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:iconlx34:

~Lx34

Richard
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Lightning...I felt the static in my hair!

Journal Entry: Fri Sep 28, 2007, 8:16 PM
  • Mood: Content
  • Listening to: silence
  • Reading: about lightning
  • Watching: the lightning outside
  • Eating: nothing
  • Drinking: kombucha
So I was driving home marveling at this amazing this New Mexico sky. These dark ominous clouds were rolling into the valley, and I had the feeling I might have been in for one awesome sunset...maybe even a full double rainbow.

So I hurried home, grabbed my gear and took off west to one of my favorite photo hotspots. There I am out in basically the plains of the Taos valley, on a high point no less, standing next to a metal tripod full extended and its lightning all around me!

The camera is set to 400 ISO, f/20, and about a 13 to 20 second exposure, and I'm punching the button on the remote every time I hear the chime of a finished frame, just praying to catch a bit of lightning!

Ok time for a break - so heres a little science Ive learned about lightning:

There are basically 3 types of lighting:

  • Cloud to ground - self explanatory

  • INTERcloud - which is lightning between two clouds

  • INTRAcloud - lighting withing one cloud



So I'm standing there whispering to the clouds "c'mon! give me a bolt...c'mon" When suddenly I get a bolt of intercloud lightning RIGHT OVER MY HEAD! I am not exaggerating this: it literally felt like someone tussled my hair! Like the static reached out and made my hair stand on end for second!

I involuntarily shouted "OK! Time to go!" I packed my gear and didnt really want to take the tripod, but sort of had to, and ran back to my car where I setup the tripod in the passenger seat and kept on shooting.

Needless to say it was an exhilarating time! Even sitting in the car watching the lighting, hoping the shutter was open was a blast! I promise this valley is one of the best places for lightning shots! In certainly places you have a 360 degree view with awesome mountains as a backdrop!

Unfortunately due to the inability to predict where the bolts would actually hit and high noise due to higher ISOs and long exposures, I only ended up with one DA worthy shot.

But rest assured I will be out there again when the next storm comes!

So in "light" of my new found fun, here are some awesome lightning shots of fellow deviants Id like to honor:



11 Comments

Devious Comments

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:icondodongo:
~Dodongo Sep 28, 2007, 8:41:50 PM
Thanks for the feature, it is much appreciated. The rest of these shots are incredibly impressive.

--
Keep it real, DA isn't a popularity contest.
:iconjakethesnake999:
~jakethesnake999 Sep 28, 2007, 8:43:06 PM
Thanks for the feature. I really appreciate it.
:icondaskibum:
=daskibum Sep 28, 2007, 9:02:51 PM
Thanks much for the feature. Know what you mean by close lighting and the wanting to get the hell out of there reaction. lol. I haven't shot much lighting, but had 2 hit closer than wanted in my last series, and had a few close calls other times. Gets the heart rate up a bit. lol.

Nice choice on the features.
:iconmoonlit-torch:
~Moonlit-Torch Sep 29, 2007, 6:07:15 AM
^.^ that sounds scary lol next time take a rubber mat with you. there is also 'ground to cloud' lighting. its really the charged particles are atracted to eachother and when they build up enough they want to flow so they jump back to the clouds (i'm not making this up!). also the reason you might get hit in the first place from any lighting is if your grounded and the lightining can flow through you. if you on wood or sititng on a sturdy wood table on a rubber mat with you camera on rubber you have a better chance of not atracting lightining in the first place >> though its never a good idea to be out in a storm e.e you can always get hit no matter how careful you are you just cant predict it x.x

i do like that pic you managed to get though. i like how it's behind the mountain, they are like dancing twins ^.^ together in the clouds!

--
"Cry out and fall in love with sad hope."

clubs:
*Ex-po-zure
*unseen-photographers
Admin & Founder of *amateur-manips
:iconcrestmultimeadia:
~crestmultimeadia Sep 29, 2007, 6:19:51 AM
Nice lightning shots! I know the feeling of sitting there and waiting for them. I must have taken 50 or sixty shots trying to get the one good one I got. I was using "the force" to try and predict when one would hit :)
:iconlx34:
~Lx34 Sep 29, 2007, 10:57:24 AM
haha hey me too and "the force" told me to get the hell out of there!

--
Great photographs are independent of great scenery. ~Lx34

~High-lighted *flower-lovers *HDR-Club *Everything-Nikon
:iconlx34:
~Lx34 Sep 29, 2007, 11:04:08 AM
indeed you're right there is ground to cloud lightning and cloud to ionosphere lightning! Yep, thats lighting that we never see from the ground, as it occurs up above the clouds, and is often red, blue or green! Pretty cool stuff.

Maybe I'll invest in a plastic or some sort of nonconducting tripod :XD:

--
Great photographs are independent of great scenery. ~Lx34

~High-lighted *flower-lovers *HDR-Club *Everything-Nikon
:iconmoonlit-torch:
~Moonlit-Torch Sep 29, 2007, 12:03:53 PM
^.^ lol that would be a good idea, then we wont have to read the paper about "rouge photographer crisped in storm!"

--
"Cry out and fall in love with sad hope."

clubs:
*Ex-po-zure
*unseen-photographers
Admin & Founder of *amateur-manips
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