Clouds

Yesterday – for most of the day – was a good cloud day.  I did not get to take a photo of them.  Rats!  I was on the road taking photos to the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia.  It is a nice drive down 75 to Perry (a little south of Macon).  The Middle Georgia Camera Club (Macon, Georgia) handles the photo contest.  They are very nice and fun to chat with.  It is a big job logging in hundreds of photos from people all over the state.  The dates for the fair are October 4 through 14.  You can find out all about it at the website:  www.georgianationalfair.com

 

I love to look at clouds – they are pretty!  Well – most of them are.  Since Humberto was moving through Georgia yesterday the clouds were pretty and numerous.  There were also some storms late yesterday – great clouds formations – but a lot of lightning, wind and rain!  Those big white fluffy clouds are my favorite.  They are called fair weather cumulus clouds – to me they are puffy cotton or a pile of mashed potatoes.  Their flat bases are one of their best features.  It looks like there is an invisible glass plate underneath them.  When you have an expansive view – the plate looks like it goes on to infinity hold up these whipped cream clouds.  These light, fluffy, happy clouds can – and sometimes do – turn into storm clouds.   The thermals and moisture in the air that create the fair weather cumulus will sometimes be so great the development continues into a cumulonimbus cloud.  Individually these are thunderstorms – in a group they are called a squall line.  Late yesterday afternoon – in the Atlanta area – we experienced a squall line.

 

Those fair weather cumulus clouds are beautiful with a vibrant blue sky.  On a day like that – and the sun is usually bright – a polarizing filter comes in handy.  That filter will help keep the sky the vibrant blue in your photo.   Color photos of clouds are wonderful – the bright blue, the clean white – but sometimes I like the look of a black and white cloud photo.  The striking contrast of the white cloud against the darker sky – in monochrome – is a beautiful scene.  Your eye knows the colors it should be.  When you remove the color from the composition – your eye begins to fully examine the cloud – seeing the shape. 

 

There is some uninterrupted space (undeveloped land) near my home.  Can you believe it???  When I see those bright, fluffy clouds in the gorgeous blue sky – I grab the wide angle lens (I have a 14mm Tamron f2.8) and head over there.  The area is a wetland that was in the works and seems to have been forgotten – but it gives me a nice, flat, open space with trees in the distance.  I can get a wide shot of the land, trees, and sky there.  When the trees begin to show fall colors – I am hoping for a sky like yesterday (before the storms) to capture a nice fall scene.

 

If you ever get a wild idea to actually look up the name of a cloud you photograph – or just like to observe.  The NOAA has a great photo library – here is a link to the cloud photos:  http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/brs/nwind3.htm.