Thanks for the comments.
Hoodie, Morf is correct, the missiles are ALARM (Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile).
Fg Off Kite wrote
Hi, was thinking of having a walk up there with my son sometime; I have a D300 with Nikkor AF-S 70-200 f2.8 VR, would it be long enough? What do you use?
Hi,
All those images were taken with a 300mm (Nikon Nikkor 300mm f.2.8 VR). The last three images were taken with a 1.4x teleconverter fitted. Camera is a D2X. Now and again I use the 300mm fitted with a 2x teleconverter, depending on what type of shots I'm after.
A 200mm reach lens would struggle at most of the locations in LFA7. The majority of snappers on the hills are Canon users with the preferred lens being the 100-400mm. The majority of the traffic is Hawks and the 200mm would struggle to fill the frame from the ledges on the Bwlch (Bulk). A minimum reach of 300mm would be required to cover all the locations for all types of traffic.
The best location would be Cad West for the 70-200. I've got the Nikkor 70-200 on order at the moment to give myself a bit more variation on my airshow photography and especially for use at Cad West. I like to use the low-ledges on Cad West and wait for aircraft to go low through the pass. The 70-200 would be ideal for an aircraft going low through the 'notch' as we snappers call it. You could fill the frame at 200 as they bank over and then zoom out accordingly in order not to clip the wings/tail/nose off. The problem with Cad West is that aircraft don't always go through the valley low. Sometimes even from the top ledges you can struggle to get terrain in the background.
All the images at the following links were taken at Cad West with a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR. I was acting as a hill guide to the photographer and camera crews over the two day back in February. The photographer was using a 1.4x teleconverter for some of the shots. Bad weather/poor light made it a bit of a struggle even with a Nikon D3 body!
Eurofighter Typhoon -
Eurofighter Typhoon -
The other problem with Cad West is the sun. If the conditions are overcast then you can remain there all day. On sunny days the sun will be in your face and a bit of a problem up until around 1130. On bright sunny days most snappers do Corris Corner in the morning and then move to Cad West for the afternoon. On Corris Corner by mid-day the aircraft are turning into shadow. Cad East has no problems with the sun, but as the aircraft normally bank to starboard you'll get underside shots. Not everyone's cup of tea. Also the angle that they bank and turn in can defeat the VR completely.
At Corris Corner the 70-200 would struggle with the reach to fill the frame. Then again it all depends what line the aircraft takes. The Saudi Tornado I imaged on here cut the corner and I could have filled the frame completely with a 200mm as he shot past me. The GR.4 with the lake behind was shot with the 300 from the same location and I found it hard to fill the frame. The GR.4 approach to the corner was low and wide. It really is hit or miss what line the aircraft take at any of the locations. You would definately struggle at Corris Corner with a maximum reach of only 200mm for Hawks.
A Nikon 1.4x or even 1.7x teleconverter would give you that added reach on the 70-200. Obviously you would lose f/stop(s), but might be an option? The only other option would be a lens or tele-converter rental in order to give you that extra reach.
Cheers
TJ