I made this shot with a team of experienced pilots. We took off with our paragliders from the Rothorn summit above Zermatt, Switzerland. The west faces of the huge mountains release thermals until the evening there, so we were looking forward to getting good light conditions while still flying in altitudes of 4000 m.
We did a four hour flight together to explore the conditions and the scenery. Then we found this glacier. It was free from dangerous turbulences and there was a westerly thermal wind. So, we could stay in position without losing altitude.
I did this shot from a tandem paraglider. To get the synchro flying and the gliders’ shadows in this frame we needed a couple of tries – and a lot of radio communication! At about 8.30pm the sun was low enough to let the shadows fall into the picture. When I released the shutter of my good old D3 I knew I had something that doesn't come around every day in a photographer's life. For me, this photograph is outdoor poetry.