A red, white, and blue U.S. Air Force Thunderbird jet flies above a deep blue sea dotted with small motorboats.

Across the Blue

MG-0434

2024-07-30

About this piece

A Thunderbird jet crosses the frame just above the distant horizon, its sharply defined profile set against blue sky and sea. Scattered motorboats below establish scale, while the aircraft’s red and white markings interrupt the expansive field of blue.

The story

I followed the aircraft across the blue, keeping the boats beneath it in the frame. Their scattered white hulls gave the sea a sense of distance that the horizon alone could not supply. For an instant, the jet seemed almost level with that far line, its bright markings held against the water. I wanted the photograph to preserve that contrast: the swift passage overhead and the small, unhurried shapes below.

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