PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE

Girls Taking Over the Sky

Week 26 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

It is going on. My life full of adventures and adrenaline-filled activities. This weekend we had an event at the local dropzone. It was about competitions and a plane filled with girls.

I am talking about skydiving.

But this week I also ventured out into the desert again. To explore more of this country in its greenest it has been for years. Seeing flowers, lush green grass, and animals happily grazing across the vast plains of the desert is simply fulfilling.

A lone apple tree is growing in our garden. According to the flowers, it's still springtime. I don’t think this country has really a spring. We only talk about winter and summer.

Or rainy season and dry season.

But apple blossoms will always remind me of spring. And home. Because back home in Germany there are many of them. Apple trees. And blossoms.

It was Friday afternoon. My partner and I wanted to go to the airport and do a jump before the weekend’s competition would start. While trying to think about what to do I got asked to film this girl’s jump.

She was on level 6 of the progression course. This means only one instructor is with her. I am just there to film the jump. For her to analyze it later. And for me to learn from the other instructor’s flying.

I was impressed. With his flying maneuvers. Jumping after a student not knowing what to expect is nerve-racking. I do know that feeling. You have to stay close all the time but still give the student space to fly and improve skills.

But if need be you need to act within a split second. As an instructor. That is what makes this job incredibly challenging. And never boring.

After passing Level 6 yesterday I also got the chance to film her today on Level 7. Which she also passed. This shot taken just after exit is one of my favorites. With the plane in the shot and the dunes with the ocean in the background.

This yellow plane has the most amazing paint job I’ve ever seen on a plane. The yellow and orange colors create an incredible contrast to the blue of the sky.

Today is where the picture from the title comes in as well. During the day of lots of jumping and competition flights, I managed to organize a full girls load. Which has been the first of its kind. In this country at least.

It made me so proud to see so many girls in the sky. From when I started coaching in the air I made it a mission of mine to empower the girls in this sport.

Girls power. Keep it up!

The moment when you open the door and look out of the plane. It is surely overwhelming.

The wind blowing in your face and trying to rip your body out of the plane.

The view onto the ground visualizing how high up you are.

The grips you are taking on the plane trying to hold on to it as long as you have to — just to jump at the same time with your friends.

And then you have this amazing view distracting you from anything you’re trying to focus on.

Yes, overwhelming is definitely the right word to describe the above picture. Even for an experienced skydiver a lot of emotions come up. The moment you open the door. The moment you look down. The moment you know it is time to let go and fly!

Barely settled in back home and we’re on the road again. My friend asked us to join them for an extended birthday trip. Guess what? Of course, I didn’t say no.

So here we are. Back in the desert. Capturing flowers. Because that’s what I love most about this place. The variety of life you can find in this seemingly lifeless place.

On a sundowner cruise across the farm, we passed a group of zebras crossing the plains. Most animals traveled further south where it had rained a lot and the grass started to shoot out of the rocky desert soil.

Only a few creatures stayed behind. Like these zebras. Maybe they enjoy the peace.

Today we moved to a new place. A cave, hidden in the vastness of the desert. where nobody can find us and nobody could hear us we celebrated her birthday.

And the sky celebrated with us. With this incredible spectacle of colors. What a way to end the day. I still can be speechless when trying to describe a sunset like this one.

Thank you Dennett for starting this challenge last year. It has brought so much joy to me over the weeks. But it also taught me a lot. To slow down in life. To look for the small things in nature.

And to simply enjoy life.

Thank you to everyone who’s been joining the challenge over the past couple of months. I love reading every single of them. There is so much variety between the writers' daily lives and I love it!

Have a look at their work too:

Erika Burkhalter / Eileen Vorbach Collins / Dennett / Sasha Meyer / Tracy Aston / Lisa Bolin / Rachael Ann Sand / Juan O. Aguilera / David Wade Chambers / June Nguyen / Mia Verita

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Anne Bonfert is a traveler. Photographer. Writer. Teacher. Skydiving instructor. Adventure enthusiast. Nature lover. And fell in love with the African continent.