The sky's the limit for Heather

A schoolgirl from Castle Donington has been impressing media professionals at the Royal International Air Tattoo, at the age of 10.

Heather Jones, 10, a pupil at St Edwards C of E Primary School in Castle Donington, called in early at the Air Tattoo to show off a copy of her book Aircraft Pictures. And the book, which includes the first photo Heather took at the age of five attracted rave reviews from staff on site.

Air Tattoo photographer Dave Baxter said: "Wow! What potential! Heather's certainly got an eye for photography, and if she can take photos like this now, who knows what she'll be able to do in the future."

Heather says: "I took my first photo aged five when my mum told my dad to let me have a go. He's a video photographer and used to do the official DVD for the Waddington airshow. I took a picture of the Italian Frecce Tricolori display team, with red, white and green smoke trails behind them, and I thought it was great so I've continued.

"I also take wildlife photos but aircraft are my main thing: I was only six months old when I came to my first Air Tattoo. My dad got the book printed for me, but I've had pictures published in magazines and I've won one contest, with a photo of an F-15, in competition against adult photographers."

Having started so young the future looks bright for this young photographer. She says: "I'd like to make a career of it, and I'm hoping to join the Air Cadets when I'm 13 and specialise in photography."

Achieving that aim should be no problem: Sqn Ldr Maurice Thompson, Media Communications Officer for the Air Cadets at the Air Tattoo, has already invited Heather to join the organisation and help the media team once she's old enough.

Heather's favourite aircraft, the F-22 Raptor, isn't at this year's Air Tattoo, but there are plenty of others for her to focus on, including the Vulcan, the French Rafale, and a New Zealand Boeing 757. And with nearly 300 aircraft on show and displaying, it's the perfect place for this talented youngster to hone her photographic skills.