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Photographing Clouds

From the time that I first began to photograph, one subject that always interested me was clouds. I have always loved the old black and white photographs of Ansel Adams and have admired, not only his landscapes, but also the way the landscapes were made spectacular by the cloud cover in the scene. Adams was a master of both composition and working in the darkroom to burn and dodge to make sure that all areas of the photograph were exposed properly. This became so apparent in the areas of his subjects where there was cloud cover. He really brought out the subtle contrasts between the light and dark areas of a cloud scene.

The use of filters can help the photographer emphasize these differences. A UV filter is great to cut through haze and improve clarity. A polarizing filter is perhaps even better to isolate the different areas of the clouds and highlight their features. When doing black and white photography, a red filter is a plus to use to make the clouds really stand out and appear bolder.

A good time to photograph cumulus clouds is both before and after a storm. In California where I live, high clouds will normally precede an approaching storm front followed by more and more cumulus clouds as the cloud cover drops lower and the clouds thicken. At anytime during this process great opportunities for photographs exist. Here in California and other desert areas during the summer monsoonal rain season, thunderheads will often begin to build up over the mountain areas. These gigantic cloud formations stretching thousands of feet into the air are particularly beautiful to photograph as the sunlight plays upon their different features.

Always use a study tripod so that there is no camera movement. The evening is a great time to photograph thunderheads as the light at this time will give them a beautiful reddish glow. Also, scattered clouds at just the right particular height will take on some beautiful warm red to fuchsia colors. I love to photograph clouds that are categorized as "linear ventricular". These clouds are long horizontally and have the shape of a "flying saucer". They too are often found during the monsoonal season hanging over mountainous regions.

Many times a plain or even boring subject can be greatly offset and made to look interesting and exciting when there are beautiful cloud formations in the scene. A beautiful, clear day may be a great time to photograph but if you have time, wait for some clouds!

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