Well, what a few days I had photographing RAF Jets at Lakenheath & Mildenhall. To say I was excited is an understatement - I happy danced... several times. It was brilliant! Whilst on holiday on the East Coast, we just happened to hear, before we saw, F35's overhead. After a little research we found we weren't too far from 3 RAF Bases. With my equally excited (& very patient) husband, we set off for a day (which turned into 2 days! - sorry!) of plane spotting.
SPOILER ALERT - If you make the trip to RAF Lakenheath - take ear defenders. Thank me later!
The Stars of the Show: A Diversity of Aircraft
We ventured across to RAF Marham, which is a fascinating museum of RAF history. It is still a working base so we saw the odd little plane go out. Such a lovely group of people, we were offered tea/coffee as we pondered round & very helpful with information on the exhibits!
As recommended by the lovely people inside the museum, we headed over to RAF Lakenheath - where we were not disappointed. 6 hours in total (over the 2 days), 1200+ photos & leaving with an inability to no longer hear, I captured F35's, F15's Ospreys & Cargo Planes (the later were over at RAF Mildenhall on day 2).
Most images of the planes from the day can be found here in my "Aircraft" Gallery. Although some images didn't make the cut, BUT were too cool not to share, have a flick through the slideshow below.
This was the first time really trying to photograph fast moving objects in the sky, and so it was a "Learn as I Shoot" type of day (which I love!). I found that naturally occurring factors, like the sky, weather, sun position all presented learning opportunities, namely due to the lighting and overexposure. Whilst I am over the moon with some of the images I captured from my day, I absolutely took away a lot of information and "What I'll Do Next Time's" from this session. I'm looking forward to what images I'll get next time!
Conclusion
I loved being next to these absolute monster machines & watching the talented pilots perform crowd pleasing manoeuvres overhead! I was taken back to my childhood years of watching the Red Arrows over Broadstairs Coast & the happiest was indescribable - & to be there with my camera... well, I was in my element.
I will absolutely be learning how to make the light work for me rather than have to bin photos (so many photos 😒) because of lighting imbalance that I couldn't fix in editing. I will continue to have fun with it and to remember through the ones that didn't make the album, I'm super proud and thrilled with the images I kept. They are continuously being added to here so be sure to check in from time to time with new images!
**Remember if you visit any of the locations mentioned to ensure you adhere to the rules, guidelines and laws surrounding the area - these are working RAF Bases and are to be respected as such.
Photography is about the journey & I love the lessons along the way!
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