Dive into a world of custom-made high-quality Red Arrows products waiting for you to explore and purchase with a simple click. About my Website and page
The Red Arrows Prints sells Red Arrows Photographs taken by Photographer ‘Nick Smith’ on Printed Items such as Canvases, Framed Prints, Mugs and Postcards. Red Arrows Engravings and various other items are also available to buy from my w
ebsite at redarrowsprints.co.uk. And each sale we make donates 5% to the RAFA - Royal Air Force Association. My Red Arrows photos have been taken over Cleethorpes, RAF Scampton and RAF Cosford. All of which host fantastic Air Show Events. About the Airshows where my photographs were taken
Cleethorpes annually holds its Armed Forces Weekend toward the end of June, and The Red Arrows have often had been a star item for the Air Show event’s which take place across the weekend. Usually the Sunday event holds a bigger airshow across the Humber Estuary, which leads out into The North Sea. It is a fantastic place for an airshow over the sea, and most years so far have seen glorious weather. Which makes it perfect for taking Aviation photographs, and of course photos of the Red Arrows. Some of my photos were taken at RAF Scampton, which held a one-off airshow event. RAF Scampton was due to hold an annual event, which would have taken over from RAF Waddington Airshow, once the annual event there had come to its end of life. However, unfortunately this did not happen after the RAF Scampton Airshow suffered poor ticket sales. It was still a fantastic weekend, despite it being cooler and having heavy showers. I found that some of the darker clouds actually produced some stunning photos of The Red Arrows, as it seemed to make the bright smoke colours more vivid. It was a great shame that this event did not continue, however with the base looking like it is due for closure, it is unlikely that it will happen again. RAF Cosford at present holds an annual airshow, which traditionally takes place on a Sunday and is a one day event. RAF Cosford is also home to the northern part of the RAF Museum. The museum has a vast and wide variety of military aircraft from different era’s. And it is definitely a place to visit if you like military aviation. The RAF Cosford Airshow is a large RAF military event, and generally attracts armed forces and air forces from different nations every year. The stars are always The Red Arrows, and I have managed to capture some fantastic photos of their displays at Cosford. About my interest in Military Aviation and Airshows
I have been an aviation addict, ever since being a small child, when my mum had to come and tell me that the aircraft coming toward me was an RAF Vulcan, and there were men in the aeroplane driving it and waving at me. Obviously I waved back, after getting over my fear of this huge black triangular wing coming at me from a distance. However, since that day I became intrigued and inquisitive about military aircraft. It led me down a path where I had to investigate and find out information on the aircraft various military air forces were using. I was fortunate enough to live more or less under the flightpath to RAF Binbrook and RAF North Cotes. So there was plenty of aircraft activity throughout most days. It definitely wasn’t a boring time, and I remember often sitting at the table having my tea with mum and dad, being disturbed by an extremely low flying fighter from the RAF or USAF. RAF Binbrook was a very active air base in Lincolnshire back then, so Lightnings were a frequent item overhead, and often very very low. And we often had USAF F111’s from Lakenheath, Phantoms from RAF Coningsby and the odd USAF variant. Starfighters, Jaguars, Harriers, A10’s, Bucanneers, Hercules, Vulcans, Tornados and The Red Arrows were often overhead as well. With all this happening, and my investigations into what these aircraft were and what they did, I had to start my hobby of visiting airshows. My first few airshows were at Humberside Airport, which used to hold an annual event. It attracted a mixed bag of Military and Civil aircraft, nevertheless it excited me to know that every year there would be an event at the local airport. I used to pushbike the seven miles to the event every year and watch outside the airport as it was unaffordable to go in the gates. That was until I persuaded my father to start going to airshows. My first Military airshows were RAF Mildenhall Air Fete and RAF Coningsby. RAF Mildenhall traditionally used to have its annual airshow on the last weekend of May. It was a huge USAF event, and attracted items from lots of air forces across the world. However, most of the aircraft displaying at RAF Mildenhall were US Air Force or Royal Air Force aircraft. And I was fortunate to have seen SR71’s flying, and on static for several years running at this event. RAF Coningsby had an an annual airshow until 1994. This was a smaller event to RAF Mildenhall, however it was full-on military and attracted aircraft from many different nations. I remember my first rendezvous with The Turkish Stars here, an entertaining aerobatic display to say the least. And with an over excited commentator. I will never forget that day for that reason. RAF Finningley held a Battle of Britain at Home day event every year in September. I went to this airshow many times. It attracted some rarities from across the Globe, and was almost on the scale of RAF Mildenhall Air Fete. I was fortunate enough to see The Blue Angels here, when they last visited the UK in 1992. RAF Waddington used to be an annual trip for me. The show at Waddington grew and grew over the years, and because the base was so big, it had a large space for statics. Many people who went to this airshow will remember it for attracting items which would never usually visit the UK Airshow Scene. This included, The Russian SU-27 Flankers, The Thunderbirds, The SAAB Historic Flight and The Black Eagles from the South Korean Air Force. I have also visited RAF Cosford Airshow and Farnborough on my airshow travels. Both of which hold annual events, although Farnborough no longer has a public weekend and is strictly trade only. About Me
My name is Nick Smith, and I am an ex Art College Student that studied Graphic Design, which included photography as part of the course. I have always had an artistic streak, and before I went to Art College, I had spent most of my weekends between school work, drawing or painting aircraft. I needed to harness my talent and take more control over my abilities, which is why I ended up at Art College in Lincoln and Dewsbury, where I gained a HND in Graphic Design after five years of study. After many years working for other people, I now operate as a successful self-employed Graphic Designer, running a business called ‘Venture Design and Print’. You can find the website for this at https://venturedesignandprint.co.uk and the page is . It offers Graphic Design Services, Printing Services, Web Design Services, Web Hosting Services, and Engraving Services. I am more artistic and design orientated than a photographer in my day to day professional trade. However, while not as often, I still use photography in what I do, and also as a hobby. Being able to take good quality photos at high speed is essential for taking aviation photographs while aircraft are in flight. So a great quality camera is essential. Currently I use a Canon EOS 1300D equipped with a Canon Ultrasonic 75-300mm Lens for my photography requirements. I decided to sell some of my photographs of the Red Arrows through a new website and page. The website can be found at https://theredarrows.co.uk and page at https://facebook.com/theredarrowsprints. They bring my Design, Photography, Web Design, Printing and Engraving Skills into one place, producing Red Arrows Photographs on Products to Buy Online. All of my products are Free UK Delivery. https://g.page/redarrowsphotosandprints?gm
