Clouds: I Can't Escape Photographing Them

Did Ansel Adams spoil clouds for all of us?

As I explained in previous post, “I don’t often photograph clouds, because who could improve on what Ansel Adams accomplished in the 1930s?”

But when one is in the American Southwest, one cannot escape photographing them. I suspect it may even be state law in Arizona that one must photograph clouds when observing desert landscapes. And I certainly didn’t want to wind up in the hoosegow while visiting Tucson recently.

Clouds over the Santa Catalinas, near Tucson, Arizona, July 18, 2025, 12:37 MST.

Here’s one from the guy who spoiled it for all of us:

Ansel Adams, Clouds, Sierra Nevada, California (1936)

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Photo (EXIF) Deets

• Camera Model - OM Systems OM-3

• ExposureTime - 1/125 seconds

• FNumber - 20

• ISOSpeedRatings - 200

• DateTimeOriginal - 2025:07:18 12:27:23

• FocalLength - 25 mm

• FocalLengthIn35mmFilm - 50 mm

• Lens Model - LUMIX G 25/F1.7

• GPSLatitudeRef - N

• GPSLatitude - 32 23.177517 0 (32.386292)

• GPSLongitudeRef - W

• GPSLongitude - 110 57.845112 0 (110.964085)

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