Clouds: Does this make sense?

[AB26]

Hi All,
Does it make any sense to capture clouds like this? To me the clouds were stunning, is it stunning to you?
Should there be something else as well in the picture?

Does this have any impact?
Does it have any value to the viewer?

Tell me what you think but do not edit! Thanks folks.

No Donald - I want it to be colour.

[AB26]

Perhaps - this is better???

[ANSORB]

I kike the second better and not just because of the foreground. The first looks a bit under exposed, the second closer to what I would expect.

[Donald]

No Donald - I want it to be colour.

Oh well, in that case ........

Does it make any sense to capture clouds like this?

Yes of course it does. Indeed, my question would be 'Why not?'

Clouds are fascinating and photographed well are, in my opinion, very capable of being subjects in their own right, not just merely part of a landscape that features other elements (water, land, etc.).

I think the really good cloud picture is very much going to be about shapes and texture. It will be about the shapes made by the cloud, but also the shapes made by the bits between the clouds. Almost taking on abstract qualities.

In the first one above, I'd suggest there was maybe too much sky over on the right that's not broken up by another shape (cloud). But it shows us, I think, what the possibilities are.

[Bobobird]

For great examples of clouds only shots go over to Flicker that has a huge collection.

Btw I like the 2nd one better, it clearly shows off how beautiful clouds are in their own right. The foreground framed them well.

[Geoff F]

The sky seems a little dark in the first one.

Second photo works fine; except for one very tiny thing. On the extreme right edge just above the tree there are a couple of tiny leaves just visible. I would clone them out.

I will shoot interesting skies just to keep for use as backgrounds with other images. Including printing them on matte paper and placing behind flowers to create a more interesting scene.

[ggt]

sky is tough --it needs perspective, IMHO. I like them both, but the second is more "visually comfortable" --because the trees give perspective.

I often take pictures out of the windows of planes because the cloud formations are so beautiful. When I get home and look at them on the computer they are useless as stand-alone photos. I just add them to the file of "backgrounds" or try to incorporate them into other artwork.

[zen]

Clouds fascinate me and whenever I see an interesting formation, in the camera she goes! Both these images work equally well, albeit differently. The first might be an eagle's view as he returns to his aerie after a morning hunt, while the second is a mere mortal's view of the brightening dawn.

Wish they were mine.

Zen

[gcowan]

Hi All,
Does it make any sense to capture clouds like this? To me the clouds were stunning, is it stunning to you?
Should there be something else as well in the picture?

Does this have any impact?
Does it have any value to the viewer?

Andre,

I think Alfred Stieglitz says it best...

‘Clouds and their relationship to the rest of
the world, and clouds for themselves, interested me, and clouds which were most difficult to photograph – nearly impossible. Ever since then clouds have been in my mind most powerfully at times ... I always watched clouds.’
Alfred Stieglitz, 1923

I think you can answer some of the questions with a look at Stieglitz's work. There are a couple here... http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/edu...red-stieglitz/
Given that he thought that this was his most proficient work and he worked at it for years, I think you have made a good start.

The exposure seems good although the second one may be a bit blown near the sun on the second one. I don't know I have been experimenting myself, but I think the difficulty with the first one is that you don't get a feeling of the mountainous heights that the clouds have in real life and maybe this is where you need something at ground level or the monochrome approach.

Not Donald
Graham

[AB26]

I am grateful for all these replies – inspiring.
Thank you John. I had an idea a foreground would give a little perspective.
Donald, I will be looking out for those shapes and colours.
Bobo I will have a look.
Geoff, I can simply crop it out. Agreed it is distracting.
Gretchen, I felt the trees would add to it.
Zen, that is another way to look at it. The eagles view is a little difficult – lost my wings. An idea to get up high and…….
Graham – inspirational words. Thanks for the link.

[Polar01]

The clouds are very nice, more could be done with them with very little effort to make them better, however that sais as you are a firm believer od sooc than what you have captured is very good.

Cheers:

Allan