Thursday, August 30, 2018

Too Close for Comfort !

I've been AWOL (or MIA) for the past 10 months and I have a raft of excuses for not being active here - but I won't list any. I have wrestled with those good intentions of posting once again, and I finally landed here. It was not due to stepping back from photography - I have many folders of 'unprocessed film' that need to see the light of day (for me anyway).

Late on an evening about 3 weeks ago when I was in Florida, I heard the distant rumble of thunder - not at all an unusual event at that time of year. As I heard continued rumbling I thought I'd step out to see if there was a photographic opportunity. Indeed, the sky was being continually lit up but it appeared that the storm was quite some way off (based on the time between lightning and thunder).

I would normally use a tripod to photograph lightning but had left it behind up north. With the camera braced against my chest, and with breath held, I managed to get a few shots of the spectacular light show:





I continued to shoot while also counting seconds between flashes and peals of thunder and figured that with at least 12 seconds between them, the storm was still at a distance. That theory clearly was disproved when the very next flash lit up my surroundings so brilliantly that I thought it had removed me from this world. I could literally feel the electricity in the air. Upon realizing that I could still move, I hastily retreated inside on what I will admit were shaky legs. Since I had the shutter open when the flash occurred I can share my near-death experience:



The exposure times were similar in all 3 shots but obviously the flash proximity and intensity was not. Lesson learned (I think) for next time.

5 comments:

Ruth Hiebert said...

The first two shots are spectacular.Now,I have to say, no picture is worth risking your life for. Good to hear from you again and to see your fantastic photos.

boromax said...

Fabulous photos! I really like how the cloud is rising up in the second one. You could have charged up your "Back to the Future" deLorean!

Helma said...

I was not on the blog for months.
My dear grandson of 5 1/2 years died last year October 31st. He came under an American Dodge and was finally run over.
The grief is great and the lack of the little man too.

Your photos are beautiful. I found the lightning bolts beautifully photographed.

Kind regards, Helma

Pamela Gordon said...

Wow! Incredible shots. I'm glad you survived that close one! I've been MIA a lot too but did post twice recently. Have a great fall!

Manu World said...

Lovely. I am still trying to catch some thunderstorms too with my new รง
Camera... But now few more years r gone... And I incidentally bought a new camera .. ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ˜œ