A gray F-22 Raptor fighter jet flies toward the right against a clear blue sky, with white vapor trails streaming behind it.

Lines of Flight

MG-0383

2024-07-30

About this piece

Mike Gedj captures an F-22 Raptor in profile, its angular silhouette set against an uninterrupted blue sky. Sunlight traces the upper fuselage while white vapor trails extend across the frame, giving visible form to the aircraft’s passage.

The story

I followed the aircraft through the viewfinder, watching its sharp outline hold against the blue. Light caught the canopy and the upper edges of the fuselage; underneath, the body remained in deep shadow. What drew me in were the white lines stretching behind it, delicate beside so much metal. In the frame, that brief passage became a study of contrasts: weight and air, hard edges and dissolving traces.

More from Open Skies

View all →

A dark flying-wing stealth bomber seen from below against a clear blue sky, sunlight tracing its angular edges. — An Edge of Light

A B-2 stealth bomber and a B-52 bomber seen from below against a clear blue sky. — Two Geometries Of Flight

The Statue of Liberty rises from a stone pedestal beneath a blue sky with streaked white clouds. — A Flame Held Still

Two white jets with red and blue markings pass in opposite directions against a blue sky, trailing smoke. — An Instant Between

Four white jets with red and blue markings fly in close formation against a blue sky and pale clouds. — The Shape Of Unison

Two red, white and blue U.S. Air Force jets fly in parallel against blue sky, the upper aircraft inverted. — A Balance Of Wings