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E is for Earth from My Window Seat

Earth as seen from my window seat (photo by Tui Snider)
Earth as seen from my window seat (photo by Tui Snider)

I love window seats!

When I fly, I always try to get a window seat. Even at night, I yearn to peer out the airplane and see the Earth and clouds below. The most beautiful flight I ever took was from New York to Seattle. As luck would have it, my plane was at the right speed and latitude to create a sunset that lasted for several hours. I didn’t have a camera, but I remember it well. Even the flight attendants marveled at the sight!

Neighborhoods often look like mosaics from far above. The second photo was taken while descending into Phoenix, Arizona. It kinda reminds me of a tile floor, as well as some of the beautiful mosaic streets they have in Portugal.

I always try to catch a photo of my airplane’s shadow. It reminds me of a childhood picnic when I was 12-years-old. As we munched sandwiches in the middle of a wheat field, an airplane’s shadow passed over me and my friend. This cold flicker momentarily confused us, but we giggled with delight as it raced away. When we told my friend’s older sister and parents, none of them believed us. So annoying!

Earth as seen from my window seat (photo by Tui Snider)
Earth as seen from my window seat (photo by Tui Snider)

Follow me on Instagram & I’ll follow you back!

I’ve gone from turning up my nose at the idea of cell phone pictures, to being an avid iPhone photographer, which is why my theme for the 2014 A to Z blog challenge is Instagram Travel Photos. If you are on Instagram, I’d be delighted to follow you. Simply follow my photo feed (@TuiSnider) on Instagram and I’ll follow you back!

For more, check out my collaboration with Morgan Dragonwillow. Morgan used my iPhone photos to accompany her poems in a book called Wild Woman Waking. Check it out!

Airplane shadow (photo by Tui Snider)
Airplane shadow (photo by Tui Snider)

What is the April A to Z Blog Challenge?

Each April, people from all over the world participate in the April A to Z blog challenge, and you can too. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a great way to meet other bloggers. To play along, all you do is make a blog post for each letter of the alphabet during April, then use the blog hop linky to visit as many other bloggers as you can.

My A to Z Inspired Book: Unexpected Texas

I’d like to thank everyone who commented on my blog during the A to Z Challenge last year, because it convinced me to take the self-publishing plunge. On March 2, 2014, I released Unexpected Texas as a paperback and eBook and it quickly became an Amazon Best Seller!

Check out other A to Z blogs below:

Check out the other participants of the A to Z Challenge 

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Tui Snider
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Published inTravel Photo Essays

24 Comments

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      Hi Chuck! Yeah – next time you are on a plane, see if you can catch a snap of your photo. I often strike out, but I always try. :D

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      Hi Tanmay Roy, I know what you mean. Seeing our planet from on-high is so humbling. Always makes me realize how much I love this planet! :D

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      Hi Corinne, I would certainly enjoy more chances to perfect my window seat photography. I don’t have any trips planned at the moment. Hopefully, that changes soon! :D

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      Hi Morgan, I can get claustrophobic and edgy if I don’t get a window seat. Luckily, my hubby doesn’t mind. :D

  1. I’m a definite window seat person too, except for a recent Korean Air flight. The seats were so squished together that it was making me claustrophobic.

    I love that pic of Phoenix from the air! It looks positively Aztec–so cool. My all-time favourite view from an airplane was seeing Africa for the first time. It looked like a patchwork quilt of blues and greens–so unbelievably beautiful.

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      Hi Holli! I hear ya on the claustrophobia. For me, being able to look out a window helps – even though I know I can’t leap out of it…

      I would love to see Africa in person! I grew up surrounded by beautiful African artifacts because my parents went there when I was a toddler.

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      Hi Wendy, Well… up to a point, you can still see over them, right? Thank you for stopping by. I’m really enjoying your blog posts. :D

  2. Interesting. I always get a aisle seat, so I can get out. I am taking my daughter on a weekend adventure in a few weeks and I just got us an aisle/middle. Now I am thinking about switching it to window/middle and giving her the window. I enjoyed the world through your seat.

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      Hi Rhonda, Yeah! Give the window seat a whirl. You’re gonna get out of the plane eventually no matter where you sit. I’m living proof. :D

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      Heya Patty, Oh – I still opt for the window on trains, buses and car trips. I’m a big window photo snapper. Guess that’s just how I roll! :D

  3. I always try to go for the window seat too. Looking at your pictures makes me wish I’d taken pictures from the trips I’ve been on. Love the story about why you take pictures of your plane’s shadow!

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      Hi Bish! I hope my post has inspired you to snap a few shots on your next flight. I’m still kicking myself for not getting any of the rainbow I once saw from the air. Glad you liked the shadow story. :D

  4. I completely get this… though I actually prefer to be in the aisle seat. Heaven is those seats that are both window and aisle. On my last flight I took photos out the window as well as a mid-air selfie. There is just something about flying!

    Julie Jordan Scott
    A to Z Challenge Participant/2011,12,13,14…..
    The Bold Writer from A to Z

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      Hi Julie!

      I’ve met a lot of people who prefer aisle seats. Most of them had long legs and needed to stretch out more than I do. An aisle/window combo, eh? Sounds good to me! :D

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      Thanks, Su-sieee!

      Hooray for window seats! Thanks for dropping by. :D

  5. I’m with you – I love window seats so I can stare out the window at the earth passing below. That picture of the Phoenix neighborhood reminds me of the designs on Navajo baskets you find in that area. I wonder if that’s more than just coincidence? My favorite airplane window sights are Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood when flying into Seattle. Stunning!

    Just dropping by from the A to Z Challenge, and happy I did!

    • Tui Snider Tui Snider

      RobRob, I hadn’t made the connection to the Navajo baskets, but now that you mention it, it seems obvious. Hmmm… You’ve got me wondering now! :D

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