The Aerial Horizon
Forget where your feet are and simply enjoy the view.
Cloud Lattice
A thin sheet of cloud latticework lies draped over the farmland of north Texas, an aerial reflection of the fractal patterns etched across the plain by the Canadian River.
Casting Shadows
Casting their shadows on the heavens at first light, while this part of the world slowly rises in twilight, the Sisters stand above the din in a brilliant silent spectacle.
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Columbia Awakening
Flying westbound, chasing the dawn, witnessing the daily great reveal as sunlight tentatively touches the face of earth…that is where we belong. This morning, Columbia awakens and flows to the sea while the last clouds of night cling to her banks and remember the night. We watch the scene, evolve from our lofty perch and we are a part of it. We breath deeply and relax in the air where everything is simple and, even in the worst of times, still an expression of a harmonic balance between light and dark, warm and cold, wind and calm, earth and sky…This is where we live. This is who we are. We will never forget our brothers and sisters who were ripped from the heavens on September 11th, 2001. Peace.
Belying
On my list of things that make launching before dawn worthwhile is the delight of flying down the pacific coast from Seattle and watching the volcanoes emerge from the mist as the veil of night is slowly pulled away. The warm glow of soft morning light gradually reveals the colors of the landscape and the shapes of volcanoes become more distinct as we pass over Mount Saint Helens. Overlooking Johntson’s Ridge and Spirit Lake, the blown out face of the volcano gracefully blends into the mountainside belying the violent moments of its evolution.
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Towering Low
Though towering over the landscape from atop a mesa, Wyoming’s Devil’s Tower National Monument appears as in miniature from our perch above the aerial horizon. The textured grooves on its vertical faces, clearly visible from altitude, make the volcanic form stand out in contrast to the surrounding terrain.
Trapped in the Valley
The marine layer sits static over southern California, displaying as clouds trapped in the valleys between mountain ridges…A thick blanket with threadbare patches where edges of unshrouded earth are revealed.
Negotiating Weather
As we move through the atmosphere in search of smooth air and clear skies, we inevitably encounter barriers…sometimes we hold, sometimes we divert, sometimes we find a perfect passage to allow us to stay in the clear. In this pursuit, we practice our airmanship as we maneuver our craft away from the weather obstructed airways, countering the swirling motion of the air with the reflexive movement of our controls, using instinct and experience to navigate the uncharted and rapidly changing path until we can return to the relative safety of the regimented airways…it’s challenge-filled moments like these that remind us of why we love flying so.
Layered Waves
The swells of a watery planet drift into the heavens and we experience waves of water vapor at every level of the atmosphere, crisscrossing one another’s currents, their motion echoing in ripples of unseen turbulence .
A Time for Holding
When ominous signs loom on the horizon, perhaps not yet visible but by those who have passed this way before us, we respond by taking a turn away…not to run, but to delay, to await smooth air and a lighted path…we hold. We take the time to allow the destructive destabilizing forces to run their course…to blow up and blow out…to evaporate and be forgotten…to leave memories as skies reflected in puddles of water…fading into the earth and sky.
Abstract Landscape: Georgia’s Coast
Graceful meanders, serendipitous pathways, water and earth twist and dance in the swaying balance of fluid motion.
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Carolina Blues
Summer morning storms over the North Carolina coast cast various shades of blue on the shadow checkered earth below…There’s a little powder blue in there, but these are the real blues of coastal Carolina.
A Labyrinthian Landscape
In and around Georgia’s coastal islands, meandering streams create the labyrinthian landscape, their random courses highlighted by the bronze reflection of a late afternoon sun that illuminates their paths. The scattered shadows of clouds checker the reflections of water passing beneath the Sidney Lanier Bridge as it flows to the sea.
Capulin
As we pass over Capulin Volcano National Monument, we look upon the enormous cone…Seemingly docile, smoothed by the winds and rains of hundreds of centuries, its sculpted conical shape sits as a static reminder of the region’s dynamic and volatile past.
Freeflight
Near and far…A luminous teardrop flees the earth bound for the heavens…A weather balloon in free flight hangs timelessly, suspended between the earth and moon.
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Lost in the Glow
Leaving behind the deep shadows of Yosemite’s raised terrain, we look forward to the Pacific coast beyond the level plane of the San Joaquin Valley and we become lost in the glow of watery reflections as the water laden valley seems to capture the very warmth and light of sunset.
Without Reference
When we choose a narrow focus, gazing upon the Grand Canyon, we lose sight of distractions and revel in the simple beauty of its colorfully layered irregular sculpting without reference to the world around us. Our enjoyment is complete, we are exhilarated, and the image is burned into our minds…forever a familiar pattern.
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Drifting into the Night
The last light of the day wanders fuze-like along the twisted surface of the river toward a lingering storm in the twilight over southern Georgia as we drift into the night.
Abstract Landscape – 12 Mule Canyon
Depth transmitted to the one dimensional plane beyond a camera’s lens, represented in colorful and textural variance…the wavelength of light captured in a moment telling us what we need to see, to understand, to marvel, to appreciate the beauty of worlds we may never touch. Following the faint line of 12 Mule Canyon among the ridges of earth in Death Valley.
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Abstract Landscape – Death Valley’s Middle Basin
Earth streams and drains in the Middle Basin of Death Valley, echoing the flows of ancient water and transient winds.
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Sea of Stone
Above a sea of stone, the mountain tops of Yosemite crest in the evening mist as waves upon the ocean.
The Aerial Horizon – Photography
The Aerial Horizon 