year-long photographic experiment shooting clouds everyday

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Clouds 365 Project is Coming to a End

It’s a new day. I started the Clouds 365 Project on July 1, 2009, and on June 30—four years or 1460 days later—the Clouds 365 Project will end, allowing my cloud and weather photography to grow in new ways. It’s bittersweet, saying goodbye to the rules and routine of Clouds 365. And I won’t really be saying goodbye. After all, clouds are imprinted on my mind and deeply rooted in my life and the life of my family. Every day will find me carrying my camera and looking up at the sky. And I will continue to share images through Facebook, Google+, and kellydelay.com regularly.

I love this project; I always will. I love the support I have received over the years, which has been amazing and humbling. I love what the project has taught me about myself and what I am capable of, and I am proud of the level of creativity I have been able to maintain. I love what it has taught my children and how it has allowed us to play and learn together. What I have learned in the past four years has been astounding (about my equipment, processes, weather, printing, social media, myself, and on and on). Here are a few intersting notes from the past four years, I have:

• Posted 1630 images on clouds365.com;
• Shared over 400 images of sunrises and sunsets;
• Photographed the sky in 26 states; and
• Have shot over a million images (including time lapse)

I’m proud of what the Clouds 365 Project has accomplished, for me and for the community. Because of the work I started in Clouds 365, I have become an environmental/ weather photographer. It’s who I am now. And I’m grateful for what you’ve done for me as well. You have pushed me, and you have made me a better person, artist and photographer.

So why close the Clouds 365 Project? While most days it was a joy. I would jump out of bed ready to photograph the sunrise or travel hundreds of miles in search of a great location or storms. I truly love what I do. There were those days, though: the sixty days out of the year that have clear skies, smog, 110° days, birthday parties, illness, etc. that sometimes made it difficult. Moreover, the areas around me—my favorite fields for sunrise and sunset, for capturing the flight of a hawk or the quiet of a misty morning—are disappearing. Trees are being bulldozed here, roads paved, and houses built on what once felt like my windows to the sky.

But that’s not all there is to it, either. The pressure to post a new picture every day was important for developing the discipline and awareness that was essential to the project, but now that those things have become ingrained in me, I also need a chance to reflect on what I’ve done—on what we’ve done. I’m excited about having the time to explore clouds in new ways, to go back and reflect on the images I’ve taken and how they fit together. Taking this time to reflect will only improve my future work.

I’m ready to step out as myself and develop my own identity as a photographer. That’s what I’ve become through this project. Clouds will remain a project for me, a very dear one; but it’s not all of who I am. Don’t think I’ll be far away, though. I have big plans for Clouds once I can step back and work on it with a fresh perspective. I have dreams for a book, a show, prints, etc. Having amassed a huge collection of photographs that reflect the many moods and spirit of clouds, many of which have not been published, I look forward to showing my work in new ways.

Making this difficult decision has also made me appreciate anew the community and the people who have supported me over the years. There are many who have touched me deeply with their comments and their loyalty. Some have followed since day one and shared their clouds, their hopes and losses. I have made many new friends because of the Clouds 365 Project and hope that I have inspired you to take a moment to look up. I will from time to time be contributing more to the Clouds 365 Community, and that website will keep going on as long as you want it to. And of course, there is no one I have to thank more for their commitment to this project that my wife Stephanie, who is also a photographer and the project editor and my two daughters, both of them artists already.

June 30 will be a celebration of all we’ve done together (and look for something special to celebrate the occasion!). I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the richness of the experiences and relationships I’ve had. June 30 also marks the beginning of the next stage of my journey as a photographer, and I hope you’ll come along with me on the ride!

- Kelly

Supercell Extra Images – 4-01-13

Below are extra images from the incredible supercell on 4-01-13. We chased this storm several hours in West Texas with a stop in Paducah, Texas and ended up outside of Throckmorton, Texas on the side of the road watching a supercell come at us. This storm was very strong was obviously (see below) producing amazing lightning.

I uploaded higher resolution images for your personal enjoyment, please click on the small image to enlarge. If you would like to license any of these images, please let me know at kelly(at)clouds365.com. Prints will be available soon.

2-08-13 – Sunset – Extra Images

Bright and colorful sunset in Frisco, Texas on Friday night. Spend a hour sitting in a field watching the sun go down and light up the sky. Ended up with several images I was happy with. Here is the one  I posted as my daily image on the main site:

2-08-13 – Sunset – Frisco, Texas

Here are 2 extra images I thought you might want to see. Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think. Be sure to click to enlarge!

Wide view of sunset, Frisco, Texas – 2-08-13

Close up view of sunset, Frisco, Texas – 2-08-13

1-29-13 – Extra Storm Chasing Images

A line of storms formed East of Dallas / Ft. Worth yesterday (1-29-13). Several surrounding counties were under a tornado watch starting in the early afternoon. Decided to go east towards Denton and Decatur Texas to take a look. I was not expecting much, but was surprised when the storm was over us.. it was beautiful to watch. There was not much lightning once the storm past, but we were treated to mammatus clouds (below). Had a excellent time chasing with fellow photographers, Mike Mezeul II and Maegan Rachelle. I think we are all ready for spring to come!

I posted 2 images from yesterday that can be found on the main site: http://www.clouds365.com/1-29-13 and http://www.clouds365.com/1-29/1-29-13-part-2. Here are a few of my favorites from yesterday I had to share. Be sure to click on the images to view the larger high resolution images! Let me know what you think.

Storm Over Farm – Decatur, Texas – 1-29-13

Approaching Storm. Scene right when we pull over- Decatur, Texas

View from Lake Lewisville – 1-29-13

1-29-13- Lake Lewisville Storm and High Winds

Airplane flying over Lake Lewisville. The wind was 30-40 mph. No Thank You!

Mammatus forming over stock pond. Back edge of the storm

Mammatus Clouds Up Close – 1-29-13 – Decatur, Texas

1-24-13 – Fog Sunrise – Frisco, TX

It was a special morning in Frisco, Texas. I set up at one of my favorite spots to capture the sunrise. The cirrus clouds in the distance were already started to glow, 45 minutes before the sun hit the horizon. As you can see in the first 2 shots below, the color was spectacular. I noticed fog starting to come in, just in time for the sun to come up! I had one camera set up taking wide shots that I ended up putting together for a time lapse video above.

Here are a few of my favorites below. Click to enlarge and let me know what you think :)

Before the sunrise in Frisco, TX. The horses were grazing in in the fog

Beautiful color off the cirrus clouds prior to the sun coming up.

Fog rolling in right before the sun comes up!

Fog starts to glow as the sun rises. I feel I am surround by orange light and fog

Red-tailed Hawk in the tree watching the sunrise!

1-11-13 – Sunrise – Frisco, Texas

Working on this project for over 3 years, I have seen many sunsets and sunrises, most of them around where I live in North Texas. I have run out of adjectives to describe the really good ones, especially this morning, it was special. Not only was it colorful and beautiful, I got to share it with my daughters. It was “Donuts with Dads” this morning. Instead of going to school first thing, we took donuts and watched the sun come up. The sky was very blue because of the rain we have had the last few days. The conditions were great for a colorful sunrise. The first image was the image I posted on the main site as today’s image (http://www.clouds365.com/1-11-13), it was also the very first shot of the morning. The rest are in order. I love the color progression, just beautiful!

Click on a image view a high resolution version. Please leave me comments below, would love to know what you think!

1-02-13 – Sunset – Frisco, Texas

Another version of the beautiful sunset in Frisco, Texas. Used my 70-200mm for this one. This was one beautiful sky! Click to enlarge

Here was the image I posted for my daily shot on the main website. Used a wide 16-35mm for this image. There was so much going on!

Let me know what you think!

12-19-12 – Extra Sunrise Image

Beautiful sunrise in Frisco, Texas this morning. These images were 10 minutes apart during the pre-sunrise glow. There were low, fast moving stratus clouds that were obscuring the color most of the morning. These images were the times the clouds would open up and show the red, then orange glow above. Was a very nice way to start the day!

Click to enlarge

10-13-12 – Supercell Extra Images – Olney, Texas

10-13-12 – Supercell at Twilight, Olney Texas

Conditions were right in North Texas to Southern Oklahoma this past Saturday for isolated supercells and tornadoes. Ended up 3 hours from DFW in Throckmorton, TX chasing a storm into Young county until after sunset. Captured one of my favorite images (above) from the project in Olney, TX (http://www.clouds365.com/10-13-12). We watched it move away from us hitting the perfect light and then gave us a lightning show. Below are a few of the extra images I wanted to share from this beautiful fall storm chase. (more…)

9-28-12 – Red Sunrise – Frisco, Texas

Here is a extra image from the incredible pre-sunrise glow this morning in Frisco, TX. This was the scene when I walked outside this morning. The sky was bright red. I drove down the street and within 5 minutes the sky was orange and red. I posted that version here: http://www.clouds365.com/9-28-12