Only Mad Dogs and Photographers….

Last Saturday saw a group of Dunchurch Photographic Society members set off on a trip to the Shuttleworth Festival of Flight. With cameras packed, batteries charged, and sunscreen optimistically applied, we headed to Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire for a day dedicated to historic aircraft, precision flying, and, as it turned out, serious sun exposure.

The old saying goes that only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. We’d like to amend that: only mad dogs, Englishmen, and photographers. The weather was glorious – cloudless skies, relentless sunshine, and temperatures that felt more like Spain than southern England. Shade was at a premium and bottled water became as important as memory cards. But with aircraft of this calibre flying overhead, who was going to complain?

The Shuttleworth Festival of Flight is a standout event for aviation enthusiasts and photographers alike. The airfield, set amongst picturesque countryside, offers a unique mix of vintage aircraft, open access areas, and carefully choreographed flying displays that provide superb photo opportunities.

The flying programme kicked off with the RAF Chinook – an unconventional but welcome opener. While not as elegant as the classic warbirds to come, the Chinook impressed with its sheer presence and agility. Its distinctive twin rotor design and surprisingly nimble manoeuvres made it a fascinating subject to shoot. Hovering, banking, and performing its signature nose-down moves, it gave us plenty of chances to experiment with motion blur and scale. A strong start to the day’s flying.

The classic warbirds followed. The unmistakable silhouette of the Spitfire drew all eyes skyward. Seeing this legendary aircraft in flight is always a moving experience, and it offered some slower passes that gave us the chance to work with different shutter speeds to capture prop blur. Alongside it, a beautifully maintained Corsair brought a touch of Pacific Theatre history to the day, its bent wings and throaty engine notes standing out from the more familiar RAF shapes.

The Douglas R4D “Ready 4 Duty” was a surprise favourite among several members. The vintage U.S. Navy livery looked fantastic against the bright summer sky, and its steady, graceful passes made it easier to track and capture cleanly. The Dassault Flamant, a lesser-known but elegant French aircraft, added a bit of variety to the usual line-up. Its polished finish caught the sunlight beautifully, although it proved trickier to shoot given its smaller size and tighter manoeuvres.

Of course, no historic flight event in the UK would be complete without the Lancaster. Its presence is always commanding – the sheer scale, the deep growl of the four Merlins, and the weight of history it carries make it a true highlight. It performed several sweeping passes, allowing us to capture both side profiles and head-on shots. Many of us switched to longer lenses to fill the frame with the Lancaster’s mass and detail, but even wide shots against the vast sky had their charm.

The Red Arrows lit up the middle of the afternoon with their trademark precision and vibrant display. Their perfectly synchronised aerobatics and colourful smoke trails cut dramatically across the clear blue sky. They offered a much-needed change of pace, and a different kind of photographic challenge. Capturing formation changes and tight crossover moves required fast shutter speeds, good reflexes, and a fair amount of luck — but it was well worth the effort.

A big thank-you must go to Karen Tillett for cajoling us into going – her gentle persistence got us all organised, and we’re very glad it did. And a special nod to David Bray, who generously shared his immense knowledge on photographing aircraft throughout the day. From exposure settings to panning techniques, his guidance made a real difference to many of our shots.

Throughout the day, camaraderie was high. We shared chairs, sun cream, and even ice creams when queues allowed. As the heat rose, so did the challenge – shimmering heat haze, high-contrast lighting, and rapidly changing flight patterns kept us all on our toes. But that’s half the fun of photographing live events like this: you never quite know what you’ll get until you check your shots later.

All in all, it was a fantastic day out for the Dunchurch Photographic Society. We returned sunburnt, tired, but with memory cards full and plenty of stories to swap at the next club meeting. Shuttleworth put on an excellent show, and for those of us willing to brave the sun, the rewards were more than worth it.