Up on the deck this evening taking pics of lightning off in the distance when I experienced the
closest lightning strike in my life. I got quite the rush of adrenaline but also came away with a
little gem of an image that shows streamers, those little bits of "bolts" rising from the tops of the
radio towers about 1/2 mile away from me.

A lightning discharge happens in two phases. A charge propagates from the cloud in sections that are
called step leaders. An opposite charge rises up from the ground, usually from tall structures. Those
rising charges are called streamers. When a step leader and a streamer come close enough to each
other then the "circuit" is completed and the main discharge (the lightning bolt) occurs.

My guess is that the actual bolt that created this scene (and accompanying crack of thunder)
was probably less than hundred yards behind me, at most. To put this flash of light into
perspective, this was taken at f/13 at ISO 100 at 10 pm local time. I am glad I was looking away!