2008_0999 Strike - a photo on Flickriver

2008_0999 Strike

            A few evenings ago, ominous clouds appeared from the southwest just before sunset. It was a grey sunset, so I didn't even consider running out for a shot, but I did keep my eye on the obvious storm front just in case it developed into something. When I saw the first flashes and heard distant rumbling, I scrambled to intercept.

It turned out to be my favourite kind of storm to photograph, and the first of its kind this summer: distant enough to be relatively safe, close enough for high drama, and dry. The rain would follow, but during the first advance of lightning strikes, I did not have to wipe raindrops off my lens.

The lens I chose, by the way, is the oldest in my kit: a manual focus Nikon 24mm f/2.8 that I bought in 1981. It still works well. Now you know why the EXIF data is not present. EXIF did not exist when I bought this lens. I shot at f/8 and f/11 (stopping down as the strikes got closer), shutter on "B", cable release with mirror lockup to eliminate shake, focus on infinity, tripod set up inside my car just in case the lightning decided to jump a few km instantaneously to where I was sitting. It can happen. I doubt that I was much safer in than out, but I felt better about it. 

The best part was a faint trace of the sunset's afterglow on the western horizon. This far north, our sunsets can last a long time. This one element looks even better than I expected: it adds an interesting element, some colour, and clearly separates earth from sky. Because this strike occurred too close to one edge of the horizontal frame, I cropped vertically, and still ended up with a 50 MB hi-res file (saved in TIF format), from which I created this lo-res jpeg. 

Photographed near Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Taken in: Canada / Saskatchewan / Val Marie (show map)

Taken on: August 20, 2020

Tags:

lightning

strike

night

sunset

afterglow

vertical

clouds

electrical

danger

dangerous

powerful

beautiful

wow

nature

natural

force

thunderstorm

night storm

wild

prairie

Val Marie

Saskatchewan

Canada

copyrighted

James R. Page « less

Sets appears in: • Lightning

Groups appears in: • Night Images • Awesome Nature more » • CSSS: Storms - Extreme Weather on Planet Earth • Big Sky Feeling • CSSS: Storms - There Be A Storm A Brewin! • Clouds, Storms, Sunsets & Sunrises • CSSS: Storms - Canada's Storms & Thunderstorms • Living Life Through A Lens • Earth Images Nature Photography • CSSS: Storms - Severe Thunderstorms • Your Very Best • CSSS: Storms - S T O R M S C A P E S • The Prairie Enthusiasts • CSSS: Storms - L I G H T N I N G (CSSS Required) « less

Camera: Nikon D850, 32 sec, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D850
Exposure Time:	32
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	-0.67 EV
Flash:	Unknown (0x70)
Exposure Program:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 22.5 (Macintosh)
Show full info

Stats: 4,250 views / 34 comments

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