Lightning Strikes! by Canon DSLR Challenge

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20-MAY-2008	Alan Mars

Lightning Strikes!

I've seen better lightning strikes but the weather got really NASTY about 15 minutes after I shot this. The storm actually crept around the left side of me and before I knew it I had to run for shelter. By the time I got home it was hailing! Notice the lightning bolt that outlines the tree on the right. Very Nasty thunderstorm which lasted about 30 minutes. Took down a few trees by me.

Canon EOS 300D Digital Rebel ,Sigma 18-50mm f/3.5-5.6 DC
20s f/3.5 at 18.0mm iso100 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	20-May-2008 20:40:02
Make	Canon
Model	Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	18 mm
Exposure Time	20.00 sec
Aperture	f/3.5
ISO Equivalent	100
Exposure Bias
White Balance
Metering Mode	matrix (5)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Program	manual (4)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto

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Canon DSLR Challenge		22-May-2008 20:28
This is much better, Alan. I was also bothered by the headlights but didn't say anything because I couldn't come up with any suggestion other than cropping them out, and compositionally the photo needs all that space on the left. Olaf, of course, came up with the solution...and I'm glad you followed his advice. --Mary Anne

Canon DSLR Challenge		22-May-2008 18:09
We have a lot of lightening here in CO and its still not easy to catch one. I really like the subtle colors in this shot. The purple sky is great. Glad to hear the tornado missed you. They are way too powerful to mess around with. Cheers and good luck getting a lightening shot, -mikey

Alan Mars		22-May-2008 04:22
Mary Anne, Thanks for the compliment. I am also glad I made it home. At one point during my 3 mile drive home the tall grass on the sides of the road were bent over touching the road it was so windy. I found out earlier today about the tornado that went through Woodstock, GA (about 80 miles north of where I live). ...Terrible destruction up there. These photos were a definite eye opener for me. Watching the flashes of the lightning off in the distance feeling secure that it was so far away and then all of a sudden it was RIGHT ON TOP OF ME! Truly an amazing experience I'll never forget. I'd like to try and get some better shots of lightning. There's a storm possibly headed our way Friday. We'll see what happens.

Alan Mars		22-May-2008 04:04
You're right Olaf. It does look a little better that way. I was going to fix that before I uploaded it but at the last minute I decided not to. I think I know why too. The picture just after this one was taken there was absolutely NOTHING happening for 20 seconds. It was very dark and I thought it would be too difficult to get the colors right. Actually all I needed to do was get the dark areas right and just feather in around the brighter colors. It may have actually added something to this photo. Thanks for the advice!

Guest		21-May-2008 21:00
I think this could be improved immensely by cloning out the car lights - the relative brightness of them draws your eye straight to them, first thing, which is a petty since it sort of prevents you from seeing the rest of the frame. Without them, the lightning bolt gets its deserved role as the main subject. Holding my finger over the car lights, I can appreciate the dark, moody atmosphere of the photograph much more. I like the foreground, tones and colors in this photograph and I especially like the way the lightning lights up the clouds!

Canon DSLR Challenge		21-May-2008 20:28
It's a cool shot. Glad you made it home safely! --Mary Anne