A passion for photography and flight

Perth aviation photographer Richard Kreider has taken a stunning image of a Qantas 787 after lift-off from Perth on its non-stop journey to London.

The Qantas 787, VH-ZND “Emily” operated QF9 from Perth to London on October 29.

Born at a US Air Force base in France during the Cold War years, Mr Kreider jokes that his first breath probably had a liberal dose of fumes from aircraft engines.

And that exposure continued, living under the flight path to Heathrow in his teenage years and he joined the Air Training Corps.

Aviation lives alongside his passion for soccer — he is a member of the Football Hall of Fame WA and part of the FFA National Panel of Football Historians.

Mr Kreider says that night flight photography is a real adventure.

“It’s the thrill of the chase and the accounting for the contrasting weather conditions such as rain and fog,” he says.

Resolving the technical issues of correct lighting, focus and framing are testing factors of this challenging photography.

“When all of these factors align and a great shot is achieved, then getting up at 2am is worthwhile,” he says.

The results are more than worthwhile, with many of Mr Kreider’s night pictures being used across the globe.

Some of Mr Kreider’s most popular images are of an Emirates Boeing 777 framed by the moon, a Virgin Australia Regional Airlines Fokker 100 landing in rain and a Cathay Pacific Airways A350-900 landing in fog.

Perth Airport is also helping aviation enthusiasts with more viewing areas planned in conjunction with the building on the new parallel runway expected later this decade.