I set off at 6:20am from Hertfordshire, drove at a leisurely pace up a quiet A1 all the way to Newark. There was a bit of traffic building from there, but I soon hit the Red Route, sailed straight into Waddington, and was parked up right outside the air-conditioned Lord Trenchard pavillion at 8:30am.
In between hob-nobbing with the gentry, and enjoying a near-continuous stream of waiter-served food and drink... I occasionally noticed activity in the skies above. Apparently there was some kind of show going on, so I pointed my camera at the flying machines and took a few photos (the butler couldn't do it, since they don't allow that kind of riff-raff in the pavillion).
Joking aside, what a day! Blazing hot, and more great displays than I could shake a stick at. I was in the Trenchard pavillion because all the other enclosures were sold out by the time I got around to booking, and since this was my first ever (and probably only ever) visit to Waddington... I thought it was worth splashing out a bit. Red Route, private car park, food and drink provided all day, air conditioned pavillion, clean and civilised toilets, no queues for anything - all good! Didn't have to cart all my usual gear around with me. Excellent location for watching the show. The only downside was a sit-down lunch, meaning I missed everything after the Vulcan landing, until the arrival of the Red Arrows. And I had to skip dessert, coffee etc to go and watch the Reds!!! OMG my dessert!
The star attractions for me (and the biggest reasons I was there) were the Swedish contingent and the Vulcan... and they were great to see of course... but the Solo Turk (and that irrepressible commentator!) and the outstanding Red Arrows performance stole the show for me. I thought the Vulcan was amazing - I don't know what its displays have been like in the past, or why people think it was a tame display... but I was in awe!
Well, on with the photos...
1. Typhoon
2. Merlin
3. BBMF
4. Commemorating 617 squadron, their original mount and their current...
5. The mighty Vulcan
6. Vulcan
7. Red Arrows
8. Saab SK60
9. Saab Viggen
10. Saab J29 Tunnan
11. F16 "Solo Turk"
12. F16 "Solo Turk"
13. Breitling Wing Walkers
14. Breitling Wing Walkers
15. Breitling Wing Walkers
16. Saab JAS 39 Gripen
17. RAF Falcons - these guys are amazing - after jumping from 12000ft, and doing a display on the way down, every one of them landed within about 20 ft of the target...
18. RAF Falcons
19. Belgian F16
As usual, all taken with my Panasonic FZ200 non-DSLR, and red dot sight fitted. This time with Panasonic 1.7x teleconverter - which I regret. It was good for some stuff, but bad for anything big or close by - which was often, given my location. I missed a lot of shots due to not enough wide angle, and on a day like that, it was also useless for distant take-off/taxi shots, due to so much heat haze.
Adding/removing the TC is not something I can do quickly either, although I am awaiting delivery of something that should alleviate that. I hope it arrives before Duxford Legends...
Thanks for looking! I hope you saw something you liked! I'll post some photos from the ground displays soon...
EDIT: More added below
Waddington 2013 - Sunday (non-DSLR) updated
Waddington 2013 - Sunday (non-DSLR) updated
Last edited by Hatstand on Sat 25 Feb 2023, 10:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Goodbye 600D... Hello FZ150!
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Re: Waddington 2013 - Sunday (non-DSLR)
Solo Turk and Falcons, stand out for me.
David
David
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Re: Waddington 2013 - Sunday (non-DSLR)
Really good set again. #11 is a lovely shot.
"You really are an oafish philistine at times!"
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Re: Waddington 2013 - Sunday (non-DSLR)
You should visit more often, the weather's always like that up here
Fantastic results from a non-DSLR A lot better than mine anyway
Future tip (if you don't mind me saying) I believe the left Red Arrow is always in front when they cross, so you may wanna focus on that one next time.
Fantastic results from a non-DSLR A lot better than mine anyway
Future tip (if you don't mind me saying) I believe the left Red Arrow is always in front when they cross, so you may wanna focus on that one next time.
Re: Waddington 2013 - Sunday (non-DSLR)
Here's a few more, from the ground displays "down the other end"
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Once again, thanks for looking.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Once again, thanks for looking.
Last edited by Hatstand on Sat 25 Feb 2023, 10:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Goodbye 600D... Hello FZ150!
Re: Waddington 2013 - Sunday (non-DSLR)
Thanks for the comments everyone!
Including the one in my original post... that makes only 2 out of the 5 with the left Red Arrow in front, for the cross over. A more reliable method would be to watch which I choose to track, then track the other one! Haha! :-D
By the way, the red dot sight + 12fps burst rate... makes catching the cross-overs so easy, it feels like cheating! :-D
Ah... if only it were so simple! I shot all of these at Waddington on Sunday:Waddo Wabbit wrote:Future tip (if you don't mind me saying) I believe the left Red Arrow is always in front when they cross, so you may wanna focus on that one next time.
Including the one in my original post... that makes only 2 out of the 5 with the left Red Arrow in front, for the cross over. A more reliable method would be to watch which I choose to track, then track the other one! Haha! :-D
By the way, the red dot sight + 12fps burst rate... makes catching the cross-overs so easy, it feels like cheating! :-D
Last edited by Hatstand on Sat 25 Feb 2023, 10:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Goodbye 600D... Hello FZ150!
Re: Waddington 2013 - Sunday (non-DSLR) updated
FZ200 does Reds crossover - way to go!!! (or whatever they say in our ex colony)...
Another superb set, well done!
Another superb set, well done!
Anything less than 900mm is wide angle
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Re: Waddington 2013 - Sunday (non-DSLR)
Fair enough, I stand corrected
Yeah the RDS + 12fps sure makes it a lot easier.
I also found that AFF worked better than AFS for me.
Hatstand wrote:By the way, the red dot sight + 12fps burst rate... makes catching the cross-overs so easy, it feels like cheating!
Yeah the RDS + 12fps sure makes it a lot easier.
I also found that AFF worked better than AFS for me.
Re: Waddington 2013 - Sunday (non-DSLR)
Waddo Wabbit wrote:I also found that AFF worked better than AFS for me.
Mm. The best airshow results I've ever had from the FZ200 were with AFS, so I've stuck with it ever since. I have theories as to why AFS might be better... but nothing I can prove definitively. Could be just me being superstitious :-D And in any case, my settings are tailored to my particular way of shooting (or I've changed my technique to suit the settings!)... they may not be useful for other people.
If nothing else, that "best ever" day revealed what the camera is capable of, whatever the settings are. Lighting on the day has something to do with it... but basically if I don't get results that good at other airshows, I now know it's mostly me to blame, not the camera!
Goodbye 600D... Hello FZ150!
Re: Waddington 2013 - Sunday (non-DSLR) updated
The rear end shot of the Static Typhoon is a lovely angle.
Andy
Andy