Skyfall

You know what Scotland is world famous for? Rain. And where does rain come from?

Clouds.

• Wispy beards smeared across the stratosphere
• Fluffly fleeces gambolling across blue skies
• Great billowing sky cathedrals
• Smothering grey blankets of cloud
• Dark curtains parting for shafts of sunlight

I once asked a visitor from South Africa what they best liked about Scotland. Her reply? “Clouds.”

It’s hard to believe (because it almost never happens in Scotland), but perfect sunny day followed by perfect sunny day for days on end eventually gets boring.

It was photographer Colin Baxter who introduced Scots to the concept of clouds as a thing to celebrate rather than moan about. Before him photo books of Scottish landscapes showed a country of blue skies and sunshine, something that spoke more of the accepted standards of photographic merit (and the photographer’s perseverance with the weather) than of the beauty - or reality - of the landscape.

We've moved on. Today, films can include scenes where you can’t even *see* the landscape and yet be considered inspiring and iconic.

Source: Eon Productions


So if you are fed up with bright sunshine beating down on you day after day and crave a change... you know where to come.