I am reminded of the song by my third cousin twice removed, Joni, “Clouds.” “I've looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down and still somehow, it's clouds' illusions I recall, I really don't know clouds at all.”
I am a fan of clouds. Over the years I have observed and photographed a lot of them. And, as the song says, “I really don't know clouds at all.” But, that hasn't stopped me from admiring the wonderful light shows which treat us, especially this time of year.
Right now, the sky directly over Cozy Harbor and across the Sheepscot River provides amazing company for those burdensome evenings at the kitchen sink, which I share with other members of our family compound. Sunsets are especially remarkable. The sun is almost exactly midway on its journey from south to north in front of our west-facing view.
Now, many photo aficionados will look at today's image and yawn. Nothing particularly remarkable here – please move along. True. All one has to do these days is notice the internet after a pretty day to see all the photos. We are remarkably well documented. But, when I made the photo shared today I wasn't looking to compete for the International Best Photo Contest. I was completely smitten with the clouds and the formations within. After the sun goes down, if the sky is right, the light coming up behind the clouds can be almost not believable.
I'm not sure how well the printing folks can reproduce this file. It could be a tough one given the speed of the press and the ink absorption of the paper used. It’s really a challenge to capture all the subtleties provided by today's technologically advanced image-making devices. Even cell phones are making remarkable images, albeit a bit over-colored sometimes.
Our good friend Joanne Wilde used to enjoy sky/cloud photos I'd share. She liked to look for faces and objects in the image. And, by glory, she could find them. Many times she could see things I hadn't even noticed. She always got the biggest kick out of mentioning all that she could see. Fun for her to share her views. Miss her.
Next time the big sky show shows up, try to study the contents rather than the composition. You may be surprised by what you see.