because I'm just a weirdo.

I flew from Eugene Oregon to Los Angeles, then from LA to Washington DC. I love shooting out airplane windows. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites (few is relative ).

[JMR]

Very impressive.

JMR

[axl]

great series, I assume you don't have too much to do lately...

[mel]

Very impressive.

JMR

Thanks!! Shooting through the window makes the ride go a lot faster for sure.

great series, I assume you don't have too much to do lately...

Thanks, and actually I have lots to do. It's just that playing with pictures is a lot more fun.

[metroeloise]

I like the last one.

[LaRee]

This is a grand series Mel. I've never made such good use of flight time before. :-) But then, the few times I fly it is on the red eye. Beautiful images! That last one is begging for a frame on the wall. But then, I could see the series in a grouping on a wall too. Nice work.

[Heinrich Lohmann]

Some wonderful images Mel, thanks for showing them.

BTW, I envey you that Leica lllf. I'm sorry to this day that I sold my llf even so it was many moons ago.

[Jewelltrail]

Mel: These are all wonderful and look like you took them descending from a parachute rather than from the inside of an airplane. Are most of the shots taken near liftoff and landing? The reason I ask is the distance to the topography does not seem that far in most of the pics.

[mel]

Stunning, I dont usually take to 'window seat' shots, but these are a real exception. Well done!

Thanks! Glad you liked them

This is a grand series Mel. I've never made such good use of flight time before. :-) But then, the few times I fly it is on the red eye. Beautiful images! That last one is begging for a frame on the wall. But then, I could see the series in a grouping on a wall too. Nice work.

Thanks LaRee. I don't get to travel very often (this was a trip to see my grandmother for probably the last time - cancer) so I try to take advantage of it. I swear I'm like a little kid all excited to ride in an airplane for the very first time every time I fly.

Some wonderful images Mel, thanks for showing them.

BTW, I envey you that Leica lllf. I'm sorry to this day that I sold my llf even so it was many moons ago.

Thanks Heinrich. Unfortunately I haven't had much of a chance to use the Leica. I just recently talked my dad out of it (his brother bought in in France in the 50s). The first roll I ran through it, I didn't get it rewound all the way and ruined probably about half of it. I'm working through my second roll, then I'll process it. It's a labor intensive process using that external light meter and all.

Mel: These are all wonderful and look like you took them descending from a parachute rather than from the inside of an airplane. Are most of the shots taken near liftoff and landing? The reason I ask is the distance to the topography does not seem that far in most of the pics.

Thanks. 1, 2, 4, and 5 were taking from a smaller plane (couple notches up from puddle jumper) so we had a lower cruising altitude. The others were from definitely up there a ways. I have one that reminds me of Mars landscape or something due to the angle, the mountains, and the color (over desert).

[dazman]

Love the patterns captured in these images, Mel. Nice PP.

[RoxnDox]

You got some GREAT shots, Mel... So, what sort of post processing do you have to do on your pics to get these results? I find that very few of my have come out as "keepers" for anything but personal snapshots...

Jim

Wow Mel, that series is truly magnificent. Thank you for posting.

[mel]

Thanks Daz, Jim, and Jeff.

Jim - basically the main issue with shooting in the air is haze and loss of contrast. I processed all of these in Lightroom and mostly bumped the contrast. A lot. I also added black back in to spread the histogram back over to the dark end. Adding some sharpness (I used clarity in lightroom) helps to define the mountains. I'll also play with the exposure, brightness, and saturation until it looks "pretty."

They looked really horrible straight out of the camera but the image is there. It's just a matter of finding it, making it look close to how it should. Or something cooler perhaps. I have one (on my flickr set, not here) that makes me think of a Martian landscape or something. And of course not all were keepers.

Thanks for looking and for all the comments.