The Aerial Horizon
Forget where your feet are and simply enjoy the view.
And something remarkable happens…Flying out of the sunset and into twilight while also flying around the blow-off of a storm over the Mississippi River…the cloud top crosses the earth’s terminator and the portion still in sunlight casts a shadow upward on the sky. The celestial shadows turn our normal view of the world upside-down.
The air is smooth and the sky is clear as we turn to the northwest and the lights of Sarasota fade into the horizon.
As the sun sets and the brilliant colors compress around the horizon, our eyes slowly adjust to the shadows. Above the horizon, we gaze upon a sliver of a crescent moon in the western sky.
As the clouds open to reveal Lake Powell and the Mesas beyond, it is as though the heavens have blessed us with a secret hidden in the dreamlike mist below. The San Juan River winds its way through Utah and the change in color spotlights the transition to Nevada.
The Missouri River flows southeastward. As we move west, the shining surface of the river stretches to the horizon and fades into the endless sunset.
Storms at night, like so many musicians “trading fours,” exchange flashes of light in sequence. Southern Georgia coast.
Cumuliform and Stratiform clouds converge over Palm Beach, Florida with the ebb and flow of late afternoon thunderstorms in the area. As the sun sets and illuminates the scene, the wispy scud layer creates a dreamlike vision.
The Tennessee River gleams with late afternoon sun as it meanders through Louisville, Kentucky. Low clouds and mist drift overhead making the view seem like a dream.
It’s that time of year again. Thunderstorms over the coast of Florida turn the ordered straight lines of airways into stretched and crisscrossing strands of flashing light as each crew avoids the growing hazards.
Heading for weather. High above, our perspective tells us to steer clear. For those who can’t see over or around the storm, the solution is not always apparent.
Vegetation sprawls along creeks and streams in north Texas. Greenery dominates the landscape as we pass Pat Mayse Lake and State Wildlife Management Area in North Texas.
The Cascades are breathtaking every time. It is as though each peak reveals a little secret to us as we cross and our perspective shifts. Mount Baker stands out to the northwest of a secluded yet majestic Baker Lake in Washington.
Night lights on the Gulf Coast. Crossing the Gulf of Mexico south of New Orleans, LA. The lights of the city glow in the sky above while waterways are lit by traffic making its way up the Delta.
The earth shrouded in indigo hues as clouds gather along the Florida coast at sunset.
Throughout the Mid West and West farmers fields follow neat grids, sometimes filled with circles and other times straight lines of crops and irrigation systems…As we look closer to major cities, these neatly gridded spaces are subsumed by the sprawl of development. The contrast is clear from above and we can see the value and beauty of all the green spaces. Pictured here: McKinney and Frisco, Texas.
Cruising past New York City, there is a bewildering level of activity. However, from our vantage point at altitude it appears to be one living thing. Life flows down the Hudson past the West side to the Statue of Liberty and Governor’s Island and then up the East River checking its pulse at each bridge along the way.
Although airports appear wherever there are people, sometimes as we wander the airways we see them pop out of the landscape like an oasis. Always looking for a “plan B,” options appear to those who keep a good watch below the horizon. Pictured here: Washington Regional Airport; Washington, Missouri on the banks of the Missouri River.
Brushstrokes on a canvas of sky. Sun setting on upper air instability on the south side of the weather moving across the Gulf of Mexico.
The weather on the back side of the storm is often more dramatic than the storm itself. The chaotic layers of cloud give the appearance of waves crashing in the sea.
Like rocky feathers, the Wasatch Mountains in Utah seemingly float off of the landscape in ribs and plumes.
The Aerial Horizon – Photography
