Who am I?
My name is Andrew Philpott and I live in Birmingham, England.
I’m currently 21 years of age and taking military aircraft pictures as a profession.
Why Planes?
My father Neville has been taking aviation photographs for years and it has always been
an important part of his free time. He's also played a part in the Midland Counties
Aviation magazine, Airstrip. Before moving on to be the photo editor.
At first I had no interest in aircraft of any sort. My passion for military aviation was kick
started by a trip to one of the largest airshows in the world, The Royal International Air
Tattoo held at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. The show was amazing, fast action, high
energy routines, aircraft with smoke canisters and of course afterburner !
After Fairford 1997 “ Fighter 97 ” I was hooked on military aircraft, me and father started
to go to more airshows such as RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire and RAF Leuchars in
Fife, Scotland.
At these events is normally where I capture my photographs which I’ve decided to put
onto this website for the world to view and enjoy. The majority of my pictures are taken
with no special access rights, I take advantage of park and views that are set up.
Also at some events I’ve had the aid of press passes.
I’ve worked hard to build up a large collection of slides which I’m always trying to
improve whenever I get the chance. The pictures on this site are a small amount that I’ve
picked for others to enjoy like I have.
My Goal?
I’m trying to produce a high quality set of images for the aircraft types I’ve chosen with
a personal interest to photograph. The galleries are currently in type order, making them
easier to arrange.
My kit?
All my current photographic equipment is Canon, I use the following Items listed below.
Bodies:
Canon EOS 1D mark II N Digital
Storage media:
Six Sandisk 1GB Ultra II Compact Flash memory cards
Zoom Lenses:
Canon 24-70 mm F/2.8 L USM
Canon 70-200 mm F/2.8 L IS USM
Prime Lenses:
Canon 400 mm F/2.8 L IS USM
Accessories:
Canon 1.4 x Teleconverter II
Canon 2 x Teleconverter II
Canon 430EX Speedlight
Other items:
Lowepro Mini Trekker Backpack
Manfrotto 680B Monopod
Manfrotto 468MGRC2 Hydrostatic Ball Head
Only the latest images are digital all the rest were taken with a Canon EOS 3 film camera.
Film type?
I change my mind sometimes about my choice in film but I’ve always used Fuji
film, using Provia 100 and 400 for some of my pictures but most being a mixture of
Sensia 200 and 400 slide film.
Image transfer?
The majority of my images have been scanned using a Canon 8000 F flatbed scanner
with the film adaptor, set to 2400 dpi. The latest images have been scanned using a
CanoScan FS 4000 US scanner, set to 4000 dpi. Digital images are uploaded via
Sandisk’s Imagemate 2.0 card reader.
Final word...
With every new airshow season I try to improve my pictures and build up a better
library for people to view, I’m frequently changing things and adding new images
to advance the site for you, the visitor.
I hope you enjoy looking through my images ...
Yours Faithfully, Andrew Philpott.
