Patrick Smith of "Ask the Pilot" is someone I've followed for probably close to 20 years. First, at Salon.com, and later at his own blog which he dutifully maintains. In September, he wrote about Cloud Appreciation Day. The "holiday" is promoted by the Cloud Appreciation Society. I know very little about the organization, which appears to be a one-man-band, with a manifesto. In any case, the concept is lovely. Nothing more than appreciation for the etherial splendor of water vapor. Patrick Smith posted a few pictures of his own, some of which really delighted.
Clouds are deeply satisfying as a photographic subject for me, especially when recorded from the window at 36,000ft, as evidenced by my Instagram feed. Very few people over the course of human history have had the great luck to view clouds from top down, an angel's eye view. Prior to the invention of modern aircraft, the only people I can imagine who ever saw clouds beneath them with any regularity were perhaps sherpas in the Himalayas, or early inhabitants of the Alps. Maybe the Incan people of the Andes had special words for clouds? Today, all one needs is an airline ticket to view our atmosphere from a unique vantage point, and I'm not sure we've actually come to understand the gravity of this new-found view as a species. Perhaps that's why I find it endlessly enjoyable.
The author Mark Vanhoenacker has written eloquently about the view from above in his book "Skyfaring." Well worth a read if you're the type that can still appreciate a bit of romance in air travel.
Clouds can take on special meaning to me, depending on where I am flying and why. Below is a photo that I made in September of 2022 on a flight from California to Texas, to attend the wake of a dear friend.
Of course, one doesn't need to fly to appreciate clouds. From the ground they're great too. No matter where you go in the world, the sky is never quite the same as another locale. Noting the differences in clouds one sees when traveling in some far away land compared with clouds one sees at home is always interesting. Perhaps this is because the atmosphere is part of the landscape, and the landscape so often dictates local culture. The photo below was made looking directly up into the sky over the Blue Mountains.
The Maori people of New Zealand use the word Aotearoa to refer to their islands, which can be roughly translated as: land of the long white cloud. It's an apt description for their atmosphere. I'm not sure if the photograph below is representative of the cloud Kiwis typically think of when they think of home, but I was very happy to have the good fortune to capture this moments after departing west from AKL.
Perhaps my pre-occupation with clouds is a bit air-headed, but I'd like to believe the atmosphere can be art, especially from above.
Thanks for reading. Writing and photography copyright John Paul Poritz.