Four jets with dark blue, turquoise, and white patterned markings fly in close formation across a pale blue sky, trailing white smoke.

Geometry of Flight

MG-0455

2024-07-30

About this piece

Seen from below, four patterned jets hold a close formation against an uninterrupted blue sky. Their repeated silhouettes and diagonal smoke trails create a measured geometry, contrasting the crisp aircraft outlines with soft, dispersing white.

The story

I followed the four aircraft through the viewfinder, watching the spaces between them as closely as the wings. Against the pale sky, their blue and turquoise markings seemed almost fluid, while the formation held its precise shape. I wanted to keep that contrast: hard outlines moving together, soft trails opening behind them. For a moment, the frame contained no ground, no horizon, only four forms sharing the same direction.

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