Black and White Cloud Photos Volume XVI
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Thanks for this great start of Volume XVI Michael! Wow, it is hard to believe it would come that far when you started the first Volume, initially even without a Volume number! And your invitation works well. So welcome Lisa with your great entrance in this thread! I hope you enjoy the abstracts in B&W that will follow and hope also to see more from you.
Let’s Keep The Candle Burning
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Thank you, Michael, for this dramatic launch into the next wave of B&W clouds! And Lisa, wow! A warm welcome to you and your keen eye for stunning imagery. Hope to see you here often and on other forum topics as well. Hans, even a tsunami could not extinguish our (de)light with this topic.
Hard acts to follow with such strong imagery from the three of you above. Can’t wait to see what the new tide brings in.
Potentiality -
Thank-you, Hans! I’m not sure how replying works, whether to one person or the group-but I do want to thank the warm welcome I’ve received from everyone. Is there a limit to the number of photographs that can be posted here? No-I’m not one to overdo something – I may find one or two more. All of these photographs are stunning! Thanks again, Lisa
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Potentiality is indeed what the new tide brings Keelin. For me Potentiality seems to be the perfect nicely curved and crested wave to surf on endlessly in this thread. Love it. Let’s surf!
And Lisa, there is no limit to the number you can post here that is to say just one or two at the time (the system will warn you when you exceed the amount of Mb’s you want to upload), but …. day after day as the number of this Volume for B&W’s proofs. The only by our self’s imposed limit is that we end a thread when the number of 100 posts is reached and than start a new volume. So there are about 1500 B&W’s already in all former threads. When you have enough time it is worthwhile checking them :) Do we overdo it already? No, it is fun to be continued. So I look forward for more from you.
Untitled Yet
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Loved Another Veil Variation, Hans, which appears to be floating on a gentle, wafting breeze, while Arizona B&W#170 and #171 are absolute celebrations, Michael, with sound tracks all their own. Trees Bright Shadow is one to linger on, Lisa, cleverly titled as well.
Completely unexpected weather here with thunder, a bit of rain and this morning’s surprise…
Marbled Marvel -
Thanks Keelin! Yes the sky was celebrating! Glad you are getting weather. I like the over head hurly burly shots! Unfortunately, its mid-August and the desert here still hasn’t seen anything that amounts to a Monsoon season. One day back in July I think I saw Pileus. Today, after a string of 116f + days in a row, finally two cells developed into Cumulonimbus to the north and east with one blowing back into the Valley. Maybe,but probably not, we’ll get some hurly burly by this evening.
meanwhile
Arizona B&W#172
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What a feast in this thread. A tribute to Carl Jung’s Shadow concept by Lisa shows a turbulent cirrus filled sky. This triggered me to learn more about the concept.
Michael produced some really different textures in #171, #172 and #173. I love #171 most of the three, but that is not because I see the head of a cow in it. Did anyone notice? Nevertheless for me it are the different layers in #171 with the gentle white dots on the foreground that I love.
And Marbled Marvel is a true marvel indeed Keelin. It is one that makes you happy looking at it. Summer Storm has a complete different and appealing mood. Mysterious. Contemplation?
Unrest
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Michael, I can sense the slow, quiet movement of clouds in Arizona B&W#180, especially in that open space at the top, bits of fluff floating in to join the group. Nice!
The photo below gave me a feeling of sitting on a high branch, looking down at the feathery head of an owl.
Bird’s Eye View Of A Bird Below -
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Love that percolated look of your Arizona B&W#181, Michael. It reminds me of my mind in the morning—and that first cup of coffee bringing everything into focus.
Happy to report a smoke-free sky (at least here in Napa) today and the first sighting of clouds in weeks. Needless to say, I ate it up!
Layered Dessert -
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Oh I love a lot of the former B&W’s. Especially Bird’s Eye View Of A bird Below and Layered Dessert by Keelin and the soft grays and texture in Arizona B&W’s #179, #181, #182 by Michael. here is one that looks like a canyon in a cloudscape together with some lost smoke signals.
Skycanyon
P.S.: I truly hope the disasters in California are to end at last.
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Thank you, Michael and Hans for well wishes and kind words. Fires are still burning in the western states, but we have had a few days of clear skies here—a joy to see, even if they have been mostly cloudless. All the better to enjoy offerings on this forum’s many topics.
As for the most recent images above, what a wild Skycanyon, Hans! That could be the setting for an epic tale. And love the dusty dance of your #182, Michael.
Speaking of dances, not strictly a B&W below, but she insisted on mood lighting…
Midnight Dance Of The Praying Mantis -
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Indeed, Michael! We are so lucky to have this forum with the international friendships it fosters and the respite it offers in the midst of such chaotic times. Grateful to all!
What I like in the image below is its painterly quality which became enhanced once converted to B&W. In the original photo, it’s a rather unremarkable, mostly blue sky, and what appears to be the moon is actually a round cloud.
The Painterly Moon -
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Hans, Colorless reminds me of a feather – the use of the sepia tone is very effective and moody. And Keelin, the owl has its beak amongst its feather – and Midnight Dance’s blue mood comes across with such intrigue! And Michael, I miss the skies of the Southwest and am ever grateful to see each one from you. They bring back rich memories for me. I apologize I rarely post and submit an image, but I am always delighted by the images all of you post!
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Thank you too Lisa. Maybe you post rarely, but this one is lovely and asks for more.
The Painterly Moon is fantastic Keelin. Funny to notice that what seems to be the moon is in fact a round cloud. Quite peculiar. Lullaby seems to me a close up of a sleeping eye with eyelashes of rays. Love it.
The two very different ones from Michael (#186 and #187) show the great diversity in B&W’s imho.
Next one belongs to the contrail thread as well.
Quill Pen
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Hello again, Everyone! I just had to remark that Keelen, your “Lullaby” reminds me of the “Eye of God” at the altar of the San Miguel Mission in San Miguel, CA (I live in Pleasanton). Just lovely – doesn’t make me sleepy at all. And, Hans, love the Quill pen – how the contrails speak to us in their own language!
And yes, as a photographer, scale is one thing I’m aware of when photographing. Digital photography can make an image too “perfect” and it would have taken a millisecond to clone the bird out. But, I like to have life in my photographs as well as defy compositional rules, but I try leave these cloud images in as close a state in which I took it.
And I have another question – I haven’t found an “overview” of this site – so if we post an image here, are we able to post it elsewhere or submit it elsewhere on the site? There’s so many options I can’t quite get the overall view. Thanks! -
Lisa, I think as close to an Overview you’ll find is..cloud should part of a discussion or exhibition. The site is International so a decorum is subtly implied. But there are no hard rules besides adhering to our manifesto. One thing tho..I think is still in place..is the instance you post creative content, here, its copyrighted. Thats true at any Internet Site. Can you post your work at multiple sites ?yes. Can sites do what ever they want with your work? Not with out your permission. Yes a photo of yours can be in the Gallery and you can post it in a forum.
So, another approach to the Freedom we are allowed here,,is a personal plan. Do you have a library of shots you want to share? Do you have a style you want to explore and express? etc. How much time a day or a week can you afford to posting at CAS? etc..We are quite free here to post our creations. Quite free to discuss technical scientific etc aspects of cloud. Yes, that freedom can be intimidating or just put aside as one enjoys their chosen way to express an appreciation of Clouds.
Arizona B&W#188
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Thank-you, Michael! I do love this site and I love clouds! I have no immediate goal in mind as to what to do with my cloud photos. I just keep taking them and enjoy sharing at this blog and receiving the Cloud a Day image in my inbox and when luck provides, submit a cloud on the CloudSpotter APP. Yes, clouds are for dreamers….
And Arizona B&W #188 are Lacunosus, no? They disappear rather quickly….Day Breaker
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Thanks Keelin and Lisa about the Pen.
Love the freedom here to post pictures that are as much – or as little – edited as each one wants. It is nice to keep experimenting and practicing with the features LR offer.
Great foamy #188, great Daybreaker and Pileus Dreams as well. They all make the fun of this thread for me.
Cloud With A View
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A Whisper evokes such a beautiful, gentle feeling, Ruth.
And what a fantastic view that cloud must have, Hans. Great drama in how you’ve presented it here for all to enjoy. And I couldn’t agree with you more about the freedom we’re offered here on the CAS forum. Was it Michael who first mentioned the idea of exploring color-inverted photos? Below is an example where both images maintain their cloudy qualities, but offer different dimensional perspectives.
One WayAnd Another -
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Sleep and dreams come easily to mind with the three images above. Michael, your #189 beckons like the softest bed, and Hans, your Djinn could find a role to play in any dreamscape while my noggin rests quite comfortably on that fine down pillow, Ruth. What adventures could be had! The trick would be to linger upon awakening and try to remember it all without too much distortion.
The Challenge Of Dream Recall -
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Love the illusions to dreams and pillows and whispers and lanterns! Clouds are so captivating on so many levels (aka layers). Love that Dali was prepared to capture his dreams as soon as he woke up! Much study is being done today on the creativity of hynogogic and hypnopomic sleep (the stages between being awake and being asleep). That all brings me to wabi-sabi this afternoon. Somehow I think it all fits together. Wabi-sabi being in part: “…is the beauty of the withered, weathered, tarnished, scarred, intimate, coarse, earthly, evanescent, tentative, ephemeral.” From Six Names of Beauty by Crispin Sartwell. I think this image fits the wabi-sabi of cloud-induced sleep! (sorry for the low resolution – I don’t know what happened to the original file).
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Indeed, Lisa, those borderline sleep states can be fascinating and offer great fodder for creativity, as does the luscious land of lucid dreaming. When I saw the clouds align to match the classic L-R-L-R eye movement lucidity signal (as seen in research experiment EOG recordings), it looked to me like proof that the Sky is aware it is dreaming. ;)
Cognizant Clouds -
Sometimes that’s all one needs, Ruth, just a small bit of light! You’ve captured it nicely there.
And thanks for kind words, Michael. Indeed, Dali was a master at depicting the surreality of his dream landscapes. I think he would have admired your B&W#190, as do I.
Also meant to compliment your image above, Lisa, a dream in the making!
The Wild Brush Of The Expressionistic Painter -
A great Dali in Arizona B&W#190, Michael. Love it. Then a Small Lantern by Ruth and a dream in the making By Lisa. Great B&W’s but I also learned a lot about dreaming in the former posts. The Challenge Of Dream Recall by Keelin must have triggered this stream of dreams. This one and The Wild Brush Of The Expressionistic Painter have something special in common that gives them a mysterious appeal. Like a dream indeed.
An Attempt To Dream On -
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Hans, your Attempt To Dream On is such a beautiful image. It elicits a certain smile here as it so well reflects that yearning to continue enjoyable adventures.*
And Lisa, your Dream That Got Away effectively captures that fleeting moment of dream dissolution. Ah, I know it well! It’s also, on its own merits, a very interesting cloud photo.
As for painterly works, here is one with lighter, looser strokes of cloud brushes that brings to mind another form of art.
Interpretive Dance*Off topic, but hopefully helpful for anyone interested: There are actually a couple of reliable (as in scientifically tested) techniques discovered by Stephen LaBerge that can prolong the dream state. If anyone has an urge to look into these, be sure to read his original writings (on spinning and hand-rubbing while adream) as there is way too much misinformation about such things on some internet websites.
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Yes, Keelin – Dancers! Ballerinas in my imagination.
In Search of Lucidity – Dendrite Disconnect
Disconnected Comment: Through the International Association for the Study of Dreams, there will be an online conference on Lucid Dreaming coming up soon, with 12 speakers. Fabrina Bogzaran has studied the creative aspect of hynogogic sleep-she’s an artist and scientist. If this Conference doesn’t spark me into lucidity, then at least I can still keep my head and heart in the clouds!
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Love the composition in your tapestry of cloudlets Michael. The fanning out top left and the compacting down right work well.
The clouds in Interpretative Dance make me happy Keelin, like the clouds themselves seem to be happily waving their hands high in the air. Love it.
I love Dendrite Disconnect as well. It looks like a cloudy brain. Very applicable and clever title, Lisa.
I try to stay connected to this continuing lucid dream-theme.
Neural Network
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Michael, your clear and crispy capture is like a murmuration of cloudlets. Breathtaking!
Lisa, Dendrite Disconnect reminds me of my foggy brain in the morning. A very clever title for your intriguing photo!
And what a fine mesh is your Neural Network, Hans! Definitely caffeinated. Just looking at it leaves me feeling energized. A habit, you ask? Perhaps!
Subconscious Tendencies -
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Hans, Arizona #191 brings Infinity to mind. Lovely! And Hans, Neural Network is invigorating to say the least! Such an appropriate title as well. And Keelen, your Subconcsious Tendencies remind me of bringing out the Shadow Side of our unconscious. And Arizone #192 Michael seems to bring peace of mind to all of the above!
Deep Sleep
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Ruth – thank you for the compliment! As I rescroll through these images, they seem to become more profound as time goes on – much like the changing shapes of the clouds as they reshape themselves every moment! I look forward to seeing more of your photographs here; Whirlpool captures several cloud types and is so expressive of them all! Well done! And Hans, “denouement” is a new word for me – I looked it up and it seems a perfect fit here! And Ripples and Holes seems tobe the passageway between consciousness and the unconscious!
Tickles
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Tickles certainly delivers the desired effect in a delightfully visual format, Lisa. Thanks for the good giggles.
And, in agreement, denouement is a perfect word for the occasion, Hans, especially as Lisa guided us to the next phase with her lovely visual lullaby in Deep Sleep.
As for Ripples and Holes what a striking image! With pareidolia permanently in place, I thought perhaps it was some multi-eyed creature. A wonder that would have me awonder if my underlying tendencies are showing up again. At least it looks friendly!
Michael, you’ve created an impressive sense of depth in #192, delivering that old grey magic again. Why do those bits and bobs always bring a sense of delight akin to a rain of confetti?
Ruth, while most images in the B&W folders do have an abstract quality, I hope that won’t dissuade you from visiting and continuing to contribute here. At first glance at this forum topic just a few years ago, I had no idea how quickly I would come to appreciate the untethered formations, cleverly captured and cropped, and presented primarily by Michael and Hans. Studying their photos has helped train my eye to see subtleties in cloud formations I would otherwise miss. If you scroll through the archives, you’re sure to find some images that are less abstract, so rest assured your Whirlpool is welcome! And I hope to see more from you here.
Below, I leave it to all to figure out. Is this an abstract image or…
The Hand Of Something Or Other? -
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Thanks Keelin!,,I have alot of fun with fields of AltCum and Cirrus Cum especially if other clouds at different altitudes are in play. The lighting is so very important. The soft grey shots are the result of late afternoon or near sundown and or overcast conditions. One good field of Alt cum with the right light and a good zoom telephoto lens, can produce a lot of shots fun to look at.
multi-directional undulatus
Arizona B&W#193
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Michael, the multi-directional undulatus looks like an explosion about to happen! And the softness/bluriness elicits the movement of these undulating clouds. Very nice! And Keelin, I’ve learned yet another new word – pareidolia! Turns out the word isn’t in my dictionary. Love that language changes, as do the clouds. Another good reason this site is such fun-we learn as we do! I’d suggest that your cloud could be the Hand of Fate!
Ray of Hope
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Wow, Michael, what a fabulous photo is your #193! I can almost hear the wind—in both ears!
And Lisa, you’re likely to run into that new word often if you visit the looks-like topic. And what a splendid and welcome Ray of Hope you’ve presented—a light in the darkness, perhaps even in the deepest depth of the sea!
Below, maybe a little moonlight magic?
Jardin au Clair de Lune -
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Michael, I can almost see the clouds in #196 reshaping themselves to come together. Leave it to clouds to know how to compromise without losing their integrity.
In the images below, I inverted the original B&W photo (on the left) and found the W&B version delivering a distinctly different feeling. Again, I thank you for introducing me to the idea of exploring this optional view. The results are sometimes quite a surprise. The semordnilap title seemed somehow appropriate.
Mood/Doom -
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Thank you Ruth and Keelin for your words about my photograph being accepted in Cloud-A-Day. It was an honor! Sudden Inspiration fits the theme exactly, a spirit bird in flight. And Ruth, how did you know vanilla was my favorite ice cream flaver? Cumulous clouds are the best clouds for pareidolia (if I am using that correctly in the sentence). And Keelin, love the way you are exploring black on white and vice versa – each version has its own viseral impact. And these days, I do feel as if I’m at a crossroad….
Crossroads
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Here’s an image I took in color on July 10th at my local sports park in Pleasanton, CA. I am fairly new to these online Cloud Appreciation Blogs, but I’m thrilled to see a b&w cloud forum!
Potentiality
Tattered Veil
Thank you Michael, Keelin and Hans for helping me keep my head in the clouds! These are truly images to meditate upon! The one for this posting is titled “Tree’s Bright Shadow”, a tribute to Carl Jung’s Shadow concept.
Marbled Marvel
Summer Storm
Misty Mystical Manifestations
Against The Tide
I am very impressed by these B&W images! The photographs encapture the clouds’ fragility and strength! And Keelan, in regards to your quesiton about where hypnogogic sleep will bring you, perhaps into a lucid dream where there is pure light.
Day Residue
A Teller Of Tales
Bird’s Eye View Of A Bird Below
Layered Dessert
Midnight Dance Of The Praying Mantis
Tumultuous Times
The Painterly Moon
Lullaby
Pileus Dreams
A Whisper
One Way
And Another
Down Pillow Stuffing
The Challenge Of Dream Recall
A Small Lantern
Cognizant Clouds
The Wild Brush Of The Expressionistic Painter
Subconscious Tendencies
Whirlpool
The Hand Of Something Or Other?
Jardin au Clair de Lune
Intrepid Traveler
Deep Sea Diver
Little Fish, Big Pond
Mood/Doom
Sudden Inspiration
One Scoop Of Vanilla
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