cropped it tight to 1457x3168, giving it a much more dramatic look. Other than that, all other aspects are as it came out of the camera.In my camera bag
Canon EOS 500D 90-300mm Canon Zoom Canon 18-55mm lens Battery drive Charger several batteries Memory cards Filters Cleaning cloths etc Assorted miscellaneous itemsFeedback
Location, weather conditions, sun position, time of day & light are all crucial in getting a good shot of aircraft, particularly at air displays. This image was taken in the far south west of England, with the display line (north west to south east) oriented in my favour at the time of day the image was taken, with the sun moving westward to give me advantageous light conditions.
