Clouds

One subject that has always excited me that I've written about in the past is clouds. We've all found ourselves staring at a dramatic cloud pattern oblivious of our surroundings.

Clouds come in a variety of shapes, textures and colors. They can be huge and billowy or soft and wispy. They can be bold and dramatic and even frightening at times. Capturing them on film is exciting and will definitely enhance your photographs.

How to better photograph clouds? First, learn to really "see" them. Look for shapes and patterns as constantly changing cloud formations float across the sky. See how clouds can become a colorful palette at an approaching sunset. Notice how a receding black storm cloud becomes a sensational backdrop

for foreground objects being lit by the rays of an emerging sun.

Enjoy foggy and misty days as I do. Some of the very best mood-filled pictures are shot in this type of weather.

Once you "see" the clouds, how do you enhance your photographs of them? Begin with a good sense of composition by using a low horizon line to accentuate the clouds and give your shot a feeling of spaciousness.

When shooting white, puffy clouds against a blue sky with color film, use a polarizer filter. Position yourself at a 45 degree angle to the sun and rotate your polarizer until you see maximum blue. The result will be an impact-filled photograph showing the white clouds contrasted against a rich, deep blue sky.

At sunrise and sunset add spice to your cloud pictures by using colored filters such as orange or red. The results [use slide film] will be truly dramatic.

Black and white film "sees" white clouds and blue sky as identical tones and the clouds may become lost in the finished print. But filters in the yellow, orange and red values will achieve cloud/sky separation for you. A yellow filter will give you normal cloud/sky separation. Orange produces more. And a red filter renders a blue sky almost black producing very striking results.

Clouds from the air have a character all their own as they appear like a bed of fluffy cotton. Just set your camera at a fast shutter speed to eliminate the airplane's vibration and the shot is yours.

Do you get turned on by sunbeams bursting through a pattern of dramatic clouds? Underexpose slightly and you'll capture them on your film.

Here's another idea. Make a montage of slides of clouds with other images  for a unique look. Clouds superimposed over trees, a lighthouse or flying birds will result in vivid, striking photographs.