Blue Skies and Cloudy Skies: Skyscapes Part I

Colorado landscape photo by J.J.

Why is the sky blue? It is because of the atmosphere. If we were astronauts standing on a planet that had little or no atmosphere, we would be looking up through the face-plates of our helmets at the blackness of outer space. Instead, we are looking at that blackness through a deep layer of atmosphere. If we look sideways toward the horizon, we are looking through even more atmosphere — complete with dust, smoke, industrial haze, etc. By the time you look at the horizon, you may find that the sky has lost most of its blue and has taken on a yellowish tinge. This is most noticeable in the winter. The blue color of the sky is produced by the reflection, refraction, and scattering of light by particles and water droplets in the atmosphere. I have looked at skies on three different continents and have seen a large variety of blues. One factor in the blue of our Colorado skies is that much of the state is a mile or more above sea level. That means there is a mile less atmosphere between us and the edge of outer space.

Sky reflected in a pond, photo by jljardine

Sky reflected in a pond, photo by J.J.

We talk about "clear blue sky" but it is not a uniform blue and it is a mistake to portray it that way. If you are simply using the sky as a background for your subject, you should still make your sky realistic Otherwise, your picture will lack depth and naturalism. The darkest blue is directly overhead and grows lighter closer to the ground. It is not enough to simply lighten the blue you used for the top of the sky.. There are different blues in the sky and you will need more than one to show it realistically — as in the picture to the right. Look at the reflection of the sky in the pond. You can see the deeper blue of the sky overhead, which is not visible in the photograph itself. Such details make a composition come to life.

original of "Racing the Dragon," photo by jljardine

Uncropped original of "Racing the Sky Dragon," photo by J.J.

You can also see this gradual change in this photograph, even though it is interrupted by clouds. You can also see that the clouds are darker on the bottom and brightest at the top. If clouds are very close to the ground, they may pick up earth tones in their bottom shadows. Notice that the clouds disappear below the ridge. You cannot see the horizon in this picture. What you see is the horizon line, which is the ridge the solitary cyclist is riding along. If your composition is primarily about the clouds, you should still put in a strip of land or sea at the bottom of the picture to emphasize the vastness of the sky. The ridge and rider do this well.

Old cabin photo by J.J.

If the subject of your picture is in the foreground, however, make the sky and clouds simple and unobtrusive, without sharp edges. They should be light in color if they are contrasted with a darker, very detailed subject like this building. If the foreground is brightly illuminated, on the other hand, you may want to deepen the sky colors and make the edges of the clouds, as well as the shadows at their bottoms, more distinct. Try to find a pleasing balance between foreground and background.

Skyscape photo by J.J.

What are clouds and how do they form? Water evaporates from the surfaces of earth and sea and rises in the air in the form of vapor. Eventually the cooling vapor begins to condense into tiny droplets. This area is called a "ceiling' or a "condensation layer". It is here that the water droplets become visible to us as clouds. Clouds move and change shape, driven by the wind. The shapes are quite varied. If you want to use clouds in your compositions, you may want to make a collection of photographs and/or sketches of clouds for reference. There are many classifications of clouds. I will deal with the three most generalized ones.

Downloadable cumulus cloud background by Annake

Click here to download

These are cumulus clouds. they are most common in the summer. They are generally rounded at the top, thick, and fluffy, often piling high into the sky. They are sometimes called "fair-weather clouds", and are used in many depictions of summer scenes. This sketch is downloadable. You can use it as a background to practice your own compositions.

Clearing skies watercolor by Annake

On the other hand, cumulus clouds also form the basis for the storm clouds we call "thunderheads". Driven by strong winds, the tops — while still rounded — are more broken and the edges are less distinct. Dark gray clouds may show through the irregular edges, as well as through breaks in the clouds themselves. The column of clouds towers over the land, dimming the light below it and casting shadows on the land. The shadows at the bottoms of the clouds are a darker gray — often showing an ominous green or purple cast. Features on the ground are darker and less distinct, and may be obscured by light gray streaks of falling rain. As the storm departs, the columns of clouds break up and the sky clears from the horizon upwards.

Cirrus clouds, photo by J.J.

Cirrus clouds are less common than cumulus clouds because they form from ice crystals at very high altitudes. Sometimes they form an anvil-shaped cloud. More often they are blown by the wind into thin wispy or scarf-like layers at different elevations. They often move in different directions and at different angles. J.J.'s photograph shows this type of pattern. She even captured the reflection of the cloud pattern on the water. The clouds form interesting patterns, but the patterns change very quickly, so they are difficult to capture. These are probably the most difficult of the kinds of clouds to portray, but they can be spectacular, particularly when they are back-lit by a rising or setting sun. Cirrus clouds in a clear blue sky almost guarantee a beautiful day. But don't get too relaxed. They signal a change in the weather usually within 12 to 24 hours — and that change is not generally for the better. If you can determine the place where the clouds originate, you will know what direction the changed weather is coming from.

Stratus clouds watercolor by Annake

The third type of cloud is a Stratus cloud. These clouds form layers at different elevations. They are formless layers of cloud with fuzzy edges. They are very slow-moving and often hover over a region for hours and even days. They look very dense, but sunlight or moonlight can sometimes shine through them or reflect off them, as you can see in the upper layers here. They are not serious storm clouds, although they may produce a drizzle or light snow. This is a picture of stratus clouds that I painted in watercolor. Their slow movement gave me time to capture the entire scene. I tend to paint what I see, even if my picture breaks some of the "rules", so you can believe that this scene was as accurate as I could make it without a camera.

If you are not already a sky-watcher, try to become one. Skies are usually most interesting in the early morning and the late evening, but unusual cloud formations can appear at any time. When you see one, try to photograph it, make a simple sketch of it, or jot down a description of it in quick phrases. Once you have collected a few, think in terms of how you could use them in simple designs or compositions. Just remember that skies with clouds are usually more interesting than those without them.