Contrail Thread Volume IV

[Hans Stocker]

As in former Volumes I want to start with bringing back in memory the Contrail Count Game. We are really stuck at number 17 and then I see this great capture on the gallery by Nienke Lantman.

Number #19

This one seems to have 19 (or maybe more?) contrails. The more contrails the more difficult it is to count them. I keep looking for new high numbers but I think it is too difficult to find each one consecutive. So everything higher than 17 must be a next step disregarding the consecutiveness. It will be difficult enough that way. No one did succeed to find a capture with a higher number until now, but Nienke Lantman finally did and posted it on the gallery. Very nice.

Volume III ended with a nice visit of mr. Crow to Arizona. Thank you Michael for ending Volume III this way. More to follow in Volume IV?

This one kicks off Volume IV.

Dancing On The Top Of The Trees

[Patricia L Keelin]

Wow, Hans, what a vibrant introduction to Contrails Volume IV! And Michael, your wrap-up to Volume III was absolutely amazing with a clever cloudy Crow appearing to contemplate Vortex Instability. What playful influence will the winds have this time?

Into The Great Unknown

[Michael Lerch]

The Crow instability are very weird to witness. I got another one but before that, I’m posting another favorite.

Arizona Contrail#50

[Hans Stocker]

Into The Great Unknown is such a challenging picture Keelin with already the presence of the playful influence of winds you look forward to. I see in The Great Unknown – in my own pareidolic way – this welcoming gesture of the cirrus cloud to all what yet has to come.

I also hope for more Cow from you Michael, but I can imagine Arizona Contrail #50 is a favorite of yours. Fine cirrocumulus with a hint of iridescence caught between two parallel lines of contrail make a great composition.

Straight And Narrow

 

[Patricia L Keelin]

Michael, your Arizona Contrail #50 is a gem. Love the almost audible vibrations emanating from that gentle squeeze.

And Hans, Straight And Narrow it is! And with subtle shadow adding a fine dimensional effect. I like this one very much. Below is one that is perfectly horizontal only if one’s noggin is atilt.

Mostly Straight Definitely Narrow

[Hans Stocker]

Mostly Straight for sure Keelin. Nice curly cirrus too! Next one isn’t straightforward.

Meandering And Not Even Narrow All The Way

[Hans Stocker]

Some distant planes seem to cross a sundog.

[Patricia L Keelin]

Wow, Hans, that is a beauty!

[Hans Stocker]

Thank you Keelin. Here is another one I captured yesterday.

Dogt(r)ail

[Hans Stocker]

Wagging the tail of he Contrail Count Game? At the start of this volume, I mentioned the picture on the gallery by Nienke Lantman. I recounted the number of contrails on this picture and now I got 22 in stead of the 19 I thought there were. The last picture with the highest number posted in one of the first Volumes of the Contrail topics  was #17. It took some time to spot more contrails and – as I stated at the start of this Volume –  it turns out to be too difficult to proceed exactly with a step of 1 contrail more. So at last I captured a next step in the game.

Contrail Count #26

Do you want to recount? Here is a edited version to help with a short line for each counted contrail.

[Patricia L Keelin]

Fantastic, Hans! The lines help to not lose the contrail count in such a crowdy sky. And 26 will be hard (maybe even impossible?) to beat.

Below, just one lonely trail quietly underscoring a faint Halo.

[Hans Stocker]

Nice capture Keelin. I should say this is the Lower Tangent Contrail :)

Here are two pics (really easy to count) taken on the same day on different times.

A plane flying from left to right trying to catch up with its shadow.

A plane flying from right to left trying to shake off his shadow.

Both didn’t succeed obviously.

 

[Don Hatfield]

 

Unable to beat Hans’ 26 contrails –
I submit a mere 10, perhaps appropriate for the season
(actually spotted 6 months ago)

-Don

[George Preoteasa]

Texas, right? The lone star state.

[Hans Stocker]

Can’t beat that one Don! It is not only the numbers that count.

I wonder how the star was made. Do you have any idea? The plane (or any other flying thing) must have been small I think, to make such a pattern with sharp angles. I’d love to know more about it.

Hans

[Don Hatfield]

To George – Yes, that’s where I spotted this. However, the timing coincided (more or less) with our Independence Day celebrations.

To Hans – As the 1806 nursery rhyme says : “Twinkle twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are”
In other words, I have no clue. I never saw a biplane, blimp, giant hand, or anything else. No noise, no other contrails, Just the Dallas typical BBS (Boring Blue Skies).

[Hans Stocker]

Yes Don, I wondered about your little star. At the moment the best guess I have is that the star is the result of some skywriting. I’d love to reply with a picture but there is some glitch preventing me to do so. Only the tablet does not seem to suffer from this glitch but that’s not the place where I keep my archive. I know they are working hard to solve it, so I will be patient.

[George Preoteasa]

On the mysterious star subject, google “skywriting” and click images to see possibilities. I did not see a star, like Don’s, but I have seen other pretty complicated designs.

[Don Hatfield]

Hans – There’s a lot of threads in this CAS Forum, with your name and photos plastered all over them. If this skywriting photo is only half as good as the others of yours that I have seen, then it will definitely be worth waiting for. Not only your photos, but also your commentary, have re-inspired me. This is not to say that Keelin, George, Michael, Laurence, and all the others who have made this so much richer.

Thanks to you all!

[Hans Stocker]

Thank you too Don, for kind words. This forum is the place to exchange also some thoughts or comments and that makes it the more interesting and lively I think. So welcome again Don!

And now I am happy today to see that I am able again to post pictures so I did not have to wait very long to “pick up the threads”.

From the archives a B&W close up from what started as contrail.

[Patricia L Keelin]

WOW!!, Hans! That is one spectacular contrail turned bridal veil. What a fantastic transformation.

And I couldn’t agree more about the CAS forum. The opportunity to share images and ideas here is such a gift (Thank you, Gavin!). It continues to amaze, amuse, inspire and delight on a daily basis. My gratitude to all here is bigger than the sky.

[Don Hatfield]

Excellent artwork, Hans, Well worth the (fortunately short) wait. What grabs me is that the photo is both hard and soft at the same time. As Keelin says – a veil.

[Hans Stocker]

Thank you both!. And I like to emphasize again what Don and Keelin said about this site: it is so much fun and inspiring to exchange pictures and thoughts on this forum. It is now “only” two years ago Michael grandfather of abstract B&W’s started the Black and White Thread and now there are several threads for about five or more extra specific themes. Let’s go on amazing each other.

Shadow On The Wall

 

[Hans Stocker]

On The Flying Trapeze

[Patricia L Keelin]

Hans, Shadow On The Wall is simply extraordinary — every aspect of it. And you’ve followed this with another electric shot of CVI and clever title in On The Flying Trapeze. As usual, I begin to smile when I read your titles in the email messages before clicking on the links. The anticipation of knowing the images will be remarkable is part of the joy. Astonishing, I think, how does he do it?

The Great Depths Of Wonder

[Hans Stocker]

Thank you very much Keelin for kind compliments. It is really nice to read you enjoy my silly thoughts. And please know your replies are also a joy to me. The Great Depth Of Wonder is an example of beauty and simplicity. Less is so much more!

Dots And Lines

[Hans Stocker]

Corkshrew

[George Preoteasa]

A distrail is the opposite of a contrail, still I thought this is the best thread to post this. I was taking a time lapse of clouds passing in front of the moon, when this happened. The time lapse is too fast, so I had to create a slowed down version. That slowed down version is not much faster than real time. Interesting how quickly these things happen.

 

 

[Hans Stocker]

That was quite a great occasion to catch this in your time lapse in moonlight George. Thanks for sharing!

[Hans Stocker]

I the tree going to be pruned?

[Hans Stocker]

At the end of last year I spotted these two fallstreak holes of which one is a long distrail.

The Dutch word for fallstreak hole is “pilotengat”, that is one to one in English: a “pilote hole”.

[Howard Brown]

Needed F5 in Windows 10 again to get here.

Plain trailing

 

[Patricia L Keelin]

Fantastic trailings above. And love the “Corkshrew” title, Hans. Indeed, so much can happen when too many corks go flying.

Recently, on a late afternoon walk, I spotted a little dog on a trail.

[Hans Stocker]

Walking the dog, that is always rewarding Keelin. Very nice. The trail looks like one stroke of the victory Boogy Woogy by Mondriaan. I hope you go well in the meantime.

Four Of Them

 

[Patricia L Keelin]

Terrific trails above, Hans!

Hanging By A Thread

[Patricia L Keelin]

Linear Thinking

[Hans Stocker]

For too long no contrails. That´s no good. I love Hanging By A  Thread Keelin. Very funny and creative. And Linear Thinking is ingenious. Great to see them both again and it helps me to remind the fun of this thread for sure.

Faster Than Its Shadow?

[Patricia L Keelin]

Ha! Hans, you had to be quick to have caught Faster Than Its Shadow! A dramatic composition with the cirrus audience watching the race.

Below, a contrail must have taken a moment to make sure this T was perfectly crossed. While I’ve only recently begun to capture alphabet clouds, I suspect other cloudspotters may have seen A-Z hovering above their noggins.

Iced Italic T

[Hans Stocker]

Love the dripping of the paint from the upper cross beam Keelin. With your T (almost a cross?) you drew my attention to the alphabet. I did not look at contrail this way yet, but it looks like a challenge to find them all from A to Z.

A Poor Attempt To A Wye

 

[Patricia L Keelin]

A clever and very discernible Y, Hans! Contrail with CVI could make a unique and fun type font. This A seems almost too basic. Easy A

[Hans Stocker]

Well I am sure it is not as easy as you suggest to find a good A like this Keelin.

Here is one I spotted for its shadow. First with 70 mm.

Daigonal I

Somewhat later I spooted the same part of the sky with 28 mm.  The diagonal has grown fat.

Diagonal II

[Patricia L Keelin]

A splendid example of what a little time can do to homogenitus, Hans. And I suppose a Homo sapien could suffer the same fate by too much sitting around. “A point well taken”, says the fellow below who, if the rest of the cloud were to be revealed, might show him on the run.

Point Well Taken

[Hans Stocker]

Ha, Keelin that is an imaginative and funny Point Well Taken. The beaming contrail might have caused a serious headache for this fellow.

He Just Left Some Dust Clouds

[George Preoteasa]

All these pictures, Keelin and Hans, are incredible. I wish I could take some like that.

Nevertheless, this one from Earth and Sky caught my eye. Can’t help but also notice that the lobes point up.

https://en.es-static.us/upl/gravity_forms/6-d184048789a60d766a02a8e43117298b/2019/08/Angle-Choir.jpg

Hope the link works, please let me know if it does not.

[Hans Stocker]

Thanks George. Yes the links works and it is a remarkable contrail. I can’t help to think that “up” is a matter of perspective. Nevertheless a beautiful combination of lobes and fibratus, all being homogenitus.

Eating With Chopsticks

[Patricia L Keelin]

Thanks for kind words, George, and for the link to a beautiful contrail! And Hans, I knew from the title (read first in email) that the photo you posted would give me a giggle.

This One Was Wiggly

[Hans Stocker]

How Wiggly Can It Be

[Hans Stocker]

I do fear for the fate of this plane.

Plain Danger

[Patricia L Keelin]

Love that Wiggly loop in your image above the above, Hans. As for the one immediately above, what a timely capture!

In the image below (unfortunately quite grainy due to far distance), I liked the way the cloud seemed to curl over and press gently upon the jet trail. I suppose it’s one way to make an impression.

Curled Cloud

[Hans Stocker]

Sorry for the late reply. For too long no contrail. Yes Keelin, I see the cloud is making an impression at least on me. To me it seems a hummingbird (on the wire?).

Birds Of A Feather Flock Together

[Donatella Lombardini]

Contrail seen above SeaTac Int’l Airport

[Patricia L Keelin]

A warm welcome, Donatella, to the cool Contrail topics Volume IV! Isn’t it fascinating how some homogenitus can hold their original form while others morph or contort in only moments? Thank you for the clear reminder of how they usually begin, before wild winds have their whimsical way with them.

Just yesterday, a single dissolving contrail caught my eye simply because the shape looked interesting. When I downloaded the photo onto my computer, curiosity got the best of me and I played around with it a bit in PhotoShop (rotation/contrast/slight color adjustment). The resulting image below is more an artistic interpretation than what we usually post here, but I offer it as an example of how clouds, even in their simplest of forms, can inspire creativity and wonder. While the original contrail has been maintained, the image now brings to mind an icicle in the Land of Aurora Borealis (thanks to a bit of lens flare caught by the camera) and represents a dream of something I hope to see in reality someday.

[Hans Stocker]

Welcome Donatella. It is like Keelin wrote. They begin as straight lines but develop in wild ways and even in hallucinating dreams like the last one by Keelin.

The Winds Give It A Twist

[Catherine Morris]

I love viewing this forum. Last night in the market parking lot I pulled into a space facing this sunset streaked with contrails and it reminded me of a game called “pick up sticks” that we played as children.

[Hans Stocker]

Nice “pick up sticks” association Catherine. Is it the same as Mikado? That is the name of the game we use in Holland.

Clouds That Look Like Nothing At All

[Catherine Morris]

Hans, yes. Looks like the games are similar.

Clouds that Look Like Nothing At All – or hieroglyphs of the sky ?

 

[Donatella Lombardini]

2 Airbus A380-800s Cruising and an A321 with beautiful fresh contrails.

[Hans Stocker]

You spotted them really close Donatella. My favorite is the first one crossing an older and higher trail. Great contrast.

More Hieroglyphs

[Hans Stocker]

Stroboscopic Contrail

[Gregory Venarsky]

Hello everyone!!

Here’s my first post on the contrast thread and I want to know how many you see.

[Steven strick]

Morning sunrise in Idaho.

[Hans Stocker]

Great contrails Gregory and Steven. Hope to see more of you both on this thread. Contrails weren’t my favorites from the beginning but once they got my attention I also got surprised by the variaty and great spectacle they can offer.
Gregory you asked how many we see. I count 4 of them. Right? Did you both notice the contrail count game I mentioned at the start of this volume? Just scroll through this Volume from the start and find out where we are at now. It is a fun challenge to capture more!

This one was made with the cloudspotter app.

Just Nearby An Airport And Very Dutch

[Steven strick]

This one is in Idaho, near Boise. I count about 11.

[Patricia L Keelin]

A fine display of linear lovelies above. Below, just one…

Harebrained Idea

[Hans Stocker]

Steven captured 11 contrails. Very nice and some of them so accurately straight they seemed to be drawn along a ruler. Harebrained Idea can’t be more different.  I like its mad wildness Keelin.

Do We Have To Worry?

[Michael Lerch]

Arizona Contrail#51

[Don Hatfield]

I’ve been watching lots of old movies these last few weeks. Including Star Wars

 

[Hans Stocker]

A graet B&W Arizona Contrail # 51 Michael. And have you seen enough old movies now Don? Also good times – so to speak – for Netflix?

Was Mondriaan A Pilot?

[Ruth Quist]

Contrail count just two. I like the mountain range at the bottom.

[Jocelyn Northey]

Great images Michael, Don, Hans and Ruth. No chance of contrails here until the travel restrictions ease. Even then we only average about 3 per week. The dis/advantages of living in a remote location

[Patricia L Keelin]

Fun to see these new skylines here!

And pilot or non, Hans, I can imagine Mondrian being inspired by seeing a couple of such streaks crossing a big blue canvas of sky. While the image below holds only a single, rather distorted contrail, it reminds me of one you posted to the Clouds-That-Look-Like-Things topic (Dec 20, 2018) with a grateful nod to René. Merci encore, Monsieur Magritte.

Ceci n’est pas non plus une pipe

[Michael Lerch]

Arizona Contrail#52

[Jocelyn Northey]

Wow Michael, what a wonderful capture. One of the very best images I have seen.

[Steven strick]

Here’s one over Coeur D’Alene in northern Idaho looking east. I see 4 off to the right and 4-5 to the left that are dissipating. These planes are probably coming out of Seattle to the west.

 

[Hans Stocker]

Quite a busy sky already Steven. Over here there are much less contrails than before the corona crisis.

Dashed Line

[Ruth Quist]

Parallel streaks of 5

[Hans Stocker]

Very nice Ruth, these 5 parallel lines. I know they have been rare lately but I assume they will re-enter the sky dominantly soon….. unfortunately maybe? … but on the other hand they can offer surprising views.

Just One

[Ruth Quist]

No Doubt A Contrail

[Patricia L Keelin]

’Tis fun to see such great variation in these streaks across the sky. Sometimes it appears that all it takes is a single thread to keep a cloud from wandering off.

Minimally Tethered

[Hans Stocker]

Great capture Keelin. I may be not really fond of contrails in general but when they don’t disturb a nice cloudscape I agree with you about their variation. Then they add their own enchantment to the sky. When the Crow started the first thread with contrails I could not imagine the fun with them yet. Now I do and your Minimally Tethered is a marvelous example.

A Kite?

[Ruth Quist]

Hans, I really enjoyed your Gallery and Cloud of the Day. I am thinking your kite could be a Bat.

Sword Eater

 

 

[Hans Stocker]

Thank you Ruth for kind words. And yes my kite could be a bat. It is funny that I considered it to name it that way, but finally chose Kite. Love you Sword Eater.

Hello mate, I started that way too!

[Ruth Quist]

Under the Radar

[Ruth Quist]

Magic Wand

[Hans Stocker]

Nice Magic Wand Ruth. That one isn’t under the radar.

Caterpillar

[Ruth Quist]

Hans,  may be even prehistoric.  Great dimensions in your caterpillar.

 

 

It’s a Bird, no it’s a Plane ( contrail ), no it’s Superman!

 

[Ruth Quist]

Night Life

[Ruth Quist]

Quick Flyby

[Ruth Quist]

Me And My Shadow

[Gregory Venarsky]

My friends! I am back! And with a good shot too. I was watching in an incoming front and saw that a plane had just flown through a cloud and left a nice streak. Hans your last two photos are wonderful, especially the one comparing an old trail to a new one. And Ruth, your last set of photos were spectacular a brought light to my day. Hope you enjoy!

[Ruth Quist]

Beauty of a contrail Gregory.Just Stay On The Marked Trail And You Will Not Get Lost

[Hans Stocker]

That is a great distrail you captured in this soft pink altocumulus Gregory. Love it. And with the one Ruth posted above we will not get lost. Great title Ruth. Very funny and I love it too.

Like A Bouquet

[Ruth Quist]

Way cool Bouquet Hans.  I am finding contrails to be quite fun to capture.Skipped A Beat.

[Ruth Quist]

Take The A-Train

[Gregory Venarsky]

Hans, your tattered contrail is indeed very interesting, and Ruth, both of your pictures are very peaceful and calm.

Broken

[Ruth Quist]

Cross Cut Saw

[Gregory Venarsky]

Indeed yours does look like a saw Ruth! It looks a bit deadly if you ask me.

I must say, that’s quite a display!

[Ruth Quist]

Gregory, you found an exciting sky.Hoping This Plane Isn’t Lost

[Gregory Venarsky]

It seems like you captured quite the variety Ruth! Old and new mixed in with each other. Here’s an interesting image, can you spot the contrails?

Blending in.

[Hans Stocker]

You produced some great contrail spottings Gregory and Ruth. I especially love the trio ‘Skipped A Beat’, ‘Take The A Train’ and ‘Cross Cut Saw’ by Ruth. Very funny too.

Here is my former Bouquet somewhat later.

Smoke Signal

 

 

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