Dramatic clouds reflected in water
Landscape,  Monochrome Madness,  Photographic techniques,  Travel galleries

Gallery: seeing clouds in black and white

December 12, 2024 / 41 Comments

Rows and floes of angel hair

Ice cream castles in the air

And feather canyons everywhere

I’ve looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun

They rain and they snow on everyone

So many things I would have done

But clouds got in my way

Joni Mitchell

One of my favourite songs, by one of my favourite singers, captures perfectly the duality of clouds (and of life). Clouds can look beautiful, enhancing any photo of the sky. They can inspire us to see animals, palaces and more hidden in their shapes. And they can give us welcome shade on the hottest of days. They are also a photographer’s delight, in moderation, as they make skies so much more interesting.

But clouds also bring storms, rain and snow. They turn a summer picnic into a dash for shelter, and they hide a view you climbed a mountain to see. And uniform dull cloud cover can really dampen our spirits.

I’ve tried to bring out both sides of clouds in my images below, chosen for this week’s themed Monochrome Madness, hosted by Brian. There are pretty clouds and stormy clouds, clouds that enhance a landscape and clouds that obscure it. Clouds from my travels and some much closer to home.

All shots have been edited using Nik Silver Efex Pro, including the use of a slight selenium toning.

Wisps of cloud in a pale sky

Can anyone else see the happy elephant in this cloud above the Okavango Delta in Botswana?!

Dramatic sky above still water

This sunset was also captured in the Okavango Delta, as was my featured shot (the clouds there were possibly the most photo-worthy I’ve seen anywhere)

Sunset over the sea with forest and river in foreground

Another sunset, this one photographed from Lagarta Lodge on the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

Clouds above rolling hills

Blue sky and clouds in northern Costa Rica

Looking down at a city with swirling cloud

A glimpse of Quito through the clouds, from Volcan Pichincha, Ecuador

I’m including this one for Becky following a conversation about our stubborn optimism in heading up mountains to enjoy a view we know we probably won’t see due to bad weather! On this occasion it was obvious before we even got in the cable car that we were wasting our time, but …

Dramatic clouds above a mountain range

But thankfully clouds weren’t hiding Chile’s Torres del Paine when we visited! This is the view from Laguna Azul.

Misty trees on a hillside

Cloud-draped hillside by Lago Todos los Santos, also in Chile, where we were a lot less lucky with the weather!

Clouds lit by setting sun

Back to sunsets, this one over the Mekong in southern Laos

Clouds with rain above low hills

A rain storm approaching the City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico

Dark clouds

And a bigger storm approaching the city of Grants in the same state

Boat moored in foreground with rain cloud in the distance

Talking of rain storms, here’s one retreating from Kaštel Kambelovac in Croatia and heading towards Split in the distance

Mountainside with low clouds

Low cloud in the mountains above Kotor, Montenegro

Looking down at lots of small clouds

Looking down at the clouds on a flight from London to Seville, Spain

River with silhouetted city skyline

Early evening sky over the Thames in London

Sky with clouds and birds flying

Clouds and seagulls over Newcastle upon Tyne, north east England

Low lying mist over a lake

Early morning mist at Matthews Linn, Kielder Water, Northumberland

41 Comments

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