Suburban Sunrise

This sunrise picture was taken early in May from the corner of a suburban street that clings to the side of a steep valley. The corner lies at the top of the hill, and the street drops away sharply as it descends into the valley - hence, each successive house in the foreground appears to be lower than the one before it.

Click to enlarge

This arrangement left a clear view across the valley, obstructed only by the dark outlines of overhead telephone cables, to where the very early morning sun was making its first appearance above the distant hills as it burned a brilliant golden hole through the clouds.

The pale blue sky contrasted nicely with the pinks and golds of the clouds, creating a sense of calm that offset the dramatic brilliance of the sunrise and the sharp outlines of the sleeping dwellings in the foreground.

For all I'm not fond of early mornings, I'm coming around to the idea that sunrise photos have a dramatic potential that is not often matched at other times of day. Shame it has to happen so early!

PP

Cumulus Mediocris

This cloud picture shows a bubbling heap of cauliflower-shaped Cumulus Mediocris massing in the middle distance.

Click to englarge

Taken around lunchtime one day in early May, the clouds are framed by a gap in some nearby trees which conceal the more distant city over which they are looming. The day was one of those changeable, sunny / rainy days that never seems to stay the same for two minutes together, as the clear blue patches of sky between the clouds show.

Sunlight bathed the trees at the moment I took the picture, but just a few minutes earlier they had been bathed in a more traditionally wet manner, and would be so again when those ominous clouds arrived to blot out the sun and begin a new downpour.

PP

Altocumulus Lenticularis

Taken towards the end of  warm and sunny mid-April afternoon, this cloud picture shows and interesting batch of elongated, smooth-looking clouds which I tentatively believe to be Altocumulus Lenticularis, although, as always, I could be wrong about that.

Click to enlarge

Nestling amongst the ever-present contrails, and lit by the late afternoon sun, these striking clouds caught my attention as I popped into my local supermarket. I don't recall ever having spotted any lenticular clouds before, certainly not in such a prominent position, and I couldn't resist capturing them for posterity before grabbing my groceries.

PP

Cumulus Humilis at Dawn

More early morning cloud photography for today's post. Taken before 6 AM on an early May morning, this shy picture features some low-lying fluffy white clouds tinged pinky-gold by the rising sun.

Click to enlarge

The effect a sky full of clouds like this was incredibly beautiful, their colours and shapes contrasting nicely with the deep blue of the early-morning sky. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely certain what type of clouds they are. At first I thought they were Altocumulus Floccus, but they seem to be a little to widely distributed to fit into that category, and their flattish bases and overall "flattened" appearance suggests Cumulus Humilis instead.

I could easily be wrong about that, but, either way, the clouds in this sky picture made a pretty start to the day!

PP

Contrail Collection

A warm, sunny afternoon in late April, a clear blue sky, and a whole bunch of contrails. As I've said before, it's sometimes difficult to grasp just how much air traffic passes over a major city in even a short space of time, but, on a calm, clear day, the evidence speaks for itself.

Click to enlarge

This picture of contrails covers just a small portion of the sky and a short period of time, and yet a significant proportion of the sky is obscured by fuzzy white trials. It's long been suggested that abundant contrails may, cumulatively, be sufficient to have an adverse effect on surface temperatures, as the article "Clouds Caused By Aircraft Exhaust May Warm The U.S. Climate" (Science Daily, April 28, 2004) points out.

I'm not qualified to know whether there's any truth in such theories, but it's difficult to ignore the sheer number of contrails drifting overhead, day and night!

PP

Altocumulus Floccus At Dusk

This picture of Altocumulus Floccus clouds lurking just above the setting sun was taken at dusk one evening in late April.

Click to enlarge

The sun's dying rays cast a pinkish glow on the underside of the little fluffy tufts of cloud, leaving other, even lower clouds to languish in shadowy grayness. This picture of clouds in the sky was taken after a day of rain and generally gloomy skies, and the late splash of colour was a welcome reminder that the sky is capable of delivering more than a good soaking.

PP

Sports-field Sunrise

Goodness me! It's been a month since I last had time to update this blog, but that doesn't mean there's been any lack of material to post! Far from it, in fact - I've been busy snapping pictures of the sky at every opportunity. Yesterday, I finally got around to transferring the images from my camera to my computer, and I'll be updating this blog with some of the more interesting sky photos over the next few days.

So, to start the ball rolling, I've chosen this sunrise picture taken a few days ago at my local sports field. As I've mentioned before, morning - especially very early morning - isn't my favourite time of day, but sometimes it can't be avoided. On this occasion, I was up and about at around 5 AM on a May morning, and noticed that the pre-dawn sky was taking on a most interesting reddy tinge. Before long, I found myself standing in the middle of a deserted sports field, trying to get a clear view of the horizon as the sun rose above the distant hills - much the dismay of a group of wild rabbits, who, I gather, are accustomed to having the field to themselves at that time of day!

Despite this unintended bunny-bothering, I was able to grab a few sunrise pictures as the sun crept above the horizon. I was struck by the coppery shade of the sky around the rising sun, and the almost golden tint to the strands of Cirrus fibratus clouds hovering above the trees.

Click to enlarge

Of course, these colours don't last long, but they are one of the things that makes sunrise photos worth the effort of early-morning activity!

PP.

Altocumulus Floccus

At least, I think the clouds in today's sky picture are Altocumulus floccus - they look to be of the same general shape and structure as the other examples I've been able to find.

Click to enlarge

But whatever type of cloud they may be, this pretty white cloud formation was spotted drifting lazily though the warm, clear spring sky yesterday afternoon. Substantial thought it appears, there was never any risk that it would obscure the welcome sunshine, serving instead to add just a little interest to an otherwise uninterestingly clear sky.

And to garner me some slightly baffled looks as paused to take the cloud's pic amid a busy garage forecourt. Ah well, not everyone's a cloud lover:)

PP

Contrail

Taken one afternoon last weekend, this sky picture features a curving contrail set against the brilliant blue background of a clear spring sky.

Click to enlarge

Brilliantly lit by the afternoon sun, the contrail seems almost to glow as the aircraft changes course on its way to who-knows-where. So striking were the components in this image that the dramatic double chalk line of the contrail caught my immediately as I rounded a building. Fortunately, I was out and about snapping pics for another blog, so I had my camera to hand, and it was but the work of a moment to record this picture of the sky for posterity.

PP

Dark Rain Clouds

The sinister-looking collection of nimbostratus clouds in this picture promised an imminent torrential downpour, and it wasn't long before that promise was fulfilled.

Click to enlarge

Stretching all the way to the horizon, these rain clouds have an air of impending doom about them that is usually only found in expensive special effects budgets and seaside towns on a bank holiday weekend. I find it quite easy to imagine their swirling masses being torn apart to reveal some rampaging bogeyman or other, be it man-made, alien, supernatural or whatever else you may choose to imaging lying concealed within their ominous depths.

Fortunately, this cloud photo features water vapour of a singularly undramatic bent, and all that emerged was rain - and lots of it!

PP

Dusk Contrails

I snapped this picture of the sky a couple of days ago, some time after sunset. I was on my way to the local supermarket when the striking combination of high altitude clouds, contrails and deep blue evening sky caught my eye.

Click to enlarge

Naturally, I had to pull over and dig out the camera - trying to take photographs of clouds while driving is probably even more frowned upon than using the phone, and the resulting cloud images probably wouldn't be all that good, either.

This, then, together with my haste to capture the upper right contrail before the aircraft sped out of sight, is my excuse for the slightly skewed angle at which this photo appears to have been taken - must try harder next time I thrust my camera out of the car window!

PP

Lonely Cloud

Taken at lunchtime just a few days ago, this cloud photo captures what was, for quite a while, the only cloud visible in an otherwise clear, blue, late March sky.

Click to enlarge

While clear skies are, no doubt, good news for those of us with pressing outdoor chores to attend to, acres and acres of uninterrupted blue celestial real estate don't, as a rule, make for interesting sky pictures. In fact, they're almost as unphotogenic as the wall-to-wall dull grey rain clouds that have been so common here lately.

This solitary specimen stood out against the empty sky, a vaguely symmetrical illustration of delicate-looking water vapour, adrift in a sea of blue, and was quickly earmarked as potential cloud picture material. And here it is!

PP

Contrail Dawn

Today's post probably doesn't qualify as a sunrise picture since it was taken a little while before sunrise on a March morning in very early spring - note the outlines of new leaf buds on the silhouetted tree branches at the top of the picture.

Click to enlarge

The red light in the distant clouds shades gently to pink and then up to a delicate blue above the distant trees, contrasting nicely with the silvery chalk-mark of an early morning contrail heading into the new day. Even without the sun itself, the returning daylight paints a striking picture of light sky and dark outlines that caught my eye while I was waiting for the main event (sunrise).

PP

Fluffy Clouds

This cloud image was taken yesterday lunchtime, as great wads of white clouds drifted around the mid-day sun and filled a sizeable part of the deep blue sky with intricate structures.

Click to enlarge

I was struck by the way the light fell upon the large mass of clouds at the bottom of the picture, clearly highlighting the contours of its surface and the delicate patterns around the perimeter. The towering peaks and deep valleys of the cloud's surface are shown to have a surface as insubstantial as the outer edges - hardly surprising as, from another perspective, they are the outer edges, and, in any event, the cloud is nothing more than drifting, billowing water vapour. Even so, it remains a thing of (natural) beauty!

PP

Sunset

Today's sunset picture almost didn't happen at all. The sky has been a relatively monotonous and uninspiring dull grey for a couple of days, and, according to the weather forecast, that wasn't about to change before tomorrow. The break in the clouds that showed up at sunset this afternoon was, therefore, unexpected, and, had I not been out and about snapping pics for another blog, I wouldn't have been in a position to capture this rather pretty sunset photo.

Click to enlarge

The sun had already sunk beneath the horizon-hugging clouds, illuminating the smaller, flimsy-looking clouds (and the remains of several contrails) from below with a golden light. The light show, and the delicate clouds, made a brilliant end to an otherwise dreary day.

PP

Sunrise

Sun rise pictures are something of a rarity on these pages, not least because, by definition, they happen early in the morning, and I'm not one of life's morning people - when it comes to pictures of sunsets and sunrises, I'm far more likely to take the former than the latter! But sometimes mornings are unavoidable, and when that coincides with the right conditions, we get images like this:

Click to enlarge

This sunrise picture was taken on a cold, largely clear morning in early March, as the sun crept above the layer cloud beyond the distant hills. The dark outlines of leafless trees serve to frame the burst of brilliant colours on the horizon, filling the sky with yellows, golds, pinks and blues. If they're all like this, maybe I should try to see more sunrises!

PP

Cloudy Sky

One more shot from the batch of cloud pictures I've been posting for the past couple of days, this time showing a wider view of the sky - doesn't it look busy, packed with swirling, disintegrating rain clouds as far as the eye can see?

Click to enlarge

As the clouds scuttled across the sky, driven by a strong, cold wind, they inevitably began to form seemingly-recognisable shapes. A quick glance at this photo shows a dog, something that might become a stegosaurus and the wraith-like, ghostly image of a pale face peering down from the dark clouds. If pictures in the clouds are your thing, maybe you can spot some more!

PP

Breaking Clouds

This cloud pic was taken a few minutes after the photo in yesterday's post, showing a clear patch of blue sky surrounded by angry-looking rain clouds.

Click to enlarge

The "silver lining" around dark cloud towards the bottom of the image, and the light, high altitude clouds visible high above the stormy formations, hint at fine weather to come after the stiff breeze has blown these rain clouds away. This sky picture just goes to show that there's a lot more going on in the sky than is necessarily visible above our heads - layers of complex natural beauty reach all the way to the edge of space, and beyond!

PP

Rain Clouds

Yesterday was cold, wet and windy. Early rain gave way to gloomy skies by midday, and early afternoon saw the dark rain clouds breaking up in the high winds to reveal blue sky, weak sunlight and occasional glimpses of wispy high altitude clouds.

Click to enlarge

This cloud picture is one of several I'll be posting over the next few days, taken as the wind-blown clouds scuttled across the sky, forming and reforming into dramatic patterns that threatened to renew the morning's deluge.

PP

Sunset Drive

This sunset picture was taken just a couple of days ago - the first opportunity I've had to see a proper sunset for quite a while. The sky was almost completely clear, shading from red around the setting sun up through copper and down into a beautiful deep blue at the opposite horizon.

Click to enlarge

The clear sky contrasted nicely with the congested road, as the evening drive ground to a halt for commuters chasing the sunset out of town. Unfortunately for them, the tailback lasted much longer than the sunset - they were still queuing long after the sun had dropped behind the distant trees.

PP

Ring of Clouds

Early one sunny afternoon in late February, I spotted this ring-like formation of fluffy white clouds drifting almost directly overheard. The unusual shape, together with the delicate details clearly visible around the edges of the larger clouds made it a prime cloud picture candidate.

Click to enlarge

Even though the clouds are the star of this particular photo, the blue sky in and around them - and even peeking through them in places - is hard to ignore, recreating the impression of cold, clear afternoon in late winter. Well, I thought so, anyway!

PP

Clouds in the Trees

Snapped at sunset on a cold and damp February afternoon, the clouds in this pic seem to be hanging so low in the sky as to be sitting right on top of the bare trees. Their upper peaks catch the dying rays of the winter's sun, contrasting nicely with the blue sky and their own shadowy depths.

Click to enlarge

Yet more rain was a definite option from these clouds, and it wasn't long before they delivered on the promise"

Contrails Y

More contrails in today's sky picture, this time crossing in a Y shaped formation that reminds me of graffiti scrawled onto the natural artwork displayed on the sky's infinite canvas. Not that I have anything against contrails as such - they're capable of forming strikingly beautiful patterns in their own right.

Click to enlarge

But, in this case, the contrails serve only to detract from the delicate cloud formation that was going to be today's picture of clouds in the sky. Ah well, better luck tomorrow!

PP

Ship of Clouds

A mid-day cloud image for today's sky picture. This wad of fluffy-looking vapour put me in mind of a stately ship of the heavens, drifting sedately through the beautifully clear blue sky. The triple peaks at the top of the cloud make convincing sails, and a hint of prow and stern at the ends complete the impression.

Click to enlarge

Unusually, the subject of this cloud photo sailed alone amongst a background of far less substantial clouds, rather than being part of a larger fleet, which is probably what caught my attention in the first place.

PP

Dark Sunset

It may not be immediately apparent, but today's sky picture is a picture of the sunset, albeit behind a mask of dark, rolling clouds. Taken on a wet February afternoon as the sun drew close to the horizon, I was struck by the contrasts between the brilliant sun and the murky clouds.

Click to enlarge

It's almost as though there's a battle in progress between the forces of light and darkness as the sun tries to burn through the darkness, while the clouds, in turn, try to obscure the light. In this cloud pic, the forces of darkness seem to winning, and, indeed, the battle went their way - the sun made no more than occasional, deeply shrouded appearances before the day was done and the deeper darkness of a winter's night rode in.

PP

Family of Clouds

This picture of clouds in an otherwise largely clear blue sky was taken about an hour before sunset on a late February afternoon. The stark, leafless outlines of tress in winter seemed to contrast nicely with the softer shapes of the cloud formation apparently hanging just overhead.

Click to enlarge

The similar shapes and colours in this cloud photo reminded me irresistibly of a family group of clouds, drifting lazily through the sky. Fanciful, I know, but probably no more so than finding pictures in the clouds - and who hasn't done that!?

PP

Contrails and Clouds

Taken just before sunset on a cold, clear February afternoon, this sky picture shows just how busy the skies around a reasonably large city can be. Contrails from a raft of aircraft criss cross the clear blue sky, forging long, straight vapour trail causeways between the randomly fuzzy natural clouds.

Click to enlarge

I always find contrail pictures to be both fascinating and a little disturbing, in that they make a natural recording of how many aircraft are, or have recently been, vying for space in the skies above us. The potential for accidents in such a crowded space is an obvious cause for concern, yet the rarity of mid-air collisions is an impressive testament to the skills of air traffic controllers and pilots everywhere.

PP

Dark Clouds

Dark clouds, blue sky and a silver lining - who could ask for more from a picture of clouds in the sky? Well, I for one could have asked for an unobstructed view of this spectacular late afternoon cloud formation, but it wasn't to be. My field of vision was particularly narrow, with trees and tall buildings obscuring my view of the sky on either side, and it was all I could do to limit intrusion to a few leaves and branches in the lower corners of this cloud picture.

Click to enlarge

The unwanted foreground objects aren't attractive, and I nearly didn't post this cloud pic because of them. But, on second thoughts, I decided that the towering peaks of dark cloud, outlined in gleaming silver against a sliver of blue sky, almost made up for their presence.

PP

Clouds of Doom

This cloud image was taken late on a February afternoon, as the now-invisible sun sank towards the horizon. The light quality seems to lend a slightly sinister quality to this seething mass of cloud, and the whole effect is one of impending doom.

Click to enlarge

I could quite easily imagine cloud shapes like these foreshadowing some really unpleasant events - like Armageddon, or a tax demand!

PP

After the Rain

Images of clouds come in all shapes, sizes and patterns, from light and fluffy "diet" clouds to full fat storm clouds, laden with rain, snow, hail and, sometimes, all three. The clouds in today's pic are somewhere in the middle of that range, pictured as heavy rain clouds broke up to reveal some of their high-altitude counterparts and some sorely missed blue sky.

Click to enlarge

It's quite a hopeful, optimistic image, as cloud pictures go, symbolising the eternal promise of good times after bad... or maybe I'm just reading far too much into a cloud photo :)

PP

Ghost Cloud

Another lightweight cloud picture, featuring delicate wisps and whorls of vapour instead of the mountainous peaks of yesterday's post - the sky is nothing if not full of variety! At first glance, there doesn't seem to be anything particularly unusual about this cloud image, but on closer inspection several interesting, if fanciful features leapt out at me.

Click to enlarge

Pictures in the clouds are, of course, an optical illusion, but they're still fun! The more I looked at this cloud pic, the more I seemed to see a couple of ghostly figures, one with their arms outstretched and head thrown back, the other looking on. I haven't spoken to anyone else who can "see" them, but, for me, they set this image apart from the others I snapped today, and decided which one would be posted here.

PP

White Cloud Mountain

Something a little less dramatic than yesterday's sunrise photo for today's post. Instead of blazing golden fire, we have a towering heap of white cotton wool floating in a bright blue sky. Pictures of clouds may not appeal to everyone, but I find the delicate, wispy, ever-changing edges of their structure both fascinating and beautiful.

Click to enlarge

As if in contrast to the size of this natural visual extravaganza, the contrail (and associated aircraft) at the top of the image seem almost puny by comparison, dwarfed by the billowing vapour of the clouds.

PP

Golden Sunrise

Today's sky photo is one of several sunrise pictures I snapped early this morning at a nearby playing field. Early morning is not my favourite time of day, hence there are likely to be far more sunset pictures than sunrise images posted here. But, since I was awake anyway, and the pre-dawn sky looked promising, I took myself off to the field and lurked suspiciously in the early morning gloom until the sun inched its way over the distant hills.

Click to enlarge

Neither my photographic skills nor my camera can do justice to the breathtaking blaze of golden light that lanced along the horizon, edging the dark clouds with brazen fire. Until both improve quite bit, however, this sunrise pic may be as good as they're going to get!

PP

Eye In The Sky

This slightly sinister-looking picture of clouds in the sky put me in mind of something from Lord of the Rings - a malevolent eye gazing down through dark clouds at the world below. Ordinary rain clouds aren't supposed to look that mean!

Click to enlarge

This cloud pic was taken just a few minutes after the photo in yesterday's post, giving some idea of just how quickly those clouds appeared. Unfortunately, I was so intent on the clouds that I didn't notice the street light sneaking into the bottom left of the image. I could crop the image, or edit it out, I suppose, but  that strikes me as cheating. Must pay more attention next time!

PP

Dark Cloudy Jacket

Today's picture of the sky is another cloud pic, snapped this very afternoon as the pale winter sun became enveloped in a jacket of darkening clouds. These clouds bubbled up, seemingly out of nowhere, and shrouded the sun in a very short time.

Click to enlarge

Fortunately, for all their threatening appearance, the copious quantities of rain these clouds promised to bestow upon us held off for several hours, giving me just enough time to finish my gardening.

PP

Winter Sunset

This rather lurid sunset picture was taken on a cold February afternoon. The day had been gloomy and overcast, the sky offering little more than the promise of a good soaking until late afternoon. Suddenly, as the sun dropped towards the horizon, the rather monotonous, dull rain clouds rolled away to reveal a deep blue sky and these high altitude wisps of pink and yellow fire licking at the ever-present contrails.

Click to enlarge

It just goes to show that the sky is a source of infinite variety, capable of producing the most amazing displays at a moment's notice.

PP

Pictures Of The Sky

How often do you look at the sky? I mean really look at it, not just cast a quick glance upwards as you wonder whether it's going to rain (or stop raining!) later?

Probably not very often. But you should! The sky is a beautiful, ever changing canvas where nature paints breathtaking pictures without end. From sunsets to clouds, this daily display of natural beauty wheels above us, so magnificent yet so often ignored.

Here, I have posted a few pictures of the sky I have taken, more or less at random and as the mood and opportunity have arisen. I'm no great photographer, and there will probably be more cloud pictures than one might reasonably expect, but hey, I like pictures of clouds :-)

Click to enlarge

I will try to add a little variety as I go along - maybe some skyline pictures, the odd sunset image, perhaps some contrails. The choice is endless, and with any luck my photographic skills will improve as I post more sky pics.

PP.