This is the start of the most intense and diverse aviation venue I’ve ever attended. The Royal International Air Tattoo also known as RIAT, has been an event that has been on my bucket list for quite some time now. It is the world’s largest military airshow that goes from Wednesday to Monday. I Missed Wednesday due to My helicopter flight over London.
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Despite the scale of this show, the diversity of the flying displays along with the sheer number of attending photographers, capturing a unique image is going to be nearly impossible. But I can make a few of my images stand out by changing my shooting technique. It’s a widespread practice to shoot fast jets with the highest possible shutter speed to ensure freezing the motion to get the shot. I chose the gutsier move, to shoot much slower to give my images a sense of motion.
The major disadvantage of this is my keeper rate drops significantly which increases the chance of missing a shot. When I shoot with higher shutter speeds, my keeper rate is about 85 to 90% depending on the quality of light. The more light, the higher the keeper rate. But shooting with slower shutter speeds, it drops to 30 to 40%. It makes reviewing photos extremely painful. But when it’s done right; the sense of motion makes the subject jump out of the frame and it’s so rewarding. It should be noted that I wasn’t brave enough to do this the entire show and mainly used it during take-off and landings. But the more I did it, the more confident I became outside of my comfort zone. Enjoy my perspective of Arrival Day at RIAT 2024.
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Even though I rented a car during my trip to England, I didn’t feel comfortable driving into the heart of London having to deal with traffic and parking for my sightseeing adventures. I feel I would miss so much having to stay focused on driving. This meant from my hotel in Reading, I could take the bus to Pennington station, and from there ride the train into London. To venture into the unknown of such a large and world-renowned city was super exciting.
It was early Tuesday morning and with the help of Google Maps, it was time to answer the call to London. The bus to the Reading train station picks up in front of my hotel. After a short ride into downtown Reading, it was a brief but pleasant walk to the train station. Shoutout to Google Maps, it makes traveling abroad so much easier. It shows you what train to take (along with times), and how to get to the right track. And while on the train (same as when on the bus), it tells you how many stops until you reach your destination. I got to be honest, I thoroughly enjoyed the train ride into London. Was so peaceful and calming considering I’ve never been to London and my levels of excitement were growing as I got closer.
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Once off the train, I made my way through the stunning open space of Pennington station to begin my adventure. My goal was to try to experience the city by seeing the most iconic landmarks of London. Big Ben, the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge, the London Eye, and a lesser-known point of interest, the Graffiti Tunnel off Leake Street. Mother Nature was being kind, and the weather was picture-perfect. I spent the day navigating the city, had lunch on the Thames, bought souvenirs for my friends, and even rode on the underground a few times, which I found noisy but convenient. After a long but memorable day and a shit ton of walking, I made my way back to my hotel in Reading.
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After doing helicopter flights over LAX and Seattlelast year, I had to do one over London. On very short notice and with the help of Wingly, I was able to search and book a site seeing flight. The day after my bus and train trip into London, I drove down to Blackbushe Airport to meet Simon, the pilot of my scenic flight. After a quick safety briefing, pre-flight checks of the Robinson R-44, and clearance for departure, we were in the air and headed to London. From Blackbushe airport, the planned route was to join up with the Thames, fly on the southern side up to the London Eye, and turn back on the northern side. Simon was very professional and informative about numerous points of interest up and down the Thames. The only downside of the flight was due to where we took off from. It took more time to get to London than the actual time we spent over it. This was due to my last-minute booking which really limited my choice of flights. Most of the longer scenic flights with closer departure locations were already booked well before I even had this idea. But it was still very exciting and got a unique perspective of London. Time for me to cut the chatter and let you to check out some photos from this adventure. Enjoy!
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If you missed my first two post about my London Adventures, look here…
So, I’ve been struggling with a question “What do I love more, Aviation or Photography?” There’s something uniquely alluring about capturing photos of aircraft in close proximity bathed in amazing light. And you know I couldn’t resist doing some spotting at London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) while I was in England. It’s the busiest airport in Europe and one of the busiest in the World. I discovered two locations; the first one was sketchy as fuck. It was at the roundabout at Bath Road and Stanwell Moor Road to catch arrivals on runway 09 Left. I didn’t spend much time here due to its precarious location. And the other is a well-known quaint little park at the end of Myrtle Avenue for activity on runway 27 Left. This location, I feel is far superior but it’s worth noting that parking there sucks. Went multiple times, shot a couple hundred images, and got to see some special liveries and a bunch of airlines from around the world that I don’t get to see at Detroit Metro. That’s enough talking, let’s get on with it!
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This unforgettable story begins back in January of 2024 when I was proudly reviewing my photos from my 2023 adventures. I had far surpassed my expectations and my personal goals for the year. In the process of capturing these moments, it pushed me well beyond my comfort zone. As I was sitting there marinating in my accomplishments, I heard myself ask, “What the hell are you going to do next year?” At first, I had no idea about what I wanted to do in the coming year. But then I quickly realized that there were a few things I wanted to accomplish. First off, I wanted to travel internationally. There’s a whole planet to explore with tons of different cultures, places to get lost in and I want to see it. Secondly, I’ve always wanted to do air-to-air photography but never knew how to go about it. Fortunately, at Thunder over Michigan, I caught up with a fellow aviation photographer who shared his experiences working with various air-to-air services. Long story short, it’s “Pay to Play”. Meaning, if you got the coin, you can go fly & photograph. And it is not cheap. The fact is you’re paying for a unique if not rare photo opportunity that’s professionally organized that has limited availability and hard to duplicate. And after a bit of googling, I came across the Aviation PhotoCrew. They offer what I feel is the most appetizing and diverse selection of subjects in various locations including North America. And of their 2024 projects, there is “Warbirds UK”! The thought of photographing iconic World War Two fighters over the English countryside gave me goosebumps. To add to the excitement, the following weekend is the Royal International Air Tattoo also known as RIAT. According to Wikipedia, it is the world’s largest military airshow, and it has been on my bucket list since I started my journey in aviation photography. Seeing the countless European demo teams and numerous exotic fighters from various air forces would be absolutely incredible. So, doing my first air-to-air photoshoot with warbirds over the English countryside along with going to the world’s largest military airshow within a span of a week. Yeah, that’s what I’m going to do this year!
Fast forward through six months of the chore like routine of work, patiently saving, strategically planning, nervously booking, and confidently reserving. Surprisingly, everything worked out perfectly. The overnight flight across the pond was pleasant and comfortable, my first time driving in England was not as difficult as I imagined and navigating to the hotel was easy with Apple CarPlay. Getting checked in and having dinner was relieving after such a long exhausting day of traveling. The next morning woke up to overcast skies and scattered showers which is not ideal for an air-to-air photo shoot. According to the Aviation PhotoCrew email, the photo mission could be cancelled if the cloud ceiling were too low and rainy. And during my drive over to the Old Warden Aerodrome, the rain and mist just added more doubt to the day’s adventure. Fortunately, the weather at the airfield was slowly clearing up and soon enough our photo aircraft arrived, the famous Pink Skyvan. Eric and his enthusiastic crew came over and introduced themselves. And what a bunch of great guys. After the meet and greet, we got our safety gear on along with whatever photo gear we were taken on the flights and headed over to the Skyvan.
With the Skyvan being a turboprop, it requires jet fuel which was not available at the aerodrome. So, we based the rest of our flights out of Turweston airport. This gave us a place to grab a bite to eat, collectively nerd out about our love for aviation and photography, along with refuel the Skyvan before the next flight. After the first flight, we were much more relaxed and talkative as a group. And before we knew it, it was time for the next flight. My next location was in the middle of “Business Class”. This was a row of padded benches instead of the hard floor of the Skyvan. The second flight was the shortest, with only one subject, an amazing Hawker Hurricane. But oh my god he flew in super close formation with us. Then it was back at Turweston airport, refueled the Skyvan and we were back in the air for our longest flight with two Spitfires and two P-51s. Capturing breathtaking photos of World War Two fighters dancing over clouds, combined with the vibrant color of the English countryside was immensely exhilarating and truly unforgettable. Even though we all had smiles from ear to ear during that longer flight, I think everyone couldn’t wait to be back on the ground to warm up. Back at Turweston for the last time for fuel and with nothing else to photograph the rear door was closed and we headed back to the Old Warden Aerodrome. Words fail me at completely describing how incredible this whole experience was. It is something you must experience for yourself. Big thanks to all the amazing members of the Aviation PhotoCrew for organizing such an extraordinary event.
