I had always wanted to sample low-flying areas and see how my images might come out. Whilst the Mach Loop in Wales is somewhat closer, the opportunity to visit the low-flying area in Greece, as an extension to attending the Spotters Day for the Ramstein Flag exercise taking place at Andravida Air Base in the Peloponnese region of Greece.
Once again I travelled on a well-organised tour with 4Aviation, arriving in Greece on Sunday and staying until Thursday, with 3 days scheduled for the low-flying area in the valleys near Ano Zachlorou and 1 day at Andravida.
Bright and early on Monday morning the group set off for the 30-minute drive to the preferred location. On arrival, we were clearly not the only photographers hoping for some action images that day, with a long line of parked vehicles along the dusty track leading to the main vantage point.
Getting to the best spot requires a short 10-minute climb from the bottom of the hill to the top – not the easiest of things with a heavy camera bag on your back! Arriving somewhat out of breath, I picked a spot and hoped that we would see some action soon. It was fairly crowded and finding somewhere without heads and arms likely to get in the way somewhat limited my choice – I certainly wasn’t going to try any of the mountain goat type activities that some of my fellow photographers were prepared to undertake in the interests of getting that ‘perfect’ image!!
One thing about photographing in low-flying areas is that there is no guarantee that you will actually see any movements – you can easily spend an entire day waiting and seeing nothing.
We were therefore very pleased when after about an hour, a pair of Hellenic Air Force F-16’s came through the valley, performing a couple of runs each. They were shortly followed by another pair – a portent of good things to come – we hoped!
But it was not to be – we relocated to the other side of the valley for the afternoon (another 15-minute drive) as the sun had moved and was now beating down in the opposite direction but nothing came through.
Oh well, the next day was the Ramstein Flag Spotters Day at Andivida AB itself – we would be back on Wednesday and Thursday.
We duly arrived back on Wednesday morning, unpacked our gear and waited….and waited….and waited. Remember when I said nothing was guaranteed? Well, this was one of those days…… and so was Thursday 🙁
Other than those 6 passes on Monday, nothing came through the valley.
So, was the trip worth it – well yes, because of the Ramstein Flag Spotters Day and also even just as a baptism of fire for low-level photography. The opportunity to capture fast-moving aircraft against a backdrop other than the sky was great and definitely something I would do again. Perhaps a trip to the Mach Loop might be cheaper but from all accounts climbing to the best spots there is even harder – and as for Sidewinder Canyon in Southeastern California, I think that may be a walk that’s beyond my capabilities now.
So just a few images to show – nonetheless, I’m very happy with the limited results. Hope you like them
