Legend has it that back in the 17th century a Dutch captain set sail from the Netherlands to the ‘East Indies’. Around the Cape of Storms, better known as the Cape of Good Hope in what is now South Africa, he continued sailing in defiance of a violent storm and as a result the ship and all its crew perished, but not before the devil cursed the ship and its captain to sail the oceans until the end of times…
As I mentioned in my previous article it was only at the very last day of the Frisian Flag exercises that the weather from the previous weeks had started to clear. That morning, the Italians in their ageing but still impressive Tornadoes had taken off, followed by the French in their (very) loud Mirages, the Canadians in their F/A-18 Hornets and a couple of US and Dutch F-16s. Low-hanging clouds has just come in again from the east, and at that moment the 5th generation F-35 Lightning II fighter jets from the Royal Dutch Airforce took off, emerging through the clouds against a mixed background of white and grey-blue sky.
“The Flying Dutchman”
Nikon 600mm f/4E FL on Nikon D850, f/4, 1/1600 s., ISO 100, +0.7EV exp. comp.
When I looked back at some of the images from that session, the unique combination of lights, darks and the Dutch jet in the middle breaking away from the clouds created this sense of drama… in a way something like a ‘twenty-first century Flying Dutchman’.
I have no idea yet what my next image and article will be from this Frisian Flag series, so stay tuned for a little while. And as usual, just drop me a note on enquiry@fliek.com for any queries or for any (general) comments, send a mail to feedback@fliek.com.