Lightning Fingers

Was checking out new uploads and this image just shoked me. This is very unusual image since lightning usually goes straight down and not in a spread like you have here. Congratulations on a fantastic shot!

These shots are difficult to get, at least around here. My only suggestion would be to correct for the color shift to bring it back to a more natural look. Still a GREAT SHOT! I know how difficult a shot like this is to get, I'm out every time there are storms around. Welcome to "The Lightning Bug Club."

This is pretty much how the slide looks. I have tried changing the color shift to a more natural look but it just doesn't look at good and I always come back to the original colors. Thanks.

Wow. Nice shot! So, well done.

This is a fantastic lightning picture. Much better

than the average one. I guess viewers don't like lightning to have a purple cast. I recently took and interest in lightning

photos since catching

one of my own.

That's an amazing picture! Very dramatic! Great work!

Rare good luck. I congratulate.

Fabulous shot! I love the way the lightning fills the top part of the frame, the very bottom is still discernible (sp?) in siloutte. I like the blue color shift and would leave it as is....

Congrats!

...that sort of says it for me :o)

About the picture itself, first. The lightning is splendid, and as I read in the comment, the fact that it's "upside down" is certainly a great additional value...

Though, I'd like to say that a little crop on the right side, decentralizing the lightning, would imo improve this image. Secondly, I have seen similar images where the land was lit by the lightning as well, which, to me, is more interesting. Finally, I could also imagine a better foreground...

But well, of course, one can say that this is the best one could dream of getting THERE, AT THAT SPECIFIC TIME... And that's most probably true...This leads me now to a little discussion about the comments left by the elves in charge of this selection...

"This photo represents what photography is about: to be at the right time at the right place."

Sorry, I'd rather say, that photography CAN BE about being at the right time at the right place - but not always is. Precisely because "a lot of images can be planned and expertly executed" - which is just another kind of photography. Remembering here Emil Schildt and Christian Holst's POW recently, which both belong to "the other kind" of photography - the planned kind.

Now, a thought about the "originality" of this POW... Haven't we all seen thousands of similar images everywhere - any stock library will have pages of such shots in their catalogs...? Yes, but not EXACTLY like this one, one would say... Agreed... Yet, let me ask, who made this shot different from similar ones ? Not the photographer imo, but rather "God" or "Nature" - depending here on individual believes. Had Nature or God decided to make an uggly lightning, well, the photographer would have needed to try another time...

Basically, here's all the nonsense I see from the start in this "Originality" rating on Photo.net. I'm glad it will soon be gone. Am I to consider this shot as 1 in a million of similar ones, or am I to consider that this one has its own originality - which is mostly due to luck, though expertise is of course required...?

Sorry, but this is why I never rate lightning shots on Photo.net. To me, it's just one in a million kind of shot, and the photographer is only responsible for a tiny part of what I see...

Judging from the comment by the elves, I believe this POW selection was meant to foster discussions on the true essence of photography. Well, that's my take about it.

Please note: a street portrait captured in a glance can also be seen as a "lucky shot", but I'd say that it will have a lot more input from the photographer - choice of an angle, of a DOF, of which expression to capture, etc... and therefore, it could have been a better example to foster this kind of discussion the elves were looking for.

Finally, I'd say that Creativity is still what matters most to me personally, when it comes to appreciate an image. Originality is about the result, Creativity is about the process.

I wish POW selections were based on Aesthetics and Creativity - but that's just me of course.

As far as Aesthetics are concerned, I'd give this image an 8 for the reasons explained above. Today, I'm glad it isn't a must to rate images on originality...

Congratulations to the photographer for this well executed capture.

Finally, a POW that really impresses me and is worth commenting on for me. This is a very aesthetic picture with beautiful lightning patterns and colours. Its very original to shoot this trivial motive with 30 sec exposure time to get the effect of the multiple exposure for the lightnings of different moments. I wonder if the perfect framing is a result of cropping since we are allowed to enjoy it here only in a comparatively small size.

Great job! This photo reminds me on cover of Dire Straits' Private Investigations album (or Telegraph Road, I can't remember) which I always admire (both album and cover photo).

Nice image, just one comment though and that regards the direction that lightning travels in. As I understand it, lightning does actually travel up the way towards the sky and not down as most people assume. I am sure that somebody more expert than myself could comment further on that, but it did come as a surprise to me at the time to learn that.

 

I've seen a silent lightning storm, with dozens of ghostly beams of light apparently rising up from the ground like some weird laser light show. That was very strange and of course I didn't have a camera with me at the time!

I think this shot is definitely worthy of POW. As a lightning enthusiast myself, I know how difficult it is to get shots like this. I chuckle a bit when I see people comment on the color cast of lightning shots, as it is a sure-fire sign that they have never shot lightning themselves.

 

Marc G: "Sorry, but this is why I never rate lightning shots on Photo.net. To me, it's just one in a million kind of shot, and the photographer is only responsible for a tiny part of what I see..."

 

You're entitled to your opinion, Marc- but isn't that true for just about any outdoor photography? If you tried to do this type of photography yourself, you'd understand that it is a helluva lot more work than meets the eye.....

 

 

The correct title of the Dire Straits album mentioned above is Love over Gold and the titles that Hrvoje mentioned are two songs on it. (And, Yes, I agree ... it's a good album.)

As for this photo, ehhh (accompanied by a nod of the head and shrug of the shoulders). I certainly can't fault it on technical grounds but to my eye, lightning alone does not an interesting image make. Perhaps if the trees weren't all in silhouette or there was something in the foreground of interest...

this is definitely an awesome shot. it wouldnt be photo of the week if it wasnt, duh. you should be extremely happy that you got this one :) i would be for years im sure. i have a few lightning shots in my portfolio that you can check out if you have time. once again, great work!!!

Perhaps if the trees weren't all in silhouette or there was something in the foreground of interest...

I agree. I like Michael James' Lightning near Bizzel clock tower photo at least as much as this one for that reason. The lightning itself, however, appears much more powerful in this image because of the shape of the "fingers" and because no warm colours whatsoever are present.

No, Chris, I wouldn't say the same thing about any outdoor shot at all. To me, when one opens the shutter for 30 seconds to capture what ever will happen during that time, he doesn't know where (nor if) the lightning is going to fall. That's what makes a major difference for me, since there is no possible premeditation, no real choice of a composition etc.

This POW captured a miracle - it's the nature of the genre not to be able to choose much... By no means a critique - just an observation.

just a fantastic capture Cory. Congrats on all your fantastic images. Dave

that creating the opportunity to get this shot probably took as much, if not more effort and planning than most still life work, portrait work, and other types of landscape work. Put me at Mono Lake or Yosemite for a few days, and I'll come back with alot of really nice images. I chase storms probably 30 times a year, and am lucky to come away with 2 images that make the grade. The false notion of setting the aperture at f8 and holding the shutter open for 30 seconds is a false one, IMHO. Finding the right aperture to use is not automatic, as there are many types of lightning, and each has its own quirks..... Also, it takes major rocks to sit out in a lightning storm with all hell breaking loose around you, while you are standing next to an aluminum or carbon fiber lightning rod (tripod).

 

Like I said, you are entitled to your opinion, but good lightning photography takes all the planning and skill that portrait photography takes, adds an element of high danger, and has a subject that is far more unpredictable than a typical landscape or person.

 

Just my .02

A couple of questions, please. What is that cloud or puff of smoke in the center? Is this one strike or more than one? What's the significance of 30 seconds? I would have thought that the aperture was critical and that you would set your shutter on 'B'.

I really like the color myself. The silhouette of the foreground really puts the size into perspective. I'd hang it on my wall.

 

 

A spectacular capture of this exact moment in time. In looking at your folder, you seem to find the very essence of the subject, very simply stated to the eye, yet very profound in the complexity of the subject. My congratulations on a well deserved POW.

 

Barry Gilliand

A roofer putting up new shingles on my apartment complex was killed this morning. Why? Struck by lightning. Glad you are still with us, Cory! Smart move on staying in your car.

 

. . . I wish my lightning photos looked this great. Keep up the great work.

I was pretty suprised this morning to see this shot was selected POW. There are so many other shots that could have been selected just as easily. I have been checking in when possible today to read the comments and I must say they have been interesting. I thought I should take some time and answer the few questions that have been asked.

 

Toby - No photo is worth dying for so I try to be as safe as possible when shooting lightning, though there is always some risk. If I can, I shoot from a window mount or else I keep my tripod as low to the ground as possible.

 

Carl - That cloud is just part of the thunderstorm. Around here in the summer, we get these kinds of storms where the lightning crawls through the sky. You can watch them in a split second creep from one end of the sky to another. This shot is just one flash as far as I know or maybe two flashes at the same time. 30 seconds seems to work for me when there isn't a lot of light pollution. I will adjust if the sky is brighter. I have shot Bulb before, leaving it open until a flash and then closing it, but I don't always like the sky that comes from that method.

 

Chris - You are right, it takes a bit more than just pointing the camera to the sky and firing away. People make their own luck to some extent. I go to spots I have already visualized as good lightning spots, set up my shot, and wait for the lightning (hopefully) to make an appearance.

 

Allan - You are right. Lightning goes ground up but that part is invisible. If I remember right the electric current then heats the air and causes the ions to glow. The air collapses back after the bolt ends and slams together to create thunder. Some of the coolest lightning I have seen has been when I couldn't get a picture, of course.

 

Yang - There is some cropping to balance the shot. The bolt going off to the left is actually complete but I think the shot is too uneven, especially in a small size like the web version.

 

Thanks to everyone for their comments. I will post another lightning shot taken one week before this one. Not as dramatic to view but a little close for comfort considering it was at 24mm. I think it was from these earlier shots that I was better able to set up for this one. I will put it in my landscape folder for anyone interested.