The shapes of clouds are always changing; no two clouds in the world are exactly alike. If the clouds near the airport display distinctive shapes, and an aircraft happens to fly into the frame, it presents a perfect photo opportunity.

At Haneda Airport, large white cumulus clouds appear in the background. An aircraft taking off from Runway 34R has just lifted off, and for those few seconds while retracting the landing gear, the high-rise buildings of downtown Tokyo serve as a perfect backdrop.

As for the sunset glow, that goes without saying. Just hold your breath and尽情 admire the combination of nature’s creation and human-made transportation.

Does this large mass of cumulus clouds look like a UFO?

Does this large mass of cumulus clouds look like several stacked pancakes?

Sometimes you can even see these rare funnel clouds. They appear for a very short duration, beginning to deform and gradually dissipate after just about 2-3 minutes. I was originally hoping an aircraft taking off from Runway 05 would join this scene, but unfortunately, there were no flights during those few minutes. So I had to make do with this 767 on the ground before it completely dissipated; the result turned out to be passable though.

The bright patches between dark cloud layers are also excellent subjects, especially when the Star Wars livery R2-D2 joins the frame.

Even the most ordinary scattered white clouds, if a 787 happens to fly through with its nose up, seem to evoke a sense of wanderlust, accompanied by a voiceover that seems to say — “Wishing you a punctual arrival at your destination, and a comfortable, safe, and pleasant journey!”

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