Cloud Appreciation Society founder, author and ‘namer of clouds,’ Gavin Pretor-Pinney will be beating a path to the Big Skies of Bozeman on Wednesday, October 11th at 7pm, for a talk about cloudspotting in the Museum of the Rockies’ Hager Auditorium.

Cloudspotting with the Cloud Appreciation Society is an illustrated tour of the skies featuring a collection of stunning photography, sourced from Society members around the world, including local members of the society based in Montana. 

An enlightening and entertaining speaker (whose TED Talk about clouds has been viewed nearly 1.4 million times on YouTube), Pretor-Pinney will describe some of the many varied and dramatic cloud formations around the world, what they tell us about the atmosphere, and ourselves, and the cameo role they’ve played throughout the history of art and literature. His Bozeman lecture will lean into Montanans having “a front row seat for the sublime majesty of the sky.”

Headquartered in England, the Cloud Appreciation Society has 62,000 members in 120 countries. Pretor-Pinney is the author of the best-selling Cloud Collector’s Handbook (2009), and A Cloud A Day, published by Chronicle Books (2021) and available at local book stores.

“The digital age conspires to make us feel busier than ever,” says Pretor-Pinney. “Cloudspotting, by contrast, is an activity that legitimizes doing nothing. We need excuses to do nothing! Happiness comes not from a desperate search for stimulation elsewhere but from finding what is intriguing, surprising and ‘exotic’ in the everyday stuff around us. You don’t need to cross the world to be amazed. You just need to step outside and look up every now and then, as if you’re seeing the sky for the first time. When the sky puts on a show, you just have to be prepared to pause what you are doing and engage with it,” he adds. “Looking up is an easy, free way to detox from the pressures of the digital world,” he quips.

Part of a tour of the U.S. organized with the help of members of the Society, Bozeman is Pretor-Pinney’s only stop in Montana. Bozeman resident Maggie Clark coordinated the Bozeman leg, and says she’s delighted with the interactive way the Society works: “It’s a fun community to be part of, whether your interest in clouds is scientific, or more emotional and artistic, or both!”

Area residents are invited to submit their favorite cloud images in advance for discussion. Send JPG or PNG images to: events@cloudappreciationsociety.org. Include your name, and an image caption including location, plus an email address. 

Tickets are $10 - $15 ($10 for students) and can be purchased at: https://bozemancloudspotting.eventbrite.com 
More information is available at: https://cloudappreciationsociety.org