This photo was featured on COAST TO COAST AM WITH GEORGE NOORY.

I was using a Hoya R72 infrared filter on my Olympus C-2100 digital camera. (F/2.8 - ISO 200) I was zoomed in, since the cloud was rather far away.
The shot was taken in Southern New Jersey, and I was aiming in a SSW direction.

It was only enhanced as far as color correction and contrast. I used a vignette correcting plug-in to lighten the edges of the image where the IR filter casts shadows. I think I also got rid of a hot pixel that was on the arm area... you can see it on the new photo I'm posting since that was left as it came out of the camera.

This photo was taken photo was color corrected, because I was using an infrared filter, but the cloud shape appears as it did in the sky.

Infrared helps to define clouds by causing the sky to become darker. It's great for black and white images, but it alters the natural colors, and with the filter I was using, it causes the sky to appear either pink or magenta.

I saved the color corrected version of the image over the original, so I have now included a different, unedited shot of the hand taken moments later as the fingers of the hand began to fade. If you click "next" you can see that image.

A plane is passing through it (or more likely above it) in this one. It is not as sharp, and I did not color correct it or use contrast enhancement like I did on the original one posted. The pink sky is an effect of the IR filter, which I had also corrected in the shot I posted.
You can see how the enhancement is needed to correct the color and bring up the details.

The cloud was one small wispy cloud that was rather far away. The IR filter helped to make it visible.

It's not a hoax. It's fine if you don't think it was real. For the record, I'm not claiming that this is anything but an oddly shaped cloud caught at just the right moment in time.

Oh, and it is resized for the web using Photoshop Elements, but I don't really consider that "Photoshopping".

Anyone who would like a copy of the larger version of either image is welcome to email me. If you use the images or post them anywhere, please credit the photo accordingly.

I hope this helps to explain it a bit more. I've never sent anything in before, so I didn't expect the amount of emails and questions that I got!