My final outing of the year was back at VL once more, spending some time at the fence after popping into Cobham Hall and the FAAM on their open day.

VL_011112_06A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_011112_12 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_011112_20A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_011112_26 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_011112_29 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_011112_31 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_011112_33 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! Thanks for looking, all comments welcomed
Cheers
Shaun 🙂
A few days later, it was back to Old Warden for the Autumn airshow, providing my first opportunity to catch one of the Edwardians in sunshine! Was great to see jets tearing the aerodrome up, but these were given a run for their money by the SE5A in what was the most aggressive display I’ve seen from the type. Fantastic.

OW_Autumn2012_005 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_Autumn2012_007 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_Autumn2012_013 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_Autumn2012_018 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_Autumn2012_026 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_Autumn2012_032 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_Autumn2012_042 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
Duxford provided the traditional curtain call on the season with the autumn airshow. Not hard to pick the highlight here!

DX_Autumn2012_012 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_Autumn2012_028 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_Autumn2012_033 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
DX_Autumn2012_038 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

My first, and much delayed visit of the year to Old Warden followed a couple of weeks later, my first visit to an evening show for Shuttleworth Uncovered. Blessed with yet more stunning weather, this was possibly the most enjoyable show of the year from a photographic point of view, with the TVAL pair the obvious and undoubted highlight.

Uncovered_2012_001A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Uncovered_2012_042 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Uncovered_2012_009 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Uncovered_2012_073 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Uncovered_2012_099 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Uncovered_2012_105 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Uncovered_2012_104 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Uncovered_2012_017 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
Before the next airshow, we headed back to Brize, with every based type and plenty of visiting aircraft producing a bumper morning.

BZN_041012_05 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

BZN_041012_08A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

BZN_041012_19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

BZN_041012_22A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

BZN_041012_27A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

BZN_041012_30 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

BZN_041012_40A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

BZN_041012_42 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

BZN_041012_43 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
Following RIAT would be tough, and unfortunately, FIA failed pretty miserably. By far the least enjoyable show I’ve done for some time, with rubbish weather, disappointing line up, but worst of all, dreadful organisation. My first and most likely last Farnborough.

FIA2012_004 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

FIA2012_006 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

FIA2012_025 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

FIA2012_028 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
After a well earned rest, my next event was the ever-fantastic Cold War Jets Open Day at Bruntingthorpe, which seems to get better and better each time.

CWJOD_260812_009A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

CWJOD_260812_007A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

CWJOD_260812_024 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

CWJOD_260812_001A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

CWJOD_260812_031A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

CWJOD_260812_054A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

CWJOD_260812_055A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

CWJOD_260812_062A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
Next up was another visit to Duxford for the September show; another excellent line up in more good weather- Duxford got the lion’s share of sun last year!

DX_2012_054B by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_2012_002A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_2012_086A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_2012_099A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_2012_004B by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
A busy schedule got even busier, with four days spent at RIAT. Not much to say that hasn’t already, an utterly fantastic show in every respect.

RIAT12_Arrivals_156 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Arrivals_85 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Arrivals_024A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Arrivals_005A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Saturday_002AA by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Saturday_019A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Saturday_015A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Saturday_026A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Saturday_023AA by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Saturday_028A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Sunday_001A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Sunday_010A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Sunday_015A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Sunday_041A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Sunday_092 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Monday_003A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Monday_004A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Monday_011A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Monday_024A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT12_Monday_079 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
A week later, I spent three days at the local for the Yeovilton Air Day. More grey was the order of the weekend, but a brief window of sunshine at the end of the Friday provided one of the best hours of the year during the Commando Assault practice.

VL2012_Arrivals_018A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL2012_Arrivals_020A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL2012_Arrivals_023A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL2012_Arrivals_040A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL2012_Arrivals_037A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL2012_Showday_009A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL2012_Showday_013A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL2012_Showday_028A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL2012_Deps_11A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL2012_Deps_09A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
Another week, another show. Flying Legends never disappoints; the debut of Snafu, along with a trip of Spitfire Mk Is were great to see, but the trios of Curtiss fighters and Yaks were the real highlight, absolutely tearing the airfield to pieces!

Legends_2012_020A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Legends_2012_021A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Legends_2012_017A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Legends_2012_104A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Legends_2012_069A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Legends_2012_065A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Legends_2012_121A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
My first show of a busy year was the first of four visits to Duxford for the Jubilee airshow. Stunning weather and an interesting line up kicked things off very nicely indeed.

DX_Jubilee_045 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_Jubilee_058 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_Jubilee_069 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_Jubilee_053 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_Jubilee_108 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_Jubilee_076 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

DX_Jubilee_103 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
The good weather didn’t last long, with cloud near and gale force winds affecting Dawlish. Still, an enjoyable experience up on the hill as ever.

Dawlish_2012_008 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Dawlish_2012_010 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Dawlish_2012_015 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Dawlish_2012_035 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Dawlish_2012_037 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Dawlish_2012_038 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
The following weekend, I made my first visit to the Cosford airshow. Another grey day didn’t detract from a thoroughly enjoyable, varied show, with one obvious standout participant.

Cosford_2012_001 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Cosford_2012_002A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Cosford_2012_029A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Cosford_2012_054A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Cosford_2012_024A by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
Next up was a trip down the road to Dartmoor for Op Wyvern Tor. This was my first time at the event, and my favourite trip of the year, producing the sort of photo opportunities I rarely get to experience, all in fine weather.

WyvernTor_2012_001 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

WyvernTor_2012_003 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

WyvernTor_2012_046 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

WyvernTor_2012_045 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

WyvernTor_2012_040 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

WyvernTor_2012_037 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

WyvernTor_2012_065 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

WyvernTor_2012_049 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

WyvernTor_2012_025 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

WyvernTor_2012_006 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
The following weekend saw me head back to Yeovilton to catch the Hawks that were operating from there for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee flypast. Conditions were overcast, but it was great to see so many jets back at VL, and their departures made for a frantic 15 minutes or so.

VL_190512_001 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_190512_005 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_190512_015 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_190512_042 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_190512_022 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_190512_021 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_190512_029 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
Thanks very much chap 🙂
Good line up, Spartan pair especially. What Spitfire is that Rob? I presume PTs Mk XI?
As I said, +2/3 is a starting point. You’re quite right that this would be possibly too high on a sunny day (not that we get too many of those at airshows!) though might still be required when shooting higher shutter speeds for jets. I’m always tweaking the EV when shooting to ensure I get the exposure as close to right as possible, with further tweaks if necessary performed during post processing, so it’s hard to know exactly what EV was used on any given shot without checking, hence the ballpark figure. You’re right in saying it’s better to go a little under than blow the image out completely.
There’s some very kind feedback there guys, thanks very much. 😎
To answer your questions, all shots up to the Weston Heli days were taken using a Canon 40D, with my new 7D used from Dawlish through to the end of the season. I’m pretty sure all shots were taken using a Canon 100-400L lens, although I have a Canon 24-70 F2.8 in the bag for static shots where the 100-400 is too much. Regarding exposure settings, it’s difficult to say as it tends to vary a lot depending on the weather and lighting conditions at the time, as well as the shutter speed and aperture being used. Typically, I’ll set the EV at +2/3 as a starting point, and adjust accordingly from there to suit the conditions, keeping the ISO at 200 for as long as I can get away with.
HTH, and thanks again,
Shaun

RIAT2011_Monday_003 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Monday_023 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Monday_033 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Monday_042 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Monday_043 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
July was rounded off by a quick trip up the road to catch the Czechs at Weston

WMH_2011_1 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

WMH_2011_3 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

WMH_2011_6 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
August was a quiet month, with a cold and damp Dawlish the only event I attended

Dawlish_2011_10 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Dawlish_2011_16 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Dawlish_2011_30 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
September was even quieter, but October saw the season out in style, first with the perfect show at Old Warden

OW_Autumn_2011_001 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_Autumn_2011_063 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_Autumn_2011_076 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_Autumn_2011_045 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_Autumn_2011_019 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_Autumn_2011_052 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
Followed by an enjoyable, relaxed finale at Duxford

Duxford_Autumn-2011_063 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Duxford_Autumn-2011_059 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Duxford_Autumn-2011_049 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
Apologies for the amount, but I found it a little difficult to whittle it down from so many shots taken this year!
Thanks for looking, comments welcomed as ever
Cheers
Shaun
A busy weekend was rounded off by a visit to Legends on the Sunday. A top show that will sadly be remembered for the wrong reasons.

Legends_2011_001 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Legends_2011_007 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Legends_2011_012 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Legends_2011_089 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Legends_2011_014 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Legends_2011_096 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
RIAT followed, taking in four days. Thursday was my first time at arrivals, in addition to both show days and departures/

RIAT2011_Thursday_003 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Thursday_035 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Thursday_023 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Thursday_057 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Saturday_005 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Saturday_007 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Saturday_016 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Saturday_020 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Sunday_002 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Sunday_016 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Sunday_023 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

RIAT2011_Sunday_049 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
The Cotswold airshow was excellent, the Hunters providing one of my season highlights

Kemble_2011_03 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Kemble_2011_021 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Kemble_2011_047 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Kemble_2011_019 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

Kemble_2011_048 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
I was back down at VL again later that week for the FNHT fundraising event to catch the Sea Vixen and friends

VL_230611_08 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_230611_02 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_230611_011 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_230611_012 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_230611_035 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
July was busy, beginning with Old Warden’s military pageant

OW_July2011_001 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

OW_July2011_027 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr
Followed by a stellar show at Yeovilton, definitely the single day show of the year for me. Spent the Friday outside for arrivals, followed by the show day on base.

VL_2011_015 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_2011_016 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_2011_019 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_2011_023 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_2011_027 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_2011_028 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

VL_2011_034 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr