Det In The Life Of An RAF Photographer - Op PELEDA

Written By: Cpl Tim Laurence

What was it like to be a deployed RAF photographer attached to Aviation Task Force 3 (ATF 3), based at Amari Air Base during Op PELEDA?

Ican confirm that the job was both brilliant and very demanding. Early starts, late finishes and many hours editing in the evening were a regular theme. However, it was worth it when the role required me to go to where the action was, and seeing my work being published online and in print was very rewarding. Here’s an insight into some of my tasking highlights:

Day 12: Today, the RAF Chinooks are going to conduct a training exercise with the US Army and the Finnish Army High Readiness Specialist Operations Regiment based at Utti Air Base, Finland. It’s another early start and a strong coffee as we prepare to transit from Amari across to Finland. During this time, whilst the aircrews are discussing the sortie details and comparing standard operating procedures, I am constantly making notes to formulate a plan of what will be happening from a photographic perspective. In the same way aircrew are referring to their flight cards as the sortie progresses, I am referring to my notes also and getting myself ready for the next opportunity to capture imagery. Does it always go to plan? No. Does it require me to react to changes and think fast? Most definitely.

Communication is key with any form of aerial photography. My number one objective today is to capture an RAF Chinook and a Finnish Army NH-90 flying together in formation. I need to communicate this with the captain and crew, so they are aware of my intentions and understand why I need to be

in specific positions at exact times during the flight. Luckily, I have been flying with them daily for almost two weeks and we have built up a good working relationship. What is noteworthy about this crew was that I have recognised a familiar face and realised that one of the pilots was somebody who I went to primary school with. After going our separate ways, it turns out we had both decided to join the RAF in 2007 and we were now working together on deployment. With ‘Steve’ flying and me as a camera operator, we made a great team achieved some great shots. Big up the class of ’94!

Day 13: My alarm goes off again at 05:45. Whilst other trades get some downtime through shift patterns and crews rotate flying duty, my job means being involved every day to make sure I don’t miss a moment. During the height of activity, the average day for me is up at 06:00 and finishing editing at around 22:00. Our return to Utti today involved more formation flying but with a much more complex itinerary. The Finnish crews are accommodating, allowing me to fly in their NH-90 helicopter to get the shots I need.

The flights are a success for me and after a day in Finland, it’s time to head home. You might think at this point, the job for me is complete and I get to look out and admire the picturesque scenery of the Finnish coastline. Wrong. Now, in order to achieve a timely output, I need to upload all of my imagery and video clips to a MacBook Pro whilst in flight. Once we land back at Amari, Estonia, it’s time for a brief tomorrow’s activities, have dinner and begin several hours of editing.

Day 28: Today is a day of gunnery. The RAF Chinooks are going to be using one of the live firing ranges near Tapa, Estonia. For me to tell this story from visually, I need to show all of the preparation and work involved from the deployed armourers.

I spend a couple of hours filming them and meet the aircrew later that morning. I’ve missed the aircrew brief so have had to ask the questions I normally need to be aware of before and afterwards.

so that we can view the firing from the safe distance of the range tower. To complement the content from onboard the Chinook, I now have to capture it from here to show it in action from the perspective of the JTACs, who are feeding target information by radio to the aircrew. Overall, it was a really fun experience and interesting story to be tasked to portray.

There is so much more to this job that just pointing a camera and taking a picture. Management and leadership skills are essential, as is the ability to communicate with aircrews, using terminology that they are familiar with, to be able to get the best out of every opportunity.

We begin the first wave of flying at the range and I’m positioned right on the shoulder of the rearcrew firing the guns. The footage and still imagery will add to the rest of the story that I started earlier on with the armourers. For the second wave, we have landed to let me and other personnel disembark, Day 29: Island Task. This was to be my final day of flying on what was a really rewarding deployment. Part of today’s tasking involved flying to Tallinn Dockyard to assist the Estonian Navy, where British and Estonian personnel would work together to deliver building materials to Vaindloo Island, situated in the Gulf of Finland. To show RAF and Estonian forces working together, I was able to disembark onto the Island and capture people unloading the cargo from the first Chinook.

Then, once unloaded, I had to get back onboard, using the first cab as a platform to film the second Chinook from the air as it arrived and unloaded. I’ve done a lot of aerial photography in my career, and this was a unique opportunity. It will probably be the most memorable tasking of my time in the Baltics.

So, my highlights in short: • Over 1500 troops moved. • Over 200+ hours flown altogether. • 81 hours flown by a photographer. • 30 days deployed. • 2 School friends reunited. • 1 JHC award for excellence.

H175M Ready for duty