The View from Above

I'm fascinated with the complex clouds I can see from a plane. 

I’ll fight you for the window seat.

For me, it’s about the only thrill left in air travel. Day or night, there’s often something to see from a new perspective, and it’s way more interesting than most in-flight movies (nighttime travel over thick cloud cover is a shameful waste of an opportunity, in my opinion).

Sometimes Nature paints with bold colors.

I love to look down at the patterns on the earth in clear weather: on the intricate patterns of landforms by day or the light-spangled darkness at night.

Even fairly thick clouds can offer amazing vistas of layers, canyons, or majestic peaks, and one of the most breathtaking spectacles I’ve ever seen was a nighttime electrical storm, as our plane skirted its edges.

Whenever I travel by air, my camera is always near at hand—and though it often isn’t equipped to capture some of the “best stuff,” I have sometimes managed to capture interesting images I can take back to my studio.

I couldn't resist this image, taken near Salt Lake City, UT.

Even those that don't make the best "photographer's choice" kind of image can offer me a wealth of subject matter. I'm always looking for ways to render them into paper sculpture in new and interesting ways. Perhaps I'll have pieces to show sometime soon!

PHOTO CREDITS: I took all the photos in this post, either on the outward-bound leg of a journey from Kansas City to San Francisco on July 13, 2011, or on the return trip July 18, 2011. These photos may be used under a Creative Commons license as long as they are not altered, and include an attribution to me and this blog.