PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE
Between Bright Stars, Red Shining Lights at Night and the First Rays of Sunshine in the Morning Hours
Week 163 of the photographic documentary of my daily life
Summer is slowly slipping away, and we notice the air is getting cooler but clearer as well. From atop, we see further again and could see the Alps for the first time since early May.
The nights are clear with thousands of stars sparkling above our heads and countless airliners zooming across. Despite being in the heart of Europe, the Milky Way is visible. Most nights. As long as the clouds don’t move in.
Also, the sun is rising later giving me a chance to embrace this magical time of the day. When the first rays of sunshine appear on the horizon as I rub my eyes stepping out of the trailer, I do know it is going to be a great day.
On Thursday, we had blue skies and sunshine and were busy getting the last students of the year through the progression program. Together with David, I went on a Level 3 jump where the student had to fall on his own for the first time.
After a linked exit and one more performed practiced pull, both of us released the grip of the student and let him fly by himself. This is one of the most challenging jumps for the instructors as we don’t know yet how the student performs without two solid hands holding him stable, and things can go quickly sideways, requiring us to react in a split second to recover the scene.
But none of this was the case, and as you can see on David’s facial expression, we were more than happy about how the student was doing on his own.
On Friday night, I went out late at night to have a look at the clear sky. With my camera in hand, I walked behind the trailer park out onto the meadow to capture the Milky Way. Something I hadn’t captured a lot in this country.
While adjusting the long exposure timer, the constant roaring of the moving blades was sounding across the fields. The wind turbines are blinking bright during the night, and their sounds are not to be overheard.
I decided to try something different and get their display in a night shot, too, just as another airliner was taking off from Munich Airport, I suppose.
Just a few hours laid in between the two images, and after a good night’s rest, I was stepping early out of the trailer in need to use the bathroom when the first light was greeting me.
The sun was just rising above the horizon as a few more planes were pulling condensed trails behind them in the clear sky.
And the next image shows the difference clouds make in a twilight shot. Disregarding if it’s dawn or dusk, with a few clouds scattered across the sky, every sunrise or sunset picture explodes with a magnitude of colors.
I was just a few minutes later on Sunday morning, and the sun had appeared in full size above the horizon, but the image shining out there took my breath away as I was rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
On Monday, we received some rainfall again, and I simply captured raindrops falling from my tomatoes. I still hope they ripen before the first frost will come.
On Tuesday, there were clouds in the sky when I set off for a walk across the fields, but no rain was predicted or seen on the horizon.
I headed for the old Linden tree alley, walking through moving grass in the meadow.
Having my eyes on the trail ahead, I spotted countless butterflies dancing from one flower head to the next. Pollinating the last blooming beauties of the season, they didn’t sit still for long but were constantly on the move.
Turning right at the edge of the forest, I decided to take a different trail than usual, leading me into a tiny village home to a handful of farmers and their families. The first citizens greeting me rather skeptical were a bunch of well-fed and thick-wooled sheep.
Despite the blue skies on Wednesday, we didn’t have work as no locals or tourists had booked a skydive. The season is coming to an end, and our workload is dropping drastically.
David and I did a gym session with some weights and then headed out for a walk across the fields, talking about the future, our plans and what is awaiting us on the other side.
This has been my weekly photo essay . Anyone can join. Once. Or weekly. It doesn’t matter. We welcome everyone! Dennett started this photography challenge in 2020 and many have participated ever since.
Dennett / Erika / Eileen / K. Barrett / Juan / David / Mia / Susan / LensAfield / Kim / Barbara / Diana / Barb / Sandra / Shruthi / Ellie / Pene / Olive / Gustavo / Jane / Penny / Jillian / Shell / Ivy / Lisa / Lynne
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