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.

Awe-some

Our dog Sasha, like most dogs, is fearful of thunder. In fact she knows that lightning is a precursor to thunder so when she sees it she already starts to cower. When I took her out late the other night to do her thing, unlike most evenings she wanted to go right back in - she had seen a faint flash to the west. Meanwhile I thought it would be a great opportunity to make some shots before the storm moved in.

Over the next hour I watched as the storm approached but never arrived. Although the lightning flashed and thunder rolled, the storm veered south. Several times I peered back into the house to see if Sasha had become hysterical yet, but she slept soundly through it (a blessing of old age ?).

I felt a little exposed standing out on the balcony and in the yard, but the display was both fascinating and awesome. [click on the photos for a better view]

Flash photography

From what I've read, Florida is the lightning capital of the US, and from what we've seen so far in the few days we've been here it's living up to its reputation. I find thunderstorms fascinating, although I do apply common sense and try to stay out of harm's way by following the adage "when the thunder roars, get indoors !"

Last night I missed an opportunity to capture the sunset illuminating towering cumulonimbus clouds just to the east of us. By the time we got home though, frequent flashes of lightning lit up the storm clouds. (I suffered numerous mosquito and no-see-um bites to get some captures, but no bugs were hurt during the session).

(all shots made with an 18-55mm lens at f8.0, ISO800 and shutter speeds of 1/5 to 1/8 sec)

click on images for a better view

(Day 208) A bad hair day

Tues. July 27, 2010

There's a long story behind today's late post - suffice to say it starts with a very early morning plane trip. However, the 365 police might come down heavily on me if I fail to meet today's goal of making and posting (at least) one photo.

So the first goal of making photos today was easily passed. I met this little fellow on the screen of the pool enclosure. I'd never seen a caterpillar with such a unique hair-do - all I know is my mother would never have let me out of the house with hair like that ! And have you ever seen a caterpillar up on its hind legs ?  Look at the second photo and you can clearly see that he's got his hind legs firmly planted as he's railing against whatever upsets caterpillars.

I think that the third photo perhaps explains why he was so upset that he had to raise several legs up in the air in exasperation - obviously all the static in the air was causing his bad hair day.

(By the way, that third photo is the first time I've caught a good lightning strike - something which I find easier here in Florida where they are in abundance).

Since I've only had a few catnaps over the past 36 hours, you'll excuse me if I come visit your blog over the next few days, after some shut-eye.

(60mm  f7.1  1/40 sec  ISO400)

(60mm  f11  1/40 sec  ISO400)

(18-55mm  f11  1/13 sec  ISO400)