An air show finale at golden hour

The organisers had scheduled the fast jets for the end of the programme for a reason. By the time the pair rolled onto the runway the light had gone soft and orange, and every camera on the fence line was pointed the same way.

The display itself was short: a low pass in close formation, a split, and a single ship returning for a slow, high-alpha flyby with the gear down. It was the kind of flying that looks easy from the ground and is anything but.

Air shows are increasingly a photographer's event. Organisers now publish sun angles with the timetable, and the best positions on the crowd line are taken hours in advance. For the finale, at least, the planning paid off.