A dot in the distance, slowly getting closer then quickly getting almost too close. Hold your camera steady, you only get so long to get the shot and then it’s gone, back towards the horizon. It’s the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team the Red Arrows screaming by with 7000 kg (15,000+ lbs) pushed by a Rolls-Royce Adour Mk 151 powerplant flying at 1,000 km/h (640 mph).1
Alex was there with his trusty Canon. “I was on the ground & tracked the Red Arrow until it looked right for the shot, then fired several frames & this one stood out, but I also have other good photo’s from that shoot.”
He continued to say, after asked what he was trying to get in shots like this, “I love the Red Arrows & in the past used to take movies of them, more recently I have gone over to DSLR, & now like to get as close as I can & try to get photo’s that others don’t.“
Camera: Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/640)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 300 mm
A Red Arrow Hawk fan for many years, Alex likes to watch the Red Arrows when they are based at Bournemouth Airport. “I always go to the end of the runway when they take off & land, just to get that special shot. I was at a display last year & got a nice photograph of them & it is now on the ‘Red Arrows site’ in the fanzone area, something I am quite proud of.”
I think this Red Arrow pilot also likes your pictures. This is another picture that Alex took that I really like. When I asked Alex about this photo he said “Yes a few people have mentioned about that, it shows they care about the public & I was again very happy to capture that picture.”
Alex is obviously an accomplished photographer who’s enjoyment shows in his photos. I asked him what he personally enjoyed about photography. “I want that special photograph, whether it is a plane in the right position, a person with the right look, a bird with it’s wings looking like an angel. This is one of the enjoyments of taking photographs & I hope I have given others enjoyment in the photographs I have taken.”
I asked Alex if he had a favorite photo from this group. “My favourite is the Red Arrow in the Sunset. I was going out for a meal on a hot Saturday night but remembered the Red Arrows were due to land at the airport at 8.45, roughly about the time the Sun would be setting. I wanted a shot of the Red Arrows landing in the Sunset, so I put the meal back & went up to the airport, unfortunately there were lots & lots of Mosquitoes around & I got bite’s all over me, & the Red Arrows didn’t turn up. But my waiting & Pain was worth it when One Red Arrow came in & I got that one Red Arrow in the Sunset. We learnt later the Red Arrows had landed earlier than they planned.”
Well Alex, we are not glad you got bug bit but we do appreciate what you go through to bring us such great pictures.
Alex Wilkie’s profile on flickr – Alex Wilkie’s photostream
Red Arrow Hawks – Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team Video
- Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team information Retrieved from Wikipedia Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Arrows [↩]

























