The Passing Instant

About this piece

Two United States Air Force jets overlap in the frame as they pass in opposite directions, their banked wings set against an expansive blue sky. Bright light defines the nearer aircraft’s white surfaces and red accents, while motion softens the jet behind it. A thin smoke trail extends across the composition, lending a fleeting sense of continuity to the opposing forms.

The story

At the beginning of January, the new year opens onto a field of blue. Two aircraft cross, their pointed noses already reaching toward opposite edges of the frame. Light catches one canopy, and white wings briefly occupy the same small patch of sky. The encounter lasts an instant; a pale ribbon of smoke remains to mark its passage.