Saturday 23 December 2017

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.

2 comments:

zinnia306 said...

I'm catching up here...Clouds!! Yay!! Lovely descriptions. Do you know about The Cloud Appreciation Society that hails from Somerset? Search for Scotland clouds - you could easily add to these, no problem! Your Marwick Orkney image quickly comes to mind. Plus you live where noctilucent clouds are often observed. Have you ever seen these? I've yet to see a plain old aurora let alone electric blue clouds. :) We get our share of clear sunny days here (esp that cerulean of spring and fall) but also change of weather storms that blow through like long red tsunami snakes across the state - these are our specialty I guess. I once had a visitor remark on these and he couldn't wait to experience one! They are exciting when not too damaging (hail, flooding, tornado). What we really need are some earthquakes to give us more hills to climb, like you have. LOL JOKING, Cosmos!!

Robert Craig said...

Cloud Appreciation Society... think I have heard of them, categorised in my head alongside the Pylon Appreciation Society, though clouds are far more interesting of course! I'd never heard of noctilucent clouds though :)