Integration: Active Volumes Part 2

I previously wrote about how shots with clouds not only need cloud movement but need parallax in the Z plane: Clouds closer the camera move faster than clouds further and closer to the horizon.

I became aware of the concept of different cloud elevations when doing previous studies, but I wasn’t sure of what artistic concept they could apply to at the time.

Elevation Parallax 

What surprised me while watching a video from The Washington Post was that I never considered that having clouds at different elevations would result in another dimension of parallax. The clouds at the lower level move faster than the ones above it in the Y plane. This adds a little bit more depth into the shot.

Wind Shear

The last concept related to cloud elevation is wind shear. Wind shear is the different wind direction and speed of clouds at different elevations or isolated areas. (I found it interesting how it adds an extra level of cloud variation on top of cloud type.)

More on wind shear:
https://www.boldmethod.com/blog/lists/2018/12/the-4-most-common-sources-of-wind-shear-at-low-altitude/

This concept seemed new to me at first, but I remembered what I learned about hot air balloons growing up in New Mexico:

"During the flight, the pilot's only ability to steer the balloon is the ability to climb or descend into winds going different directions. Thus, it is important for the pilot to determine what direction the wind is blowing at altitudes other than the balloon's altitude." - Wikipedia