Clouds are often viewed as a nuisance, either due to signaling rain, or ruining your attempt at a sun tan. But for photographers, clouds are essential, as they alter and filter light to create some beautiful scenes.

There are a lot of different types of clouds, and even within photography there are many ways to use them. Clouds can be used simply to frame an image, or to alter the light quality, or they can be the main subject.

In this post we’ll look at 30 awesome photographs that feature clouds in some way, shape or form.

Clouds of Fire by Eben

Cantus Arcticus by Jared Lim

Surfing over the Clouds by Xavier Jamonet

Floating in the Clouds by Danny Seidman

Storm Clouds Over the Field by Stefan Eisele

Rivers of Clouds at Moonlight by Roberto Bertero

Ocean of Clouds by Daniel Montero

Almost There by Matjaz Cater

Ominous Clouds by J. Ota

Untitled by Alexandr Popovsky

Cloud City by Sebastian Opitz

UFO by Dmitry Dubikovskiy

Paragliding by Yavuz Sariyildiz

Mammatus Clouds by coulombic

Milky Way Above a Sea of Clouds by Roberto Bertero

Red Reef Sky by Glenn Crouch

Bed of Clouds by Evgeni Dinev

Touch of Light by Martin Rak

Flowing by Þorsteinn Ingibergsson

Heaven Can Wait by Matjaz Cater

Watercolor Clouds by Jean Marc Champeval

Foggy Morning by fproject

Golden by David Scarbrough

Freedom by Ali Shokri

Rapture Clouds by Tom Lowe

Island by Robin Holler

The Middle of Time by Michal Karcz

Always Somewhere by Vernon Trent

Untitled by Sean McCormick

Anchored by Karsten Wrobel