There are songs and sayings and poems written about clouds.  I originally searched for a witty saying but there were to many to choose from. But all in all I discovered “I really don’t know clouds at all.”

Clouds are mesmerizing.  They are wispy, fluffy, dark, mean and pretty.

Depending of course on the type of cloud they can be pretty.  I’m not much of a fan of dark windy tornado looking clouds.  I’ve seen a few and it was never fun.

I have my favorite clouds.  Flat bottom clouds.  (I heard you singing Fat Bottom Girls by Queen, don’t deny it.)

Not just any flat bottom clouds.  But my clouds from Eastern Montana.  Those are my favorite for two reasons, I’m home or I’m seeing a picture from being home.

                                     Eastern Montana clouds and the Yellowstone River

 

                                  Southern Oregon clouds and the Klamath Basin Refuge

Here in Oregon, you know, the southern pacific northwest where we live, the clouds do resemble my Montana clouds.  Of course, it always makes me homesick.

There are a lot of memories in those Montana clouds.  One of my first blue ribbons at the fair was of a cloud and the sun after a good rain storm in Eastern Montana.

Last time when we were in Montana it was a beautiful day, the sky was blue and the clouds were gathering.  I remember hubby and I driving around taking pictures of my home town and the clouds.

One other vacation we were in Rawlins Wyoming touring the Frontier prison.  (It’s haunted)  we were in the courtyard and the clouds were so close and so big.  They were popping all over!  http://www.wyomingfrontierprison.org/

                                                                Rawlins Wyoming

I like rain clouds too.  Watching the rain stream out of a cloud, wishing it was over us instead of farther away.  When we were living in the desert of Southern California, it seemed the storms would almost always go around us.

                                     Rain just out of our reach in Rosamond California

One year, on the 4th of July the clouds were building up in the east of where we lived.  Our grandson and I kept watching the storm build as it moved closer to where we were. Those were some dark clouds.  Of course, the husband was certain that storm would never get to us because we never get storms from the east.

                                                 Something Wicked This Way Comes

Okay, you may be right husband, but guess what, that little storm was actually a tornado. I was shooting the clouds as they were forming over the house and after the storm passed and we had no power, I was looking at the pictures from our hotel room.  Low and behold, one of the pictures was of a funnel cloud.  It was indeed an adventure.

                                                                             Uh Oh…

The grandson, the husband and I were muddy messes, because like any other storm loving crazy people we just had to be outside while the storm blew through our back yard.  Little did we know at the time of the storm, power poles down the street snapped in half. We had no water to clean up before going to the hotel. I bet the staff was frightened when we walked in.  We stayed in the hotel two nights.

So, not all clouds and storms are bad.  We did have some pretty great cloud and sunset opportunities in the desert.

                                                Rosamond California Desert Sunset

But, I will always prefer the mountain clouds and sky scenes over the desert sky scenes.

                                              Mountain Sunrise over Keno Oregon

Yet, the flat bottomed clouds are still my favorite.

You can be creative with clouds.  If you have the right programs on your computer, you can use clouds as fog, or add them to a picture that just seems to be missing something.

                                                                    Before

                                                                  After            Vya Nevada

The after picture was also turned into a water color using a Topaz Labs adjustment filter.

Grab your camera, or use your phone and go out and find some clouds to capture!  Try some different filters on your phone to make the clouds more dramatic.  Everyone has their favorite photo-apps!

Try some black and white filters to give them a different feel!

                                                       Somewhere in Wyoming

I guess the key is to Go Outside!  Enjoy your surroundings. Find new areas!    I love to be outside.  I would rather be outside than inside, unless of course it’s the middle of winter, or it might be blazing hot out.  But I also like to be inside when updating the blog!

                                                Monument Valley with a few clouds

This summer go outside and capture some great weather scenes!

Enjoy nature, enjoy the nice weather and enjoy life!

Be Safe

Happy Shooting

T Lynn