The Aerial Horizon
Forget where your feet are and simply enjoy the view.
Blossoming Desert
Wandering through the Canyonlands with a unique flair, the Colorado leaves a flourish etched in stone at “The Loop.” While the curve would be fascinating to see from its rim, the aerial perspective yields a greater sense of the desert blossoming through the movement of water over the ages.
Under the Shelf: Enigma
Under the shelf of a storm, we encounter the enigma…Simultaneously ill defined and distinct, a clear focus eludes us as we sneak under the weather and the morning light penetrates the clouded veil, illuminating the vapor above us.
Charlottesville’s Sunset
I spend a lot of time transitting the Valley and never seem to fly over Charlottesville and home…but sometimes the view of home gives me a sense of the mood on the ground. This storm crossed the ridge near Afton Mountain and lingered over Charlottesville at sunset. There is nothing like the sense of home or the warmth of a brilliant sunset calming the face of a storm.
Sunsetting on the Blue Ridge
Storms continue to hang on the Blue Ridge Mountains as the sun sets bathing them in spectacular light as seen from overhead the Shenandoah Valley.
Inspired Vocabulary
Flying over Sweetwater County, Wyoming…I was intrigued by the texture of the landscape, but that’s nothing new…the landscape of Wyoming is a wonder beyond explanation to the geological layman…and the essence of understanding blooms in a field of curious endeavors to render the inexplicable in simple terms and stories. Thus I continued to ponder the landscape and marvel at the textures of the photograph that I captured. Again, I know little of geology, but I am curious and a little creative, so I decided to make up a word to explain the contrast of textures between the elevated plane of the plateau and colorfully patterned plane below the wrinkled cliff face. I was inspired and decided that it could be described by the expression “abstract geologic topoglyph.” [A little disclosure, I am a really good bluffer in Scrabble and have a degree in Rhetoric.] I pulled this expression out of the air and planned to use it with the authority of something sourced from a textbook. Much to my surprise,I found the word topoglyph already exists to describe “two-dimensional line structures which are topologically identifiable one from the other.” [No bluffing] So, I leave you to appreciate this image of an inspired and naturally occurring abstract geologic topoglyph in the open space of Sweetwater County.
Blue Moon Over the Valley
Once in a blue moon… While we are often captivated by the beauty of the world outside the glass and aluminum of our small ship, when weather, earth, and heavenly bodies align in a single frame, we are filled with awe. It is a romantic moment in which we stop being mere spectators and become part of the scene. Such was the scene tonight as we witnessed the “blue moon” rise from behind a storm over the Shenandoah Valley.
Rolling into the Maelstrom
Learning to appreciate the singular beauty of the clouds while revering the utter destructive power inherent in the storm. A wonderfully humbling way to start the day.
Elevated Perspective
The gift of a spectacular view on a near cloudless day over Grand Teton National Park. This was a bad day to fly with the shades drawn…One should never miss an opportunity to participate in the splendor of our natural earth; even if only peering through a small oval portal at 38,000 feet, our souls commune as our vision consumes the reflections of a sunlit planet.
Tampa Dawn
Breathe deeply, dawn washes over the blank canvas of night, coloring our view of the world and setting the tone for a new day.
Colorful Colorado and the Spirit of Adventure
The Colorado River Road follows the course of the river as it cuts through the colorful landscape of Colorado…The river’s driven yet meandering course defines human boundaries while defying the vertical thrusts of earth…The Colorado expresses our spirit of adventure. Apropos of that spirit, we consult the map and find the ranch in its path bears the name “Spirit of Adventure Ranch.”
Muted Storytelling
Crossing Wyoming, southeast of Rock Springs, the landscape reflects ancient etchings of flowing lava, water, and ice…fascinating, silent, stoic, resonant, and colorful…storytellers in the muted oral tradition of a living planet.
Emerging from the Background
As we wander through the Cascades, Mount Rainier interrupts our pondering of the range’s jagged ridges and emerges from the background to dominate the our view of the landscape.
Hiding from the Dawn
The rising sun softens as it penetrates the vapor laden morning air along the gulf coast of Florida…As we duck behind a growing cell, the light penetrates its showers and thin spots around its edges creating a warm and dreamlike scene amid the shadows.
Dawn on the Potomac
Before the white hot sky of summer bleaches the colors of dawn into the haze, the deep green of foliage drifts in the mist highlighting each turn of the Potomac as it makes its way toward the Chesapeake and the approaching day.
Stepping Across the Tennessee Skies
As if caught in a place between dreams of a stairway to heaven and the reality of turbulent shifting weather patterns, the clouds twist and climb as they step their way across the cloudscape of the Tennessee skies.
A Ribbon of Stone
Unlike other nearby canyons, Bryce Canyon does not display itself as a traditional canyon to the casual observer…Instead, we see a ribbon of stone in contrast to the surrounding green vegetation…As it twists and turns, it arches and curves as if to hint at its control over the landscape…Never confining, it merely cups the earth in its open arms.
On and Off the Grid
Nestled at the base of Red Hill, Cedar City, Utah’s regimented gridwork of streets spreads eastward toward the mountains, defining the city’s landscape until it it yields to the terrain of the foothills…Just over the hills, Zion National Park’s colorful earthen network of canyons commands our attention and truly defines the landscape…As we lose ourselves in the labyrinth of canyons, the mere thought of a grid controlling the landscape seems ludicrous.
Rainbow Radiating
Suddenly, a rainbow materializes in rising vapor above the clouds as if radiating from the earth toward the heavens…a challenge to our traditional perception of rainbows falling toward earth from the heavens. Colorful and radiant, it’s summertime along the Atlantic coast.
The Long View: Hualapai Canyon
When the color, texture, and orientation of the landscape express themselves with such emotion that our words are inadequate to describe what our eyes and our souls experience…We stop trying and allow our senses to revel in the moment of scintillation.
Deviation
The airways are very ordered, the flight plans are clearly defined, and the atmosphere is a dynamic environment that calls upon pilots to frequently make decisions to ensure the continued safety of the traveling public. The pilot of this Thomas Cook Airbus prudently chose to deviate from his flight planned route to avoid the thunderstorm at his 5 o’clock. Air traffic controllers do an admirable job deconflicting the diverting aircraft’s flight paths and readily providing warnings of weather intensity along the way…but there is no substitute for keeping one’s eyes on the horizon to avoid hazardous weather.
The Aerial Horizon – Photography
The Aerial Horizon 