Timely Cloud Shadows and Backdrops

My afternoon of shooting at SFO with Hayman was a lot of fun.  However, we were a little thwarted by the weather at times.  Banks of clouds would roll in from the hills beyond the airport at odd times.  Sometimes, there would just be a thin layer of cloud that was over the water but it would, of course, be just behind the flightpath of the jets.  The sun might be on them but, with the cloud behind, a white airliner can be a lot less interesting to shoot.

Shooting at SFO is often about waiting for the international traffic.  Endless Untied jets is not really that special but the widebodies from overseas are the ones you want.  Of course, the weather can choose exactly those times to bring in more cloud.  If the sun disappears for a moment, you can bet it will be when the Cathay A350 shows up or something similar.  You just have to work with what you get and keep looking through the viewfinder for that brief instant when the plane pops into the sun through a small gap in the clouds.

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