Clouds; Anchorage, June 2017
Most of us, including -- or especially -- photographers, like to wake to a bright blue sky. It promises a good day, some warmth, good visibility, and no rain. Fondest childhood memories, possibly improved by time, are of blue-sky days. That is so even for those of us raised in Juneau, where a reality-based ratio of blue sky days to others doesn't satisfy many Arizonans (or Juneauites, for that matter), and where a gray, rainless day was almost as good as a blue-sky day.
But blue skies aren't always optimal for photographs. They complicate portraiture and they drain drama from landscape. And they especially deny us the continuing and dynamic drama of clouds. We've had some nice formations here the past few days, although the best occurred while I was on my bike, without a camera. Here are some from later that day, taken from various spots. Blue sky can't do drama like this.
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After a lifetime of mainly expressing myself with words, my postings here will mainly rely on images. They will speak for themselves to some extent, but I'll usually add a few comments of explanation. I've taken photographs for decades, since the 1950's, inspired in part by my father's photographic skill. Four years of photo assignments and quality darkroom time eventually gave way to decades of casual and family picture-taking. I re-immersed myself when I left film and turned to digital.