On-Target ......Philip Stevens, writer and freelance aviation photographer for over 30 years.

Ready, willing and available for any assignment ....... If you would like some air to air photographs I would by happy to offer my services free of charge. Got an idea then just ask....using either or both of the following email addresses

The aims of the Target Aviation Photography website

Firstly, the Target Aviation Photography site aims to promote my main interest in life (apart from my family), aviation photography. Totally focussed on aviation photography if I am not planning an assignment or for an event, whether it be in the UK, Europe or North America, then I am taking time off to go to Wales or Cumbria for low-level flying photography. Aviation Photography for me includes, vintage and veteran civil aircraft, warbirds and modern military aircraft which add a bit more excitement to aviation photography when they are flying. When I was approved to fly with the RAF and other air forces for Air to air images, it took my aviation photography a stage further. Military air base visits has given me the chance to talk to pilots and get in close to the aircraft. Aviation photography is so much better when the shots are taken of aircraft in their 'natural' surroundings away from the public and barriers. Secondly, the Target Aviation Photography website aims to bring ideas and inspiration to other aviation photographers. I hope that does not sound too pompous! I am just fed up of the same old side-on shots. I believe that photographic aspects such as; action, angles, backgrounds, time of day and weather should all be included in the creative thought process.

About Me

I was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1956. My father had served with the RAF in the 1950s, and after several years in Canada we returned to England, settling in the Midlands. By the mid-1960s we were living on Elmdon Lane, right beside Elmdon Airport—now Birmingham International. In 1967 I watched the airport's first jet arrive, a KLM Douglas DC-9. Aviation had me hooked. I began aircraft spotting at nine or ten, and within a few years photography followed. My first serious camera was a second-hand Praktica 35mm SLR. Armed with a single standard 50mm lens, I took landing shots at RAF Valley in the early 1970s, sitting among the runway lights as jets filled the frame. Telephoto came in 1973, a 300mm f/5.6 Sigma for just £22. Since then, telephoto lenses have been upgraded many times, each more expensive than the last. I've favoured Canon equipment since the 1980s and am now a member of Canon Professional Services (CPS). I travel widely in search of the most interesting and exciting aircraft images. My focus is military aviation and classic civil aircraft, specifically types that first flew before 1960. Why 1960? Because aircraft of that era were hand-crafted and full of character, not the mass-produced "tins" of today. Admittedly, it's becoming harder to stumble across quality civil aircraft now, turning up unannounced at a small French airfield rarely delivers the surprises it once did. My favourite civil airfield is Cerny-La Ferté-Alais just outside Paris, which is the home of l'Amicale Jean-Baptiste Salis (AJBS), with it's wonderful collection of veteran (warbirds!) aircraft. They host the Meeting Aerienne at the end of May/early June each year. My favourite museums are the Italian Air Force Museum (Museo Storico) at Vigna di Valle, Rome and the Belgium Air Force Museum (Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire) in Brussels. I must have visited Vigna di Valle at least 20 times over the years, the lakeside vista, the incredible unique exhibits are just a wonder. One of my favourite aviation shows used to be at Woburn Abbey, England where the DH Moth Club held their annual Moth fly-in. Over the years I've done it all—colour prints, self-processed film, and black-and-white enlargements produced in a darkroom built in my bathroom. I still have thousands of slides from a period when time ran out before the negatives could be developed or prints made. Since 2003 I've worked exclusively with Canon digital cameras and lenses, and digital processing has given me full creative control once again. My two children and my long-suffering wife may never fully understand my obsession with aviation photography, but they tolerate it, and support it, at least to a point. Mostly self-taught, I did however attend Sutton Coldfield College to study photography achieving an 'A' grade at GCSE level. I then achieved a Distinction in 'City and Guilds' level exams for the following photography subjects; Movement and Action, Portraiture, Natural History, Black and White and Photo-journalism. Photo-Journalist My book Thunder Through the Valleys: Low Level Flying - Low Level Photography. about low level flying, was published in 2018 after seven years of research and many interviews. As a freelance photographer and writer, I regularly contribute articles to magazines in the UK and across Europe. To date, my work has appeared in 38 magazines spanning at least 15 countries, with articles translated into six languages. I also supply images to editors to illustrate and enhance other writers' work, and I'm frequently approached by book authors for imagery, requests I'm always happy to support. My website contains my own work and is my labour of love. It chronicles my aviation photography since I went digital in 2003. Images taken from the 1970's mostly remain in storage as slides (until 2020) and black and white negatives. On television On a number of occasions I have been asked to assist with television productions I have even appeared on camera for interviews on low level flying. This is not something I enjoy to be honest, far from it, but I am always willing to help. Click; Philip Stevens on television to find out more about my amusing television career! Philip Stevens My home office

Aviation Photography Talks

Charity Talks - Philip Stevens conducting a talk 'The Background to my Photography' at Chorley Photographic Society, raising another £100 for the RAF Association. I give talks to camera clubs, photographic societies and to aviation enthusiast groups about my aviation photography. Please email me to ask about my availability. I have travelled right across the UK to talk, some groups have invited back to conduct a second talk. Help for Heroes is a charity formed to help those who have been wounded in Britain's conflicts. Philip Stevens has donated his best images for the disposal of the charity. Working with Kevin Hunt of the Royal Air Force Police Association images have been printed and circulated within the RAF as far as Afghanistan for signing by aircrew to be auctioned to raise money for the charity, with over £2,000 raised by July 2016. Philip Stevens now raises money for the RAF Association accepting invitations to present his images and talk about aviation photography. Fees received are passed on to charity, notably; 'Help For Heroes' or the RAF Association.

A number of different talks have been created; The Background to my photography: I discuss the importance of the background to making a great image (sunsets, clouds, hillsides, water etc.). Photographic projects: I discuss taking a series of images and interviews for magazine articles. Thunder Through the Valleys: I discuss the writing and photography required for my published book on military low flying. Aircraft museum and relic photography: I discuss producing the best images at my favourite aircraft museums, photographic techniques and post processing to enhance my images. Photographing people with their aircraft: I discuss shooting aircrew and groundcrew with their aircraft to make images more interesting for magazine editors etc. All talks use my best digital images taken over the last 20 years. My talks are tailored to suit the audience and has Q and A session. Usually, two talks are selected for each evening of two one hour sessions.

My Published Work

Flying with the Italian Air Force's Gliding Centre (Centro di Volo a Vela) at Guidonia-Montecelio Air Force Base after my article was published in Sailplane & Gliding, it is now adorning a wall in their main building. I am with my friend Captain Stefano Rotatori an Instructor Pilot at the Centro di Volo a Vela.

Some of my magazine front covers

Published in the 38 magazines listed below in at least 15 countries with articles translated into 6 languages

Aeronautika,  Aircraft Illustrated,  Air Combat,  Air Forces Monthly,  Air International,  Airports of the World,  Arabian Aerospace,   Aranysas,  Aviation History,  Aviation News,  Aviation and Time,  Aviation World,  Club Wings,  Combat Aircraft,  Control & Automation,  Flieger Revue,  Flight International, Flying in Ireland,  FlyPast,  FlyPast Year Book,  General Aviation,  Loop,  Lotnictwo,   The Moth,  Pacific Wings,  PhotoPlus,  Pilot,  Ptisi & Diastima,  RAF Magazine,  Revista Força Aérea,  Rivista Aeronautica,  Royal Air Force Yearbook,  Royal Air Force Annual Review,  SA Flyer,  Sailplane & Gliding,   UK Air Power,  Digital Photographer,  EOS Magazine,  Outdoor Photography and even in Maxim!

Please note: All images (unless otherwise stated) on this website remain copyright © 1973-2026 Philip Stevens, they should not be copied or reproduced in any medium without written permission from Philip Stevens. All rights reserved.