Civilian Aviation

Catching up on some long overdue editing, here are some shots of the civilian participants at Northolt Nightshoot XI held on 12 April 2012:


Netherlands Government Fokker 70 by Nick Challoner, on Flickr


Metropolitan Police EC145 by Nick Challoner, on Flickr


Netherlands Government Fokker 70 by Nick Challoner, on Flickr


Metropolitan Police EC145 by Nick Challoner, on Flickr


Netherlands Government Fokker 70 by Nick Challoner, on Flickr

Military participants can be seen over on Fighter Control at https://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/ ... 8&t=200327

Nice shots, Nick.

2012!!! very nice Nick and well worth the wait

Andy

Those are nice.
Several of you guys on here do great nightshots. Well done for the techniques required.
I enjoyed a few daytime shoots at Northolt (and many years previous at Brize Norton).
It's a pity, they or others don't try an occasional daytime event.

Pete.

Nice shots. When I was based at Northolt they didn't do any of this stuff, in fact I had to get permission to carry a camera at work and get the aircrews permission if I wanted to take a photo of their aircraft. Still, given the people passing through I suppose it was understandable even though there was a spotters enclosure within the airfield just off West End Road.

LondonEye wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:05 pm

Those are nice.

Thanks.

LondonEye wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:05 pm

Several of you guys on here do great nightshots. Well done for the techniques required.
I enjoyed a few daytime shoots at Northolt (and many years previous at Brize Norton).
It's a pity, they or others don't try an occasional daytime event.

Northolt did seem to set the trend for nightshoots, and they work particularly well there due to the excellent lighting. The basic technique is surprisingly simple, so don't be put off attending a nightshoot when they resume. The most important thing is to use a tripod. Everything else is the same as shooting in daylight really, just with longer exposure times, hence the requirement for the tripod. A basic one costing £25 is fine, and you can progress to more expensive and stable options if you decide to attend more events. A remote release is very useful, so that you do not introduce vibrations by needing to press the shutter button on the camera itself. It's not essential though - you can use the countdown timer built in to the camera to add a delay between pressing the shutter button and the shutter opening to allow the vibrations to die down. The rest is the same as shooting during the day - compose and shoot. With digital you can of course see the results immediately and tweak and reshoot if required. Good starting settings would be ISO 200 and f/11 in aperture priority mode. ISO 200 means the exposures shouldn't be too long, and f/11 gives a good depth of field. Cameras are surprisingly good at getting a good exposure, so you often don't need any exposure compensation. Mirrorless/"live view" mode and touchscreens make things even easier in terms of focusing and checking exposure, if you have them.

waghorn41 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 04, 2021 4:34 pm

Nice shots.

Thanks.

waghorn41 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 04, 2021 4:34 pm

When I was based at Northolt they didn't do any of this stuff, in fact I had to get permission to carry a camera at work and get the aircrews permission if I wanted to take a photo of their aircraft.

I believe the chaps that organise the nightshoots essentially do the same! The Stn Cdr grants permission for the events to take place, and we are limited to photographing only the aircraft that have specifically been invited to the event. The organisers sometimes also ask the crews visiting on other business if they would allow their aircraft to be photographed, and sometimes they agree (I think the Fokker 70 above falls into that category).

I don't know if you remember Building 27 when you were at Northolt, but the nightshoot donations go towards its stunning restoration back to how it was in June 1940. Back then it was the sector ops building, and had been used by Dowding when developing the integrated air defence system that was so crucial in the Battle of Britain. More info and photos at https://www.northoltnightshoots.com (a friend and I voluntarily host and maintain the website).

Don't remember the number of any of the buildings - except 109, a grotty, damp, cold and dark blister where we were restoring the Bf109 'Black 6'

Thanks for the info, Nick.
Useful info for me and others to give it a go.

Pete.

Lovely pictures- thanks for sharing

Bob