Clouds

February 26, 2008, 5:07am. View from an airplane.

February 28, 2008, noontime. View from ground.

The first photograph is from while I was flying to Narita, and the second was taken in Hokkaido, Japan. I've always enjoyed taking the window seat while flying, looking out to see the clouds beneath, or looking out to see that we're in the clouds.

A visible mass of water. The reflection and absorption process, scattering, and refraction of light by the clouds and the atmosphere give clouds their color.

Viewing the clouds from above them, from below them, at different times of the day, and at different distances and angles, produce very different colors. The reddish hue from the atmosphere, the bluish-grey from the cloud itself, the white from being illuminated by the sun, or more properly explained by Mie scattering, which states that clouds scatter all wavelengths of light equally. The difference in brightness at the side of the cloud, and at the thick or thin parts of the cloud.

Color and brightness are subjective and relative. Just like how each individual perceives things differently, based on what goes on in our minds - our belief system, our experiences, our intellect, and our emotions.