259 thoughts on “ACROSS THE USA”

  1. Great shots! I too have some great shots from up in the air that would make fantastic paintings but just don’t quite know how to tackle them

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  6. Beautiful Photographs!

    I have been flying for over half a century and still feel like a kid – I request window seats and can spend a whole flight staring out the window like an idiot. I like to try to find places I’ve been – plus find interesting spots. My first action on getting somewhere is to pull up Google maps and try and figure out some landmark that I spotted.

    I have never thought of bringing a good camera along… have to do that next time.

    Keep up the the great work.

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    • Sounds like you are hooked like me Bill. I get home and go through all the photos, matching them up with google earth. I’ll be looking for a GPS in my next camera!
      Thanks for commenting
      Cheers
      John

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    • Yes, I had the same thought! Amazing how the planet takes on a whole different aspect when you can look at landforms from the air.

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    • Hi Justin,
      Yes, that shot was taken on a flight from Redmond to Portland.
      What an awesome sight, sticking up through the mist like that.
      Thanks for commenting
      Cheers
      John

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    • Hi PCC Advantage,
      The fourth photo was taken just out of Salt Lake City in June this year.
      Glad you like it and thanks for commenting
      Cheers
      John

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  22. The green mountains are my favorite, but they’re all lovely and interesting. I absolutely love you mixed media paintings! They remind me a little of the book “The Forgetting Room”.

    Cheers!
    Melissa

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  26. These are really, really great photos!! Beautiful scenery across the US. I have never seen those places in person but I’m sure they were amazing! Merci for sharing and Felicitations for being freshly pressed!

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  29. Wow, these pictures were taken out of an airplane? Those tiny little windows?? Fantastic. I love the idea of this too, splashing paint across the usa is a very visual set of words to go along with the incredible pics. Nice!

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      • oh ok. sorry it looked like Rainier to me. thanks for clarifying. This is a wonderful theme and i bet you can add a lot many to it and build upon it . All the Best !

  41. I like your air photos. I,m glad you are a great photographer. I love exchange our links for meeting new friends, bloggers o visits. Are you really?. Pattsfun

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    • Hi wevelostcontrol,
      Thanks for commenting. Some shots were taken from large commercial airplanes and some from smaller short run planes. best shots are usually just after takeoff or descending to land.
      Cheers
      John

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  54. Hi John,

    I loved these! I also have a few fond aerial pics. My favs were going from Europe to LAX. I loved seeing snow and ice “down there” over Greenland or Canada and seeing the Rocky mountains.

    Thank you for sharing 🙂

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  55. Much as I also love the landscape images, my favorite is the shot of the gleaming metal wing and propeller! I have a similar image I took while coming into Toronto in a prop plane. Planes are just as gorgeous.

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  56. One of my favorite things to do is look out a plane window and see the marvelous landscapes below– your post is filled with stunning shots of what’s “down there.” I wouldn’t be surprised if you used them as part of a book or art display– well done capturing God and man’s wondrous creation!

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  60. sweet photos! I had a big road trip over the summer and got to see a lot of cool places from ground level…definitely want to hop in a plane now though!

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  65. Amazing, I love shots from the air and these are all seriously beautiful! I remember flying from Ethiopia to London and we were flying low over Egypt and I managed to capture some pyramids in the dessert with my crappy little point and shoot camera…it’s so cool to look at things from a different angle!

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  67. Very cool shots, and it shows the amazing variety of landscapes that can be found all over the country! Thanks for sharing and congrats on freshly pressed!

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  91. The circles of green irrigated fields are like those you see flying into the valley where I am an artist, Bozeman, Montana. That photo of the green foothills in June near Salt Lake City is more green than I’ve ever seen in Utah! Well done.

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  92. Great photos! And I love those paintings in the first comment above; it’s amazing how you’re able to find inspiration in the simplest things!

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  95. air shots are tricky–high elevation, limited view (if you’re sitting in an airplane) but these are so stunning! i sometimes like to go on google earth to view how certain places look like from above; the contrasts of city/town and farmland is interesting, and shows more than just simple geography! looking forward to seeing more of you work.

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  96. Pingback: Scenic Saturday: the American West from above | Highly Allochthonous

    • Hi starlight,
      Thanks for commenting. Not sure of the exact location for that shot, but it was a couple of hours west of New York heading towards LA.
      Cheers
      John

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  117. beautiful! i’ve taken a few shots from planes….but they never turn out even a fraction as great as those! thanks for sharing. i fly a few times in the next few weeks so i’ll see if i can manage something worth posting.

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  122. Beautiful! I have some friends who are pilots who bring back some nice shots, but those mostly look like exactly what they are – taken through a window of a moving object roughly 10 seconds after he went, ‘that’s cool I should take a photo’. These are rather majestic, congrats on being able to score such fabulous shots. Sometimes a bird-eye-view makes you appreciate the beauty you would miss from the ground!

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  124. Wow! These are just gorgeous! I always love that bird’s eye view you get when you are flying above and everything looks as small as an ant hill. It’s almost surreal looking down and seeing everything beneath you.

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  138. The 5th photo from the bottom is the one that gives me butterflies. When I look out an airplane window and see those perfect squares of various green like that I know I’m home, in Iowa.
    Thanks for sharing these fabulous photographs.

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  147. I’m obsessed. Who knew we lived in such a magnificent country? Everyone wants to visit Europe, or Asia and yet, here, here we have everything lovely as well.

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    • Hi druizal,
      Yes, I always clean the window and try and find the clearest region to shoot through.
      Sometimes hard, but a longer focal length usually overcomes marks and scratches.
      Cheers
      John

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    • Hi MANOJ,
      Thanks for your comment.
      I’m using a Pentax K20D with 18- 250 Pentax lens or Vivitar 28mm manual lens.
      No matter what lens, sharpness is compromised by 3 layers of plastic window – which also creates flare and distortion.
      Cheers
      John

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  170. Those are awesome! Thanks for posting. I love the idea of taking pictures from that high up…but haven’t taken enough airplane rides next to a window to make it work!

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  174. Nice shots and well edited. Airplane windows kill contrast. It’s tricky to bring everything back in Photoshop without making the pics look fake. You did a great job on this set.

    If you’re into aerial photos come on over to my blog. I’m an airline pilot and i take my camera to work. Click on the “flying the line” link

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  187. Pingback: what life teaches us? « shekhar's online

  188. I really enjoy the different textures and shapes in the photos. You captured the shot from the sky showing how different the land can be.
    Great Job!

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  196. I wish I had your same collection of photos and travel experiences! I’m just beginning my journey to all the hidden gems across the U.S. but have learned the world is at times both big and small. With so much going on in cities all across the world–how do you choose where to explore next?

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  200. I am astounded that you were able to capture all these from the air! These are fantastic! Thank goodness for clear skies :).

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  211. Love your photos! Shot from that altitude they become open to new interpretation. Your focus becomes that of colour, shape, geometry etc. Great series – well done on being Freshly Pressed.

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  215. Beautiful aerial photos. I like how you play with the abstract lines, patterns and shapes view of the land at times. Well done!

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  217. Very great shots! I’m impressed you were able to get those kind of shots. How did you do it? From the tiny airplane windows, or was there occasion for better angles? And how was the trip? 🙂

    -Fox

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    • Hi Fox,
      Thanks for commenting.
      These shots are all from the airplane window. Landing and taking off are the best times to take photos – particularly if the plane banks and you happen to be on the down hill side.
      My ideal flight would be right across the country at about 30 degrees, or even better a hot air balloon! Always love flying.
      Cheers
      John

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  235. You show the colors, shapes & lines of the earth as the beautiful design elements they are, we don’t get to see it in this form.Thanks for sharing these amazing photos. They remind me of a book “Earth as Art”.

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