Until now I have not published any information on my FMP out of respect for the organisation who have kindly allowed me to photograph their aircraft, instead I have kept a private and separate reflective journal purely for my FMP.
When working with a subject as large as aviation, gaining the access takes priority over concept as without access to the aircraft I'd have nothing to work with. It was the same for my Vulcan project where I had a rough idea but before taking it further I gained the access and took the photographs before finalising the concept around what I had. Over the last year I had spent a lot of time in museums looking at static aircraft, but as great as they are nothing beats a working aircraft.
I was going to work with an air display team and that was final, I had a Plan B to fall back on but I was determined to not have to resort to that. I developed a rough concept of documenting the logistics and maintenance which take place outside of air show season, as to stand the best chance of acceptance by a team I needed to present a clear proposal of what I was aiming to achieve. I also knew that it would be in the form of a book as I wanted to provide supporting text to educate those viewing my work.
I contacted The Gnat Display Team and was met by a great reception. The Gnat was the Red Arrows predecessor to the Hawk and was also the original Red Arrow. As I liked the idea of including a few teams, and as I wanted to see how far I could push my luck, I also contacted the Red Arrows as documenting the Hawk and Gnat side by side could have been interesting, but after a very pleasant exchange of emails they could not accommodate the project until after the deadline. It was a shame but in hindsight it was possibly a blessing in disguise as there may have been too many restrictions in regards to security and time.
Last month I visited The Gnats hangar and was greeted by a lovely group of engineers who were great to talk to but more importantly made me many cups of tea! (That is how you win your way to my heart!). I knew from the beginning that I was certainly happy with the subject itself. As I said before, when working with a specialist and external genre, securing a subject is important and I was more than willing to adapt the project around The Gnats. The aircraft themselves are currently in maintenance therefore it would not be possible to document them the way I had planned, however what I was met with was even better! Lots of components!
I had an interesting conversation with one engineer which prompted me to think about why I was interested in aircraft so much, and especially the components. The conversation came up about me becoming an aircraft engineer, and this is a conversation I have also had with my lecturer and my Dad as they both think that I would be suited to engineering. Driving home I kept mulling it over and realised that my fascination with machinery probably derives from a regret of not becoming a pilot or engineer when I had the chance. As content as I am with my current path in life, I do feel as though something is missing and my need to know how things work is possibly related to that. I am not usually such a deep thinker in regards to my own feelings and my work doesn't tend to be as deep and meaningful as it should, but perhaps this was the fuel I needed to bring this particular project together?
Since then I have made 4 visits to the Gnats, 3 for shooting and 1 for information on specific components.
As a result of the change of direction, the photographs are quite harsh in contrast to emphasise the metallic features. It's not my usual style but it is working very well and the feedback I have received during critiques have been nothing but positive. I am going to produce a photographic book which also incorporates factual text about the aircraft and illustrations from the original manual, and I will also produce a series of prints on to sheets of aluminium as a way of emphasising the metallic features of the Gnat.
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