“There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.”
G. K. Chesterton
My growing affinity for something as intangible and transient as clouds is the result of years of treading the land and looking up. The magic and art of the sky is ever changing, fleeting, ominous, lovely and at times simply spellbinding. I don’t know if this is a hidden source for my fondness for landscape photography, but indeed, a dramatic happening in the clouds is a sure ingredient for a striking landscape photo. The big, open and ever changing skies that unfold across Alaska’s mountainous landscape is one aspect that ties me to this chunk of geography. I wanted to share some with you here in a gallery.
I definitely have the same view as you do. The clouds here really can make the landscapes pop when they cooperate! Some are so amazing!
Wow. Seems like I say that alot about your photos, Patrick, but sometimes that’s the only thing to say about scenery so breathtaking.
Hey Patrick! Just gotta say that I love your cloud images! Landscape photography is frequently described as taking place at the golden/magic/whatever hour around sunrise and sunset, but I think you have given us a great series here to show that great landscapes can be had any time of day. Great light is driven by clouds as well as sun angle, and the clouds add a great compositional element as well as a TON of drama. Great stuff!
Jeff
PS: On a tech note, it looks you use lightbox for the javascripting that drives the galleries you post here (so do I on my site). I have a lightbox version with added code for rescaling the images based on the users screen resolution. I think it really helps on my site. I can pass it along if you are interested – just send me an email. You can also snag it out of my directory if you view my source. 🙂
Michelle, Amy and Jeff, thanks for sharing your comments.
Jeff, I’d love to check out that screen resize javascript. Many thanks for pointing it out and I’ll send and email shortly.
Those are some spectacular photos. I really love the aerial with the rainbow and river. I share your obsession with clouds – they can make or break the landscape in Alaska, and since this summer has been so rainy, we might as well enjoy them.