Thomas Winstone is an amateur photographer from south Wales. He has a diverse interest in photography revolving round his family and work life.
Thomas is an aviation fan and what better place to spot planes than up in north Wales in an area locally known as the Mach(ynlleth) Loop. This is an area of low fly training used by the RAF and the USAF plus visits from other nations including the Belgians. Flying the loop is done in a anti clockwise motion, anything can be seen there from helicopters, fast jets and heavy lifters like Hercules.
Going up the Loop takes Thomas about 2 and 1/4 hours to drive up through the Welsh countryside. Once there, there is a variety of hills to climb to view the aircraft. Some hills are tougher than others and usually very wet under foot. Thomas carries with him a 300mm lens, and a 70-200mm for the larger aircraft, stool, wet weather gear, food for the day and warm clothing. The average weight is about 15kg. The views once up at the top are stunning and the snowy backdrops are some of his favourites. Being up the loop isn’t always guaranteed to see aircraft, there is no timetable and flying is Monday to Friday. From a photo point of view anytime in daylight hours can be good however they also fly at night. The main factor stopping aircraft flights are poor visibility and strong winds so if you visit take that into consideration.
To see more of my work and the stunning wildlife that thrives here in Wales, please visit my Flickr page and social media accounts:
Instagram: @the_dark_photographer_in_wales
Facebook: Thomas Winstone Photography
Flickr: Thomas Winstone
First published in Welsh Country Magazine May-Jun 2018
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