“Life goes by so fast
You only want to do what you think is right.
Close your eyes and then it's past”
Social Distortion lyrics from “Story of my Life”

If you follow my photography, I love photographing clouds in the Eastern Sierra.  The area’s geology creates an environment that allows the creation of a diversity of clouds.  Some that you will not see in most locations. 

In the Eastern Sierra if you watch you can regularly see:

•        Cumulus white puffy cotton balls

•        Stratocumulus, low, puffy, grayish, or whitish clouds that occur in patches with blue sky
  visible in between

•        Altocumulus, look like the wool of sheep light and fluffy

•       Cirrus, thin, white, wispy strands of clouds that streak across the sky

•       Nimbostratus, rain, and snow clouds

•       Lenticular, atype of Altocumulus, stacked on top of each other like pancakes. Think of our beloved Sierra Wave

•      Cumulonimbus,the king of the clouds, thunder, lightning, you know fear of God type
  clouds

As an Eastern Sierra landscape photographer, I especially love it when, just after sunset, the clouds go nuclear changing from white and grey into vibrant orange and red colors.  But this change also illustrates my frustration with clouds and the reason for the quote.  They never stay the same changing from moment to moment.

Sometimes, I will see these awesome, fully defined, Lenticular clouds. I will rush to get my gear and get to a good location to take pictures.  By the time I get to the location and set up my gear, they have morphed into something else. Even more frustrating, watching them all day then getting a location l early to a spot.  The sitting, waiting, and then presto like magic they are gone.

Understanding how clouds form and dissipate can help you plan a little better and eliminate some of the whiffs, but clouds are never truly predictable.

There are times I will say the clouds are not high enough to change color or they will dissipate and don’t go chasing them.  Then the next day on Facebook there are these awesome images of the clouds in vibrant orange and red.

The only thing you can do is take your chances and just go.    Accept the fact that you are going to have some whiffs but also know you will capture some once-in-a-lifetime images as well.

That is also one of the life lessons that clouds can teach us.  In life, it is better to take the risk and just go. Otherwise, as the song lyrics say, you “close your eyes and its past.”

Or as Ferris Buller said “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”