A weather front rolls in from the horizon, storm clouds darken the sky, and (at least 1.3 billion times a year) lightning strikes. Last month, the National Weather Service promoted their Lightning Safety Week, with information designed to call attention to safe practices, helping people avoid lightning strikes which kill an average of 100 people every year. While the exact nature of the initial formation of lightning remains a subject of debate, what is known is that lightning strikes are caused by electrical imbalances present in the clouds. Those imbalances correct themselves suddenly, with an often spectacular light show – which I’ve tried to show here, with a handful of recent photographs of lightning from around the world. (26 photos total)
6 thoughts on “Lightning”
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I still like my version (one of these days I’ll stop posting links to my own photos when you do these Ken).
Your photos — and Garret’s — are among the best anywhere. Always happy to have a link.
What’s the secret to getting good lightning photos?
Well, I don’t know how the pros do it, but I rely on stupidity and luck. For the above, I drove up on top of a mountain with radio towers during a thunderstorm. Once there, I looked for the lightning, whipped out the long lens, and just opened it up for 15-30 seconds per frame. Occasionally, lightning would be in the picture!
(I suppose I do know how the pros do it. You need a tripod, of course, and a timer or cable-release so you don’t shake the camera when you press the shutter button. You can also get a sensor that triggers the camera when there’s a flash. Longish exposures might be necessary, depending on your distance from the lightning and how quickly you can hit the shutter.
And, of course, the fine people at Digital Photography School have a great article on the subject.)
Well I’ve got the stupidity part down pat.
I took this picture through my window screen while playing online poker (free online poker, of course).
Not as good as any of those, but the best lightning pic I’ve ever taken.
Good one Matt. I had a roadrunner in my front courtyard the other afternoon and couldn’t even get a photo of him through the screen with my iPhone before he scampered away.