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Shooting a Spitfire from a Formation Flight

In this article, I discuss the experience of flying in close formation with a 1945 Spitfire, as well as the camera & settings I used to capture air-to-air photographs.

Published 28 August 2025

In August 2025, I had the rather incredible opportunity to capture a 1945 Spitfire from the air, flying in close formation in a Piper Saratoga. I've always loved the Spitfire as an aircraft — it played a crucial role in WWII and my Great Uncle used to fly them for the RAF.

I of course had to take my camera along to capture the thrilling ride. In this article I discuss the gear I used, how I set up my camera and take a look at the photographs I got shooting this incredible 1945 Spitfire air-to-air.

It was such a thrilling experience, I'd highly recommend it. Seeing the Spitfire in the air, in its natural habitat, was something I'll remember for a very long time.

A two-seat Supermarine Spitfire trainer finished in shark-mouth livery and marked 'Grey Nurse' crosses above a patchwork of summer fields and woodland. The spinning propeller blurs against a partial cumulus sky, placing the aircraft in mid-flight isolation. The image documents an air-to-air encounter rather than a landscape moment.
A two-seat Supermarine Spitfire trainer finished in shark-mouth livery and marked 'Grey Nurse' crosses above a patchwork of summer fields and woodland. The spinning propeller blurs against a partial cumulus sky, placing the aircraft in mid-flight isolation. The image documents an air-to-air encounter rather than a landscape moment. Buy this print →

What gear did I take?

I was only allowed to take my camera with one lens due to weight constraints, so I had to pick between my three Sigma lenses — the 14-24mm Art, the 24-70mm Art and the 70-200mm Sport. I ruled out the 14-24mm simply because it is far too wide... leaving the 24-70mm and the 70-200mm.

I ended up opting for the Sigma 24-70mm Art for the following reasons:

  • It covers a great focal length (wide to 70mm), which given we would be in close formation felt right.
  • It has a nice and wide aperture of f/2.8, enabling me to keep the ISO low and get separation of the Spitfire.
  • My camera is the Sony a7R IV — with a huge 61MP. Given how sharp the Sigma lens is, I have huge cropping potential if 70mm wasn't long enough.
  • The Sigma lens is more compact and lighter, meaning handling it in a small cabin would be much easier.

Finally, I used a circular polariser (CPL) on my 24-70mm. For my use case of landscape photography, it almost always serves a purpose, and that is true for shooting a Spitfire air-to-air.

A Supermarine Spitfire in RAF markings — codes ZP-W and a shark-mouth nose detail — banks steeply above a patchwork of summer fields and woodland. The air-to-air perspective places the aircraft centre-frame against a broken cumulus sky, the rolling English lowlands receding to a distant horizon beneath it.
A Supermarine Spitfire in RAF markings — codes ZP-W and a shark-mouth nose detail — banks steeply above a patchwork of summer fields and woodland. The air-to-air perspective places the aircraft centre-frame against a broken cumulus sky, the rolling English lowlands receding to a distant horizon beneath it. Buy this print →

What was my technical setup and settings?

[IMAGE 3]

Setting up the camera before shooting is crucial for success due to the action being fast paced and the flight time only being 10-15 minutes in close formation with the Spitfire. This leaves little time to fiddle around before take off.

The weather was mainly sunshine with scattered showers, so I knew that I could change shutter speed from 1/100s to 1/2000s and the aperture would be able to cover me without the ISO needing to go much higher than 100.

Here were my settings:

  • Mode: Shutter Priority. Means you only need to change one setting and everything else will 'just work'.
  • ISO: Auto. I'm always willing to allow some noise if it means 'getting the shot'.
  • Aperture: Changes with the Shutter Priority.
  • Metering: Highlights. This protects from blowing out the highlights in the clouds.
  • Shooting: Burst (high speed).

I wanted to ensure the propeller of the Spitfire always had motion — I found for the Spitfire this was best between 1/100s and 1/200s. However, this shutter speed can introduce shake as it is quite slow given all of the motion, so I did use burst mode to ensure I would get at least one sharp capture.

When it did get bumpy (which did happen!) I would increase the shutter speed, anywhere up to 1/2000s, to ensure the photographs were sharp.

Let's review some photographs

Here is the gallery of images — I hope you enjoy browsing them.

You'll notice that the more movement in the propeller the slower the shutter speed. For example the first picture has a shutter speed of 1/100s at 44mm, ISO 100 at f/8.

A two-seat Supermarine Spitfire, marked 'ZP-W' and named Grey Nurse with shark-mouth nose art, crosses a patchwork of summer fields and a small lake somewhere over lowland England. The air-to-air perspective places the aircraft in tight relationship with the rural ground below. The image is technically competent but sits firmly in aviation rather than landscape photography.
A two-seat Supermarine Spitfire, marked 'ZP-W' and named Grey Nurse with shark-mouth nose art, crosses a patchwork of summer fields and a small lake somewhere over lowland England. The air-to-air perspective places the aircraft in tight relationship with the rural ground below. The image is technically competent but sits firmly in aviation rather than landscape photography. Buy this print →