I began taking pictures at night, as a teenager, back in the mid 1980s around train depots and stations in the West Midlands. Back then, armed with my first SLR, the Practica MTL50, it was as much guess work as it was a science, as a roll of film with 24 or 36 chances gave you that one shot moment. Zoom forward 20 years and DSLRs opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Being able to practice and view the results on a memory card meant the guess work could be fine tuned, and with the likes of RAF Northolt offering the chance to photograph military aircraft at night on one of their regular night shoots, practice has hopefully led to being able to produce an image that is as near to what you are viewing with your own eyes than ever before.
My first opportunity to photograph military aircraft at night came on 1st November 2005 on a visit to the Army Air Corps at Dishforth. The group I was with went outside to see an Apache on a ramp, under the floodlights. Looking back, this was to be a hard lesson, one never to forget. I was a bit rushed due to temporary mobility issues, I thought I had everything set up and took the image. It was only later that night I realised the image was a jpeg and not RAW, and the white balance on auto, which left the image with a yellow cast that spoilt what should have been a memorable photograph. Zoom forward a decade and I was to get the chance to make up for this moment and photograph an operational Apache in RAW at RAF Northolt on one of their legendary night shoots. I think it is only right at this point to give credit to Mr Phillip Dawe and his team, for organising the Northolt night shoots. It is thanks to their efforts in organising these events that I was able to fine tune my night photography skills and be able to handle most night photography opportunities as they presented themselves.
A selection of my images follow in time order with a brief description. All photographs were taken using a tripod unless otherwise stated. I hope my images show how digital photography has improved over the years and how I have also improved with practice.
Late night at RAF Lossiemouth, May 2008. Handheld photograph. ISO 800, 1/15th second exposure at f/4.5, using the Canon 100-400 L mark 1. Image stabilisation really helped as did being able to take a burst of images as the Tornado GR4 accelerated down the runway. This was one of the better images but I really wanted to try and capture the moment.
ZG754 130 Tornado GR4 by Jason Grant, on FlickrGrissom Air Museum, Indiana, August 2008. My very first photograph ever in the USA. A delayed flight meant we were 6 hours behind our planned schedule and by the time we arrived after a long drive from Chicago airport, it was late evening and dark. By bumping up the kerb with the front wheels of the car, indirect light from the headlights of the rental car lit up the Buckeye.
158583 T-2C Buckeye by Jason Grant, on FlickrGrissom Air Museum, Indiana, August 2008. The same night as the image above was taken I set my tripod up to photograph this rather beautiful B-17G “Miss Liberty Belle” in the grounds of the museum.
44-83690 B-17G "Miss Liberty Belle" by Jason Grant, on FlickrNAS Brunswick Air Show, Maine, September 2008. Fat Albert JATO take-off in pitch black darkness. A spectacle I really wanted to try and capture. Remembering the issues with the handheld Tornado shot at Lossiemouth earlier in the year, I widened the focal range to allow as much light on to the sensor as possible, and set the aperture at f5.0 on my Canon 100-400L IS Mk1. ISO set to 800, I knew a crop of the image would be required but at the same time, I also knew I had a better chance at fairly sharp photograph if the auto focus would lock on in the dark. The image below isn’t the best but it was part of a learning curve, and it was a great moment to witness in the dark.
164763 C-130T Hercules Fat Albert JATO by Jason Grant, on FlickrTuscaloosa, Alabama, March 2009.This A-7E resides in the Veterans Memorial, within the shopping mall in Tuscaloosa. We were passing at night and with it lit up, out came the tripod.
159261 A-7E Corsair II Veterans Memorial, University Shopping Mall, Tuscaloosa. by Jason Grant, on FlickrKenner, New Orleans, Louisiana 2009. The Veterans’ Century of Sentries Park. It was late in the evening when these two photographs were taken, gunshots in the background meant a short stop for these two and back on the road as soon as possible.
F-14D Tomcat VF-213.
Kenner 159629 AJ211 F-14D VF-213 by Jason Grant, on FlickrA-4C Skyhawk VSF-76
145082 A-4C Skyhawk by Jason Grant, on FlickrPalm Springs Museum, California, September 2010. Our trip took us past the museum in the evening. A few exhibits are positioned outside the museum and are lit up for a few hours in the evening. As a side note, I finally got to visit this museum in the daytime in 2019 (after passing it three times over the years, at night when it was closed). A great museum, well worth penciling in a visit if you are passing.
A-6E Intruder VA-36
154162 AJ-500 A-6E Intruder by Jason Grant, on FlickrF-14A Tomcat VF-41
160898 AJ-101 F-14A Tomcat VF-41 by Jason Grant, on FlickrCoventry Live Air Museum, December 2011. A local event for me and very well attended
Shackleton AEW2.
WR963 B-M Avro 696 Shackleton AEW2 by Jason Grant, on FlickrHavelock, North Carolina, May 2012. Outside the tourist office sit several aircraft, all lit up at night.
RF-4B Phantom, VMCJ-2.
157342 CY-00 RF-4B Phantom VMCJ-2 by Jason Grant, on FlickrHH-46D Sea Knight.
150941 HH-46D Sea Knight by Jason Grant, on FlickrA-6E Intruder VMA(AW)-533.
164378 ED-500 A-6E Intruder VMA(AW)-533 by Jason Grant, on FlickrA-4M Skyhawk VMA-131
160024 QG-00 A-4M Skyhawk VMA-131 by Jason Grant, on FlickrMCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, May 2012. HH-46E Pedro from VMR-1.
156476 00 HH-46E VMR-1 Pedro by Jason Grant, on FlickrAlliance Airport, Fort Worth, Texas. October 2012. Helicopters from HMLA-773 were night stopping. Easily photographable from the public area and the vinyl wrapped AH-1W Super Cobra was nearest the camera.
AH-1W
165449 MM-28 Bell AH-1W Super Cobra HMLA-773 Red Dog by Jason Grant, on FlickrHMLA-773
HMLA-773 165449 MM-28 165365 MP-05 158267 MP-10 158287 MM-34 by Jason Grant, on FlickrLackland AFB, Texas, October 2012. F-105D Thunderchief. The next two images were taken through a chainlink fence with permission from the base historian, as we didn’t have permission to go live side of the airfield.
62-4228 Republic F-105D-25-RE Thunderchief Lackland AFB by Jason Grant, on FlickrThese four Thunderchief’s were used for ground instruction. Shortly after this picture was taken, the jets were split up and shipped to museums across the USA.
61-0115 F-105D 62-4279 F-105D 61-0199 GF-105D 61-0108 F-105D by Jason Grant, on FlickrKelly Field, San Antonio, Texas, October 2012.
Convair B-58A Hustler.
59-2437 Convair B-58A Hustler Kelly Field by Jason Grant, on FlickrFB-111A Aardvark.
68-0275 FB-111A Aardvark by Jason Grant, on FlickrNellis AFB January 2013. I have been fortunate to spend several nights on Nellis AFB during Red Flag exercises. Plenty of light is a positive but lots of vehicles moving and lens flares can make it tricky. No complaints though, this is as much fun as you can have with a camera at night.
VFA-125 “Fist of the Fleet” Super Hornets.
166959 NA 400 VFA-25 "Fist of the Fleet" FA-18E Super Hornet by Jason Grant, on Flickr65th Aggressor F-15D Eagle.
80-0054 WA F-15D 57Wg 65AGRS by Jason Grant, on FlickrF-16C 480FS.
91-0366 SP F-16C 52FW 480FS by Jason Grant, on Flickr65th Aggressor F-15C Eagles.
78-0503 WA 65th Aggressor Squadron F-15C Eagles by Jason Grant, on FlickrGround Instruction A-10A Warthog.
78-0721 A-10A by Jason Grant, on Flickr65th Aggressor F-15C Eagle.
78-0502 WA F-15C Eagle 57Wg 65th Aggressor Squadron by Jason Grant, on FlickrConingsby September 2013. The Royal Saudi Air Force were in town and the jets were left out overnight.
Royal Saudi Air Force RAF Coningsby by Jason Grant, on FlickrRAF Lossiemouth once again for Joint Warrior in April 2014. More night flying Tornados and the chance to shoot them lining up for departure but I had to be quick.
ZA551 043 Tornado GR4 by Jason Grant, on FlickrNortholt Night Shoot, October 2014. I was to get another chance to photograph an operational Apache at night. I only had to wait 9 years but it was worth it.
ZJ174 WAH-64 Apache AH1 by Jason Grant, on FlickrMCAS Yuma 2015. The F-35B was the new jet in town and prior to the visit, the request was submitted to photograph the F-35s at night. Imagine the surprise when the request was approved.
168719 VK-01 F-35B VMFA-121 by Jason Grant, on Flickr
168721 VK-03 F-35B VMFA-121 Green Knights by Jason Grant, on Flickr
F-35B VMFA-121 Green Knights F-35B by Jason Grant, on FlickrOne last chance to photograph the 65th aggressor F-15s that were now flying with the 64th aggressor squadron before their imminent demise. Again, a night shoot during Red Flag is an experience I will never forget. As chance would have it, the 493rd Grim Reapers were in town for the exercise and they positioned themselves perfectly for a photograph.
78-0532 WA F-15C 64th Aggressor Squadron by Jason Grant, on Flickr
84-0027 LN F-15C Eagle 493rd FS by Jason Grant, on FlickrMany special aircraft have attended the Northolt night shoot, but two that stand out for me were the Royal Navy Sea King HU5 and the Tornado GR4 from 9 squadron wearing the Operation Granby scheme. Rumour has it the the Sea King crew went straight into London for a well earned drink and were not available to run the Sea King on the night, back in March 2015, but it still looked gorgeous under the lights, as did the Tornado GR4 in October 2016.
ZA166 CU Sea King HU5 by Jason Grant, on Flickr
ZG750 128 Tornado GR4 Op Granby Scheme 9 Squadron by Jason Grant, on FlickrI managed to capture two 6 squadron Typhoons taxiing at RAF Lossiemouth back in 2015. Knowing they would be passing in front of the camera, I sat and waited.
6 Squadron Typhoon RAF Lossiemouth by Jason Grant, on FlickrA pre-arranged sunrise photoshoot on NAS Lemoore in 2019 presented a challenge. No foreground lighting meant a silhouette was the only possible photograph as the blue hour ended with the sun breaking the horizon.
Sunrise NAS Lemoore by Jason Grant, on Flickr
166873 NH-100 VFA-154 Black Knights by Jason Grant, on Flickr
166873 NH-100 VFA-154 VFA-2 VFA-94 VFA-22 VFA-97 by Jason Grant, on FlickrImperial County airport sits on the edge of El Centro town and has a contract to refuel USMC, Navy and Army aircraft that transit through the area to visit the local ranges. The challenge of photographing these jets is due to the lack of any light as all the pilots wear night vision goggles. Having to photograph through a chain link fence and manual focus in the dark added to the drama, but what a show unfolds before you. In late January 2020, it was time to take on the challenge. An MV-22B Osprey at night with the fluorescent green rotor tips spinning makes for some amazing theatre, and several queuing up a time made for non-stop action and opportunities. Several different aircraft types joined the line and the opportunities just kept arriving.
167919 YT-09 MV-22B Osprey VMM-164 Knightriders by Jason Grant, on Flickr
168016 YW-00 MV-22B VMM-165 White Knights by Jason Grant, on Flickr
162483 YF-483 CH-53E Sea Stallion HMH-462 by Jason Grant, on FlickrI still kick myself for sitting in a bar at night on past visits to NAF El Centro, wondering where all the choppers were flying to and from, many missed opportunities to photograph types that have long since retired.
COVID happened and the world paused. My next opportunity was with an organised group arranged evening on RAF Cosford in April 2022. To be honest, I only went to catch up with friends of mine that I hadn’t seen for some time but it did turn out to be a beautiful evening catching up with other old friends that had been retired from service years earlier.
XX725 KCF Jaguar GR3A by Jason Grant, on Flickr
FL ZA320 JG Tornado GR1 by Jason Grant, on Flickr
FL XX889 T Buccaneer S.2B by Jason Grant, on FlickrTwo further opportunities to photograph at Imperial County airport in October 2022 and March 2023. The same challenges as before but still as much fun as ever.
168698 YL-33 MV-22B VMM-362 by Jason Grant, on Flickr
167993 YL-37 UH-1Y VMM-362 by Jason Grant, on Flickr
169251 YL-40 AH-1Z VMM-362 by Jason Grant, on Flickr
168631 YL-04 MV-22B VMM-362 by Jason Grant, on Flickr
14-72309 UH-72A 1-112th AVN by Jason Grant, on FlickrMy final image was taken at Radom air show 2023 and was a handheld shot, taken with my mirrorless Canon R5 and RF100-500L IS and at very high ISO, something I would not have even attempted with a DSLR camera, but it shows how camera technology has progressed over the years because this shot would not have been anywhere near useable a decade earlier.
ISO 12800
8205 SU-22 Photo Flash Flares by Jason Grant, on FlickrI hope you have enjoyed looking as much as I have enjoyed taking these. This is just a small selection of my night images, many others can be seen on my Flickr page as can all the camera information and the settings used. I would like to wish everyone here at Fighter Control and AeroResource a Merry Christmas. I hope to see a few of you around in 2024.
. Many thanks for sharing! 
