Plane Crazy...A Record Of a Day In Mid Wales (Very Image Heavy)

Hi All,

thought i'd share the experience my son and I had a few days ago on our second trip to the "Mach Loop" Low Flying 'circuit' south east of Barmouth.

As well as aircraft images i've included some landscapes and candid people shots to try and give more of a feel for the whole experience. Some of the images are better than others...the weaker ones i've included if i've felt that they've still contributed to the overall 'feel' of the day within the context of a larger image gallery.

I used a K-50 with Tamron 70-300 Di LD for all the images shown which i think offers excellent value for money if on a budget (like me). If I was buying the lens again though for this purpose i would probably opt for the Pentax 55-300WR for the better handling and WR. My son found his K-S2 and 18-135WR to be a fine combination. The 135mm is maybe slightly lacking for the smaller aircraft like the Tucano and Hawk but is adequate for anything larger although if it went up to 200mm that would be even better.

1. Stopped at Bala Lake on way down for 10 mins...very tranquil.




2. Bala Lake looking south




3. Hawk T1 arrived within minutes of our arrival at the lower hill, CAD WEST




4. Hawk very steep bank




5. Hawk T1 at speed...sacrificed some sharpness to blur background




6. CAD EAST Outpost...can just make out a few figures lower down the slope...opposite side of valley



7. CAD EAST...Big Cloud...Hardy types at the top here higher up than us on CAD WEST




8. CAD EAST...wider view




9. Tucano trainer




10. Tucano




11. Waiting For Something




12. A Few Regulars




13. Flying The Flag...apparently the pilots sometimes dip their wings when the flag is out in salute




14. Tornado banking steeply




15. Tornado close up but noseless! Sorry about this one...almost got it




16. Pentax On The Hill! So there was at least 3 out there...[/b




[b]17. Tal-y-Llyn...lake looking west towards Machynlleth...aircraft exited up another valley just before lake.



18. Not The Falklands...there was a second RAF Standard flying at the mid point on the hill.




19. Third Tornado of the Day




20. Tornado over Flag...my personal favourite shot all day.




21. Tornado Close-Up




22. Back to normality...walking back to the car park




23. Lakeside Cafe building at Bala Lake on way back...filled up on Toasties.





That's it folks...we had a fab day out...hoped you found one or two images you like.

Just one correction...No.2 should read Bala Lake looking West not South.

Interesting post, I have always wondered what it was like there as I am too far away to visit.

As much as I hate to say it, none of the aircraft shots are particularly sharp though.

No 16
Looks like one of the grumpy old locals!!
Wait a minute. . . . .it's me!! 😁
Wednesday was quite an exceptional day with a good variety of traffic.
To put into perspective Thursday's passes amounted to Hawks x2 and a Hercules!!
Looks like you both had a great day out and was a shame we didn't get to meet up.
Next time maybe. 👍

Agree that some are not very sharp Mike...but some of them are better than others and look ok full screen , uncompressed on a 22" monitor.

Also I could have got better results if i'd have known what was coming and when...there might be nothing for an hour and a half then suddenly with no more than 10-15 seconds warning two or three planes would hit you at once.

I sometimes had a slower shutter speed than I would have liked having taken Tucanos previously followed unexpectedly by Tornados next time! All good fun. The 18-135 did definitely focus more quickly than the Tamron but lost out in reach. Not bad for a £90 lens though in my opinion...the 55-300WR is three times the price most of the time.

Rob...Lol...did wonder...the very fact that you had a Pentax should have got me going over for a chat!

Hope to see you next time.

Karlo