Fargo, North Dakota.

On this New Year’s Day, as the calendar has gone full-circle and starts over again today, Cheri Lucas Rowlands asks us to share a post that reflects upon the full circle. You can read the entire challenge post here.

When I saw the challenge topic, I immediately thought of this self-portrait taken a few years back. I am a pilot for the Civil Air Patrol, but often I take my turn as photographer in the back seat of the airplane, shooting whatever target the mission calls for. As it happened, I was assigned as photographer on a mission that happened to be utilizing an aircraft that also routinely tows a glider. This aircraft has an accessory that is not normally found on small aircraft, a rearview mirror. The large convex mirror is mounted on the wing strut and is adjusted to allow the pilot to see the glider as it’s under tow on the end of a 250-foot (76-meter) rope. While we were transiting to the target area, I glanced out the rear seat’s window camera port and saw the mirror. It gave me the perfect opportunity to take a selfie.

My only regret is that because I am travelling light for the holidays, I don’t have my full suite of editing tools with me. I’d love to de-spot the mirror and tweak it a bit in the editor, but other than a quick trip to compress and watermark it, the shot is pretty much unedited.

Happy New Year to all my WordPress followers!

John Steiner