Schlagwort: quote

Where Do the Colors of Clouds Come From?

Rosy Clouds, 2015.

”The sun had recently set, and the west heaven was hung with rosy cloud, which seemed permanent, yet slowly changed. To watch it was like looking at some grand feat of stagery from a darkened auditorium.”
Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge – The Life and Death of a Man of Character, 1902, Chapter 1

The scattering of sunlight is responsible for the wonderful colors of the sky. But it is also responsible for the equally beautiful colors of clouds. However, the individual droplets of water which form a cloud are much bigger than the molecules present in the air. And unlike the atmosphere’s scattering effect, the scattering effect of a cloud scatters all wavelengths. This explains why clouds usually appear white to us.

The thicker a cloud is, the more sunlight is blocked, making the cloud appear grey. In the absence of direct sunlight, clouds can reflect the color of the sky and may, for example, appear bluish. The amazing colors of clouds at twilight are caused by both the scattering effect of the atmosphere and of the clouds themselves, giving us clouds in a multitude of yellow, orange, and red hues.

Guessing Clouds

Nemo, 2015.

“Hamlet: Do you see yonder cloud that’s almost in shape of a camel?
Lord Polonius: By th’ mass, and ‘tis, like a camel, indeed.
Hamlet: Methinks it is like a weasel.
Lord Polonius: It is back’d like a weasel.
Hamlet: Or like a whale.
Lord Polonius: Very like a whale.”
William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, Scene ii

Even though Hamlet might have been testing his chief counselor there and things did not end well, I just love guessing clouds! Do you remember spending afternoons lying in the grass with friends as a child, looking at the sky, trying to outdo one another in what you could see there? Telling stories about heroes, monsters, and adventures? What happy, carefree days those were!

And what do you see in the picture above? I see little clownfish Nemo playing in the ocean. Looks like he is having fun!

Types of Clouds

White Blue Grey (5), 2015.

“I pointed out the different types of clouds and what they told of the weather to come. She showed me the shapes they held: a rose, a harp, a waterfall.”
Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind, 2007, Chapter 33

Nephology, the science of clouds, categorizes different types of clouds depending on their distance from the Earth and on their shapes. For high-level clouds the prefix cirro- is used, with alto- used for mid-level clouds. Low-level and mixed-level clouds usually have no prefix. Sheets of clouds are called stratus clouds, stratus being Latin for “stretched and spread out”. Puffy clouds are called cumulus clouds, cumulus being Latin for “heap or pile”. By combining altitude and shape, this system provides categories and names for all the wonderful cloud phenomena in the sky. Based on this system, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) publishes its International Cloud Atlas. And something named “stratocumulus stratiformis” just has to be beautiful, right?

The by GG – Fine Art Photography Shop Is Online

The by GG – Fine Art Photography Shop

“… shops on either side, can human industry or ingenuity go farther? Ah, human felicity! to have at once so many wants suggested and supplied! Wretched Grecian daughters! miserable Roman matrons! to whom shopping was an unknown pleasure, what did, what could employ them? Harm, no doubt; for ‘Satan finds mischief still for idle hands to do.’ But, without that grand resource, how they got through the four-and-twenty hours, like the man with the iron mask, remains a mystery.”
Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Romance and Reality, 1831, Volume 1, Chapter X

Proudly announcing that phase one of the by GG – Fine Art Photography Shop is now online: At Artsies by GG you find your favorite Skies by Gabriele Golissa™ photograph as an accessory or a keepsake. So far you can choose between greeting cards, Galaxy and iPhone cases, and tote bags with some of my most cherished Skies. For open edition photographs you will also find various print options in different sizes; for limited edition photographs I offer small prints (8 x 6 in) on different surfaces. Should you prefer your prints framed, you can also choose between different framing alternatives. So take a look right here!

I am planning on selling limited edition prints from my website again some time soon. Check back later for that, before any mischief happens 🙂