Hurricane - The Unsung Hero

This was a special exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford. They're showcasing the Hurricane, being the 'unsung hero' of World War II - the Spitfire gets all the adulation (but even in this Hurricane-centric exhibition there was a sneaky Spitfire muscling in on the action!!). 

More photos of tanks and things here.

Robert and I went up on a Saturday evening to take photographs of the Hurricanes (and a few other planes), all lit up in various ways. It was a lot like the Tank Museum evenings we've been to. I thought the lighting set up was excellent here, and they varied the colours throughout the evening which made it interesting. The planes were a little crowded, making it difficult to get individual shots of some of them, but their wingspans are just so broad that you'd have to seriously reduce the number of aircraft if you wanted them more spread out. 

Overall, it was a fantastic evening of photography and I think I got some really good shots. I should probably have whittled them down a bit more, but I enjoyed taking photos from different angles and playing with the shadows. So there are probably more photos here than there should be, but rest assured there are many, many more that I put to one side! We had 11 main aircraft to photograph, though we also had access to the hanger next door to have a look at some of the normal exhibits too (which was nice for me as I hadn't been to Duxford before).  

The keen enthusiasts gathering in the hanger

ID's of all the planes being photographed

Outside shots - Nimrod Mk.1 & Fury FB.11

First off, we were given the opportunity to photograph a Nimrod Mk.1 and Fury FB.11. These were parked outside and the mood lighting as the sun set was fantastic - the shadows were changing by the minute. The guys at Duxford also did a good job wrangling everyone so they would shoot from the back first and then from the front, avoiding too much walking into other peoples shots.   

The Hurricane Hanger, from above

We had the chance to take some photos from above to look down on the hanger full of Hurricanes (and a few other guest planes). This was a great vantage point to see from as there were a lot of planes in a small area.   

The Hurricane Hanger, coloured lights

They started off using coloured lights on the planes - reds, greens and blues. It was great getting amongst the aircraft and trying to get some good angles. The coloured lights made some really interesting effects. I wasn't sure about the red lights at first, they didn't look so good on the little camera screen, but actually they came out really well.    

The Hurricane Hanger, white lights

After the coloured lights, they illuminated the planes with white lights. This was a good opportunity to get some good details on them. Maybe less moody and interesting than the coloured lights, but good for seeing the planes properly.    

Main Hanger

We had a little bit of time before the evening started properly, as well as some time during the evening, to go and look in the main hanger next door. This seemed to be a mass of various aircraft, all jammed in so there was something exciting everywhere you looked! There was a Lancaster, which was particularly great to get close to, as well as a Vulcan Bomber and Concorde - among many others. We didn't have time to go round the other hangers at Duxford, so there will definitely be a return visit at some point.