“The sky, a perfect empty canvas, offers clouds, nonetheless. They shift and drift and beg interpretation… such is the nature of art.”
Jeb Dickerson
So, what do you do on a storm chasing tour when there are no storms that day? My last tour in May didn’t yield any tornados or classic supercells. In fact, several days were downright nice weather days. The four of us on the tour were disappointed about the good weather.
But that didn’t stop us from finding photographs.
A “rule” of photography is when you have a great foreground, look for a complementary background. And conversely, when you have a great background, look for a complementary foreground.
On this afternoon, the background clouds created playful shapes just begging for a complementary foreground. When we spotted an abandoned homestead while driving near Siebert, Colorado, we all shouted “Stop!” in unison. Piling out of the van, the four of us started searching for a foreground.
The Shot
The clouds were slowly drifting across the sky from right to left. Anticipating a composition, I set up my tripod and waited about 10 minutes for the clouds to drift into position above a dilapidated structure.
In less than a minute, the opportunity had passed with the clouds. My favorite cloud shape was on the left, near the horizon. Does it remind you of a mythical animal?
Smiling, I returned to the van knowing that I captured a pleasing interpretation of the clouds that Dickerson described above.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus