storm over sea

You know I mentioned that I was in Italy a couple of weeks back? In Puglia. We travelled there from Cork, changing planes in Rome. When we arrived in Rome, there was an odd intensity to the air, everything seemed skitterish, the departures board presented a reeling list of delays. When we finally ascended into the sky, I looked out through the dark window and below us was a sea of lightning. Flashes of bright white flaring through the dark clouds.

It was probably the most spectacular and terrifying flight I've ever taken.

What I didn't know, was that far below us my sister's boyfriend Emile, a filmmaker, was perched on a roof with his camera, capturing the sky we were flying through. I wanted to share the film with you. It's quite beautiful, I think. My favourite bit is when the clouds reel back and the stars suddenly come fully into view (01:15), they look so unreal. It's odd to think that one of those planes shooting across the sky might well have been the one holding us, who knows. Do try to watch it on full screen if you can.

The song, by the way, is Bon Iver's 'Holocene'. 

storm over sea timelapse from Emile Rafael on Vimeo.