The Centre of Aviation Photography

03/06/2026

Massive air-to-air update sent this evening. If you’ve not signed up to www.coapwings.com you will have missed it. Get on it!

03/06/2026

We have great pleasure in bringing you up-to-date with all the COAP Heritage Wings photoshoots that are on the radar!

As you know, COAP Heritage Wings events are some of the most creative aviation photography experiences we offer, from atmospheric night shoots and museum productions to warbirds, re-enactors and unique one-off photographic opportunities.

Some of the photoshoots listed below are brand new 'save the date' announcements, some are on sale already, whilst others will be on sale very soon.

All are epic... But you know that ;-)

Perfect scenes and legendary machines... Let's go!

NEW SHOOTS UNDER WRAPS!
Saturday 11th July
Sunday 12th July
We're working on a couple of brand new summer shoots in the absence of RIAT. Fingers crossed!
11-12th July... Save the dates!

THE ENGLISH ELECTRIC P1
Saturday 1st or Sunday 2nd August (TBC)
Errr... Wow! What an epic tale of UK preservation! We will be travelling back in time to the unveiling of the Lightning prototype in this extra special shoot at the prototype's new, post-restoration location.
Either Sat 1st Aug or Sun 2nd - stay tuned!
1st/2nd Aug: Save the dates!

ULSTER AVIATION SOCIETY, NORTHERN IRELAND
18-20th September
We cannot wait to bring the COAP magic to some of the beautiful, including the stunning RN Phantom FG1 - surely one of the finest examples in the world.
18-20th Sept: Save the dates!

VINTAGE CHIPMUNK ACTION
Saturday 17th October
Celebrate the delightful DHC-1 Chipmunk's 80th Anniversary in style in a special RAF/AAC re-enactment of student training (and more!) at the stunning location of Shuttleworth.
17th Oct: Save the date!

THE UNIQUE C-41
Sunday 18th October
Any aircraft that's natural metal needs special photographic attention and this beauty is a perfect example. This unique machine with an incredible pedigree will be the subject of Civil + USAAF-themed shoots in the West Midlands.
18th Oct: Save the date!

BELGIAN HERITAGE
24-25th October
A second trip over to Belgium to shoot some very special historic airframes from WW2 and the Cold War in dedicated photoshoots.
24-25th Oct: Save the dates!

RAF AT HOME: BINBROOK LIGHTNING
Saturday 31st October
Lightning XR724 in operational & re-enactment scenes at RAF Binbrook, home of the RAF's Lightning fleet, in conjunction with TLE.
BOOK NOW https://www.coapwings.com/product/binbrook-lightning

RAF AT HOME: COLTISHALL JAGUAR
Sunday 1st November
Jaguar GR1, XZ384 in operational & re-enactment scenes at RAF Coltishall, home of the RAF's Jag fleet.
BOOK NOW https://www.coapwings.com/product/raf-home-teams-jaguar

BUCC OPS
Saturday 7th November
A long-awaited return to The Buccaneer Aviation Group at Kemble for a shoot with live jets and operational re-enactment scenes.
7th Nov: Save the date!

WINTER SHOOTS COMING SOON!
November & December
We are of course working on new winter night shoots and will release these in due course.

That's all we can release for now!

What a list! Lightnings, Phantoms, Buccaneers, Jaguars... and more! Sigh.

We hope you enjoyed this update (keeping you in the picture so to speak!), as we work hard to bring you the very best photography experiences available.

There will be another Wings Radar release soon, detailing the overseas trips and tours currently available for booking. As usual, all events are listed on our website, here...

www.coapwings.com

See you at an event soon!

Yours in photography,

Team COAP

THE AVIATION PHOTOGRAPHER'S CHOICE

Aviation photography as it should be. Epic adventures, unique opportunities, stunning results and classic road trips interspersed with quality socials, lifelong friends and local specialities...

02/06/2026

So. Many. Cool. Things.
Make sure you’re signed up to www.coapwings.com to receive the email updates on upcoming shoots & tours.

02/06/2026

✈️Tutorial Tuesday… let’s dive in! Lightroom’s Calibration panel is too easy to miss.

It sits right down near the bottom, looking a bit technical and irrelevant, while most of us head straight for Contrast, Saturation or Dehaze.

But for flat aviation RAW files, it can be a really useful tool!

Think grey jets through haze, white aircraft under high cloud, or distant airshow passes that feel a bit thin once they land in Lightroom.

A small Blue Primary Saturation lift can sometimes add richness before the edit gets heavy.

The trick is keeping it gentle.

Move it a little, switch it off and on, then judge the aircraft.

Grey jets should still look grey.
White fuselages should stay clean.
Skies should support the aircraft, not steal the show.
Liveries should still feel like paint.

Calibration should help the file breathe a little.

It should not become the whole edit, nor just used for the sake of it… But used well, it can be a life-saver!

Full breakdown on the blog: https://www.coaponline.com/blog/how-lightroom-calibration-can-help-flat-aviation-raw-files

26/05/2026

✈️Tutorial Tuesday… let’s dive in! Want colourful images to pop without that overcooked Lightroom look? Aircraft liveries are brilliant to edit… until the colours start looking radioactive. 🤯✈️

A common mistake is grabbing Saturation because the RAW file looks a bit flat.

The problem there?

Saturation makes everything louder.

The red tail.
The blue sky.
The yellow paint.
The orange sunset.
The colours that were already strong enough.

Try this instead:

Get the light right first.
Check white balance.
Use a small amount of Vibrance to bring the colours to life.
Then use HSL to target the specific livery colour that needs help.

A blue stripe does not mean the whole frame needs more colour.

A red tail might need luminance, not saturation.

A yellow helicopter can go too heavy, too quickly.

Good livery colour should feel like paint on an aircraft on the tarmac, not a graphic placed on top of the image.

Full breakdown on the blog: https://www.coaponline.com/blog/vibrance-vs-saturation-how-to-edit-aircraft-liveries-without-overdoing-colour (https://www.coaponline.com/blog/vibrance-vs-saturation-how-to-edit-aircraft-liveries-without-overdoing-colour)

23/05/2026

RIAT cancellation…. 😫😢🤦‍♂️

We all knew it might happen, but still the news hits hardddd!

We’re sparing a thought for ALL. THAT. ADMIN at RIAT HQ... As event organisers ourselves, we can totally sympathise with the workload required to undo everything. Massive.

Plus, there's all the headaches & losses for the traders, stall holders, the hospitality industry and beyond.

The cancellation may have been on the cards for some time - and they did all they could to make it work - but this is going to leave its mark across the whole sector. Jeez.

That's not to say all the disappointment all of us are feeling as aviation photographers! It really wasn't just an aviation fix, but the social side and meeting friends new and old is a huge part of everyone's calendar. Of course, there's bigger things going on in the world and no-one is naive to that. But still.

So what next?

Well, we are aware that a lot of people booked leave for that RIAT period and others have non-refundable logistics to contend with, on top of the efforts we as COAP had gone to to bring an amazing photography experience to RIAT 2026 itself.

At the very least it leaves a hole of a big, enjoyable aviation and social fix.

And that's where we come in.

There's three ways of looking at it...

1) Rebook your time and efforts into a new trip.
We have sooo many cool trips coming up over the next few months. We'll send you an email tomorrow, listing each one out, to see if any scratch an itch for you. There's Turkey, The Baltics, Oshkosh, Sweden... Some great stuff.
Not on the list? Sign up here for free... www.coapwings.com

2) We are in the late stages of 3 or 4 BRAND NEW SHOOTS
Some brand new Heritage Wings events may well be accelerated to take place in the summer period. These would be daylight photo shoots (rather than winter night shoots) and we can't wait to release details.

3) Something else...
We also can't say too much on this yet as it's so very early in the aftermath of the cancellation. But we have some great ideas that we're actively exploring the feasibility of facilitating something very cool... OVER RIAT WEEK!

Great social times, super-cool shoots, fascinating aviation photography engagement... Sounds like COAP to me!

So watch out for the above, including tomorrow's rundown of all the available trips you can book a place on, and hang tight on the new announcements.

You'll know we'll be doing all we can.

Rich & The Whole COAP Team

22/05/2026

A very productive day! 🐿️📷😃😉

22/05/2026

RIAT cancellation…. 😫😢🤦‍♂️ We all knew it might happen, but still the news hits hardddd!
We’re sparing a thought for ALL. THAT. ADMIN. that’s gotta take place now across the whole sector. Jeez. In the meantime, stay tuned for some good COAP news to lift the spirits, soon 🙏📷

19/05/2026

✈️Tutorial Tuesday… let’s dive in! Want fast jets to pop without that overcooked Lightroom look? ✈️

The answer usually isn’t more Clarity.

An edit that ‘pops’ comes from clean separation.

A simple order to try:

Set the goal of the edit first.

Protect the canopy, leading edges and fuselage surfaces.

Lift only the useful shadow detail.

Use Whites to clean up the top end.

Use Blacks to add weight.

Add aircraft presence with a Subject mask.

Adjust the sky separately if it is competing.

The final check is simple.

Zoom in around the aircraft edge.

No halos.
No weird sky.
No cut-out look.
No crunchy panel lines.

Just a strong jet with clean separation and a believable edit.

Full breakdown on the blog: https://www.coaponline.com/blog/the-image-pop-formula-how-to-make-aircraft-stand-out-in-lightroom-without-over-processing

15/05/2026

Rude not to post on Phantom Friday! This is a samples of the collection I am currently working on from the past days at Phancon at Andravia.

Sharing my images is awesome and appreciated but please add if you do so.🤙🏻