The Weekly Photo Challenge: Light got me thinking. In My Pictures I’ve got just over 2,500 photos that stretch back to 2002, though sadly some were lost when my PC crashed a few years back. Yeah, yeah, always keep a back up, blah blah. I know! I do try to make a backup sometime during the day but virus’s mostly come at night…mostly.

Anyhoo, after rooting around amongst the ancient photos in my file-o-photo-rama I found a suitable snap that I think captures the subject of Light quite nicely. It’s serene and peaceful and gives the impression it’s gonna be a beautiful day! I reckon that bird flapping about is lovin’ having the morning sky all to itself!

I’ve got this thing about taking photos of the sky either sunsets or sunrises. I’m on a mission to take a photo good enough to get printed up in a decent size to hang on the wall. So far my efforts have yet to capture anything worthwhile. About 18 months ago I bought a book called The Cloud Spotters Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, as something to read on the daily commute to work.

It was one of those “I’m going to judge this book by its cover and buy it right now!” moments. I used to be very good at Geography at school and remember the lessons on the atmosphere and clouds and precipitation (rain 4 them wot neva went 2 skool) very well, so I figured this book would remind me of those glorious school days, um, well maybe those few lessons I actually enjoyed shall we say.

It surprised me to find it wasn’t just about how to identify clouds and their various functions but it spoke about the philosophy behind cloud watchers, how clouds have been viewed through the ages and what kind of mysticism they held for people around the world.

There’s a lot of humour to be found and it’s a pretty easy read, a sort of dip in when you feel like it book. I carried it around in my bag for months since at the time I travelled to work on the bus and spent a lot of time gazing at the sky, or asleep, or trying to ignore the smelly old woman next to me…why do they always sit next to me?

I’m so glad I can now drive! Bus travel stresses me out big time! If you want some laughs on public transport check out my 10 Things I Hate About Busses!

Ahem, a short digression there, I beg your forgiveness! I really don’t like busses.

So, in a nutshell, The Cloud Spotters Guide is a fascinating book, well worth a read. There’s even a cool website related to the book too www.cloudappreciationsociety.org which is worth a visit if you want to get your cloud spotting groove on!