If you ever thought photography was easy, just have a look what went into an incredible photo shoot done by aviation photographer, Mark Mansfield. The subject? Well, let's just say that she can be described as big boned, with extra space needed to accommodate her frame. We'll allow Mansfield to take the story behind his favourite photo further...

Mark Mansfield: My favourite photo must be the air-to-air (A2A) shoot that I did last year with British Airways (BA) and its Airbus A380. This shoot made history as the first ever A2A of an Airbus A380 around Table Mountain.

It all came about when BA conducted what is called line training for the A380 captains. South Africa was chosen for a number of reasons: the weather was perfect that time of year, the costs are a lot cheaper, and King Shaka International Airport in Durban could accommodate an A380. It was also fairly quiet in terms of traffic, so the decision by BA was to conduct two weeks of training.

When the marketing team from BA heard about this, it was decided to arrange the photo shoot around Table Mountain. And this is when all the fun and games started as an A2A shoot of this magnitude needs loads of planning and lots of preparation. For one, timing to get the aircraft from Durban to Cape Town and back all in one day in between the training had to be perfect. Furthermore, permissions needed to be granted from not just BA, but also the South African Air Force, South African Civil Aviation Authority, The UK Civil Aviation Authority, SANParks, Cape Town city management and a host of other entities.

Once all the approvals and requirements were met, the operational team then started the flight planning and intensive simulator training both here in SA and back in the UK. We had plenty of safety briefings and after all this the day of the shoot finally arrived. Needless to say we made history; it was one of the most exhilarating feelings flying within 10 metres next to the world’s biggest passenger aircraft and low level along the Cape coastline.

This was one of the biggest A2A shoots that I have ever done and been part of, in terms of size, operational requirement and logistics. I felt truly privileged to have been chosen for such a momentous occasion. 

Visit Mark Mansfield's website to see more of his amazing photography.