PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE

It’s All About the Skies

Week 113 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

Fall isn’t just about leaves that change their color and temperatures that are rapidly dropping after a hot and humid summer. Summer is also about the skies. With more rain, more clouds appear that make up for spectacular sunrises and sunsets.

And fall is about the birds. Birds that are migrating south and those who stay. It’s a season when birds will flock in huge numbers, and their calls will be heard for miles.

This week I have a little bit of everything for you. Late evening shadows, blue skies painted with few clouds, sunsets and sunrises, and of course the cranes in the sky and on the ground.

Starting my week on Thursday, David and I went on a bike ride. My husband was on the bicycle and I was on the rollerblades. It was a lovely afternoon with some clouds in the sky. Between two villages, I gave him a sign to stop. I wanted to take out my camera to capture the sun's rays shining through the clouds.

A little later, two deer jumped up out on the fields just next to us.

I love this life of ours in the countryside. Emerged by nature.

On Friday, just after finishing work, I spotted this hot air balloon on the horizon. But it wasn’t the balloon that took my attention. It was the wall of clouds building behind it. And I knew we were about to get hit by a storm.

Even though it can feel and sound scary at times, being inside a fragile, old trailer during a storm, I still like the feeling of it. I just curl up in bed under my blanket and listen to the gusts of wind throwing our tarp around outside. And then the rain. On our roof. So soothing.

Saturday morning started with a sunrise in full beauty. Bright and clear, the sun was shining only this early. You can see the cloud she was rising into. And she wouldn’t come out of that cloud all day long. Only later in the afternoon, the skies cleared again.

It’s when I took my camera and went for a walk. To watch the cranes regroup and settle down at the lakes in Linum. It was a cold but beautiful evening.

The moon had just appeared and added to the magic of the moment.

What an ending to a day.

On Sunday, we fought with strong winds and low-hanging clouds all day long. It was difficult to work in these conditions, but we managed to do our job safely.

And I captured another image fitting the shadow prompt we had a while ago. The shadow of the plane I jump out of several times a day.

Monday morning. Another spectacular sunrise. Even though I didn’t see the glowing ball of hotness, the sun lit up the clouds from behind and I just had to wait for a flock of cranes to fly through my frame.

Click.

And the picture was taken.

Tuesday was our day off this week since we worked on Monday, a German holiday. In the afternoon, David and I took the bike and rollerblades again and headed out onto the fields.

Now, we did see the cranes on the ground for the first time. This is where they feast every day. Picking seeds from the harvested fields is where the birds restock on food before heading back to the sleeping grounds, the lakes.

I apologize for the picture quality. I didn’t have my camera with me and had to use David’s iPhone.

We finished the cycling tour by going into town and buying as many groceries as we could fit into the bicycle baskets.

Back home, we put coals on the grill and started a fire. Yes, the sun was out and it wasn’t too cold.

On Wednesday, we had a big German tv show over for a film shoot. And we all know working with film crews isn’t the easiest. Of course, it’s all fun and games in the end. However, all the footage I created for them isn’t for sharing here, of course.

So instead, I got a picture from under the canopy where I was playing around with another camera guy. We flew in a formation for a while, keeping the same level and flying straight ahead. He was mostly a bit behind me, where he got better pictures of me than I did of him.

And then, we separated again to have clear space for the landing ahead.

Talking of which. Do you see that trailer park below? It’s where we lived this season (yeah, time is almost over). And currently, only 5 people live on-site permanently. On the weekend, there are a few more residents. All skydivers.

This has been my week in photographs. 7 days. 7 photographs. 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.

Erika / Eileen / K. Barrett / Juan / David / Mia / Susan / LensAfield / Kim / Barbara / Diana / Barb / Sandra / Shruthi / Ellie / Pene / Olive / Gustavo / Jane / Penny / Jillian / Shell / Ivy and new to the team came Lisa Bolin with “Autumn Sunrises and Forest Walks”.

And these are the previous weekly photo essays:

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