Nepholographer chasing sunset clouds

As a nepholographer who hasn’t been traveling lately I find myself chasing sunset locally while enjoying the changing show which brings out my pareidolia.  To me, sunsets are best with clouds.

Practicing the art of nepholography, Joann’s photo of me shooting sunset

Funny how about three years ago I started “chasing” for photographs instead of just taking pics of whatever and wherever.  This new attitude towards photography changed my game, and I think helped improved my photog skills.  Ultimately, chasing also reduced the number of photos taken, at least a little bit.  I found myself not carrying the “Big Girl” Nikon with me everywhere I went.  Over time I missed some opportunities and shots.

Photos are really a way to document life and help create memories.  Good photos are really about catching the light, along with composition and a whole lot more.  I like both.

Being I’m not much of an early morning person I don’t see or capture many sunrises.  But I’m all over a good sunset.  Fortunately there are several locations nearby.  Been a little bored with the neighborhood view of what is now becoming a familiar balancing boulder.

Lens flare is not part of being a pareidolia

So instead I’ve recently been going at least part way down the Yarnell Hill.  Joann and her granddaughter Perci picked me up one evening and we stopped in several of our now favorite locations safely off the highway.  I am getting better at using the tripod yet need to start using the hood to reduce lens flare, which I sometimes like more than others.

Perci is a fun kindergartner, very talkative, a bit precocious and definitely a pareidolia.  Plus she shared stories about what she sees in the clouds.  I usually try to avoid people in my photos but am learning it’s OK, especially for perspective.  And it really is special to share sunsets with friends.

That doesn’t mean I get out every night even though no two sunsets are alike and can change in a second.  Plus it’s still monsoon season in Arizona.

One night’s storm swirled clouds overhead as thunder followed lightning all around dropping over an inch of rain in about an hour.  No colorful sunset that night.

The next night rain started right before I left to pick up Joann for a drive down the hill for sunset.  Best show in quite a while and I just couldn’t stop shooting.  Get ready for photo overload.

The rain was perfect to provide reflection on the glowing road, a shot I’ve been wanting for a while.

Joann taught me to use the wet car roof, now known as Lake-roof, for reflection.  Try that one out, it’s fun.  Don’t you just love learning something new?  Now I need to learn how to stack images in Photoshop so I can change settings for both focused foreground and the sky.

I also try to pay attention to the edges of the frame and not cut off an integral part of a shape or leave in that bit of branch or road which can sometimes be cropped or edited out later.  Did you ever get home, load your photos onto the computer, and as you review them think, “why didn’t I step over a few feet?” or pull back a bit to catch something or zoom in to lose something?  I do this all the time.  Once the night is over there are no do-overs.  Maybe I need a checklist.

Plus I find it difficult to focus when it gets dim to dark out.  Not sure if it’s my eyes, which are not great, or the camera, I hope not either way.  So much learning to this hobby keeps it interesting.

And when the sunset is this grand, I remind myself to turn around.  I should also remind myself to check for a level horizon line.

I’d say there was a squall in the valley towards Wickenburg

Eye candy everywhere.

I try not to run off after the sun has dropped below the horizon.  Good things happen in the sky before and after the sun sets.

The night of full moon I picked up Joann and parked at the first turnaround and old overlook on the Yarnell Hill SR89.  We watched the almost cloudless sunset.

Then I set up tripod, attached the 70-300mm lens in an attempt to make the moon look as big as possible, and waited.  Seems like I waited for a whole lot longer than I got to shoot with the moon at the horizon.  And sadly the focus was off.  I still have a lot to learn about night photography so may just stick with nepholography.

I am fascinated by clouds.  Cloud talk:  First shapes – cumulo means “heap” like a pile of cotton candy; strato means “layer” like a blanket; and cirro means “curl of hair” so that part’s easy.  Then it’s about the heights of clouds – cirro also means high like above 20,000 feet; alto means mid or middle at 6500 to 20,000 feet; and stratus for low.  Nimbus = rain.  These Latin root words are put together to name clouds.  Yet sometimes dragon, bird, cat, or angel can work just as well if you’re a pareidolia.  If you hoover over the images I’m trying to name the clouds.  Please feel free to correct me.

This is by no means a photography lesson, more to remind myself as I continue to practice and self critique to improve plus reinforce the cloud names.

The phone has a wider lens

What kind of clouds have you been looking at lately?  Probably see a world-wide variety at SkyWatchFriday.   Also check out the Nepholography page on Facebook.

Just in case you haven’t looked it up yet, “nephelococcygia” (ne-fee’-lu-koe’-ku-jee’-u) as the scientific terminology for “cloud watching” and a person who photographs clouds is a nepholographer.  Nephos = Greek for clouds.  A pareidolia sees shapes in rocks and clouds.

I’m thinking about photos for the 2019 calendar.  Think any of these are worthy?

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