Up in the Air

 

I love flying. There's nothing like packing a carry-on, stopping at a newsagent to get a magazine, and sitting down at the gate, with said magazine and a cup of coffee, amidst strangers. I always wonder if our final destination is the same, if they were on a business trip, or visited friends on the other side of the country, or if they traveled on their own. 

As much as I love being with Brent, traveling on my back to and from Florida this Christmas was exciting. Sometimes, I wish I'd had him to talk to, but I could just walk around the terminal, looking for sushi, leafing through magazines, and reading a novel. I usually pick up at least one magazine (it used to be newsmagazines, and then fashion, but now it's food magazines), stop somewhere for sushi, buy a giant cup of coffee or herbal tea if I fear dehydration. I read more than in any other place, and try to stay away from my phone or laptop. I only take out my camera on the plane. 

 

And when we take off, I stare out the window for a long time. I try not to fall asleep until all I can see are clouds and I know it's safe to sleep. On the way back from Miami, I used up 1/3 of a roll to take these photos, and I was happy that I'd underexposed the roll and pushed it during processing. I couldn't have gotten those results if I hadn't. Even the last shot, of the tips of the Golden Gate bridge towers I'm very happy with: it's mysterious, it's got character, it's different.