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 a...