Clouds That Look Like Things

Apr 11, 2012 10 comments

Spotting shapes in clouds is a delightful way to pass a lazy afternoon. There's even a society dedicated to cloud spotting. It’s called the Cloud Appreciation Society, founded by Gavin Pretor-Pinney to foster understanding and appreciation of clouds, and to fight “blue sky thinking”.

A clear blue sky has always been associated with good, happy weather – a perfect summer’s day, while cloudy skies are regarded as a metaphor for doom. Nothing could be more depressing, it seems, than to have ‘a cloud on the horizon’. Gavin Pretor-Pinney decided that this has to stop. “Someone needs to stand up for the clouds”, he says. So in 2004, he started the Cloud Appreciation Society and few months later launched a website. People sent in their cloud photograph, which he put up on the gallery pages for others to look at. The early trickle of submission soon swelled to a torrent. Today, it has over 29,000 members worldwide from 83+ different countries, and many thousands of amazing images.

Below is a collection of some of the most peculiar cloud formations.

clouds-that-look-like-things

alexmonkey

A cloud monkeying around over Bangkok. Photo by Alex Cliff

alien

Cloud Alien ahead.....Eagle River Valley, Colorado. U.S. Photo by Terry Robinson.

Aladdin's lamp, spotted over The Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Photo by Andrea Andreoli.

baby

A baby floats over Zurich, Switzerland. Photo by Danièle Siebenhaar.

chicken

The big chicken on the roof of Manor Market in Bishop California, is being mirrored in the clouds. Photo by Andrew Kirk.

dog

dolphin cloud hastings sussex

A dolphin leaping from an inky black sea over Sussex, UK. Photo by Beryl Pratt.

dolphin

Dolphins at play, Sausalito, California. U.S. Photo by David Holbrooke.

Dougheart

A heart in the clouds over Norwich, UK. Photo by Doug Taylor

DOVEPAULES

A Dove over Kent, UK. Photo by Pauline Reay-Earnshaw

eagle cloud

Eagle soars over Cambridge. U.K. Photo by Christie Nel.

elephant

Elephant in a storm cloud, taken on holiday at Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand. Photo by Graham Blackett.

feather

A feather over Brockenhurst in the New Forest, Hants., UK. Photo by Chris Gleed-Owen

heart

A heart over SuperDevoluy, Saint Etienne en Devoluy, France. Photo by Emily Morus-Jones

hummingbird

A hummingbird over Berryton, Kansas, US. Photo by Shannon Franks

JackPalanceCloseUp

Jack Palance, spotted over Loudonville, Ohio, US. Photo by Catherine Wilson

jellyfish

A jellyfish over Berry, New South Wales, Australia. Photo by Mark Muirhead.

kitty

A cumulus called Kitty, Western New York. U.S. Photo by Diane Mariotti.

man with flowers

A man running with a bouquet of flowers. Spotted over France. Photo by Rudolf Wehrung.

mushroom

A giant Mushroom over North Jutland, Denmark. Photo by Jan Hertoghs

poodle cloud 1

Poodle spotted over Sanderstead, Surrey. U.K. Photo by Alex Brooker.

poodle

A poodle with shades enjoys a day by the sea over Blackpool, Lancashire, UK. Photo by Bill Williamson.

rabbit chilwell

A rabbit hopping over Nottinghamshire, UK. Photo by Andy Jamieson.

rat

Shhhhhh dont tell anyone. There's a monster rat over Tortona, Alessandria, Italy. Photo by Pietro Cordelli.

smiley

A sunset smile over West Hollywood, California, US. Photo by Christine Murphy.

smoking

Little Cumulus cloud from East Texas, US, smoking. Photo by Jan Morris Marek.

snail

A snail, spotted just before sunrise over Anglesey, UK. Photo by John Rowlands

Turtlecrocodile

A turtle travelling on the back of a crocodile over the border between France and Spain. Photo by Jean-Francois Guillot

witch

A witch or the grumpy old man in the muppets over Bangkok. Photo by Alex Cliff.

yourefired

The iconic scene from TV programme The Apprentice, when Lord Sugar says "you're fired", acted out over Bangkok. Photo by Alex Cliff

Comments

  1. am i the only one that sees just clouds? :/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i enjoy watching clouds, as there are various shapes that look like animals or people. i am amazed at their colours as well. i am also amazed at the speed they can travel.

      Delete
  2. That chicken one is really convincing, right down to the coxcomb.

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  3. The smile is super super!

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  4. Is there a special term for the cloud formations that look like imaginary formations or for the cloud watchers who see them?

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  5. I have a picture that I took a few years ago of a mushroom cloud or "atomic bomb" cloud that is much better than the one on here. How can I get it submitted? (With copyright of course)

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  6. Shapes are a matter of interpretation. "Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in the shape of a camel?" "By th' mass, and 'tis like a camel indeed." "Methinks it is like a weasel." "It is back'd like a weasel." "Or like a whale." "Very like a whale." (William Shakespeare, "Hamlet

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  7. It's amazing because I love clouds very much

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  8. I think the shapes in the clouds are really good and amazing! I wish people weren't so flipping negative! I'm so tired of negative people posting comments about something not negative.

    ReplyDelete
  9. ....thought I was the only one who sees clouds changing themselves into various things before they disappear. I did really enjoy this page and expect to see some more new pictures next time.

    ReplyDelete

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