Electrified

Gallery: LandscapePosted August 1, 20111,851 views24 comments

This was the first time I ever had the opportunity to photograph lightning. I took this a couple of weeks ago while in Arches NP. The cell that produced the lightning was isolated in one part of the sky and I was able to keep a safe distance while firing off 4-second exposures. I missed a lot, but also got a few good ones. For scale, Balanced Rock is located on the right horizon and the lightning was striking a good distance beyond the horizon.
Thanks and comments welcome,
Rudy

D700, 24-70mm
f18 @ 4.0s, polarizer

Comments

24 comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on August 1, 2011 at 7:50 PM

Cool! I love the drama here. Good you were someplace with nice scenery so you could just react to the situation. I'd like to have one of these for my portfolio.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on August 1, 2011 at 7:55 PM

Fantastic capture Rudy! Amazing energy with a beautiful landscape below.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Crabbe on August 1, 2011 at 8:01 PM

Wow, great shot. Balanced Rock is way cool in there.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 182 Posts, 1840 Comments

Comment posted by Joseph Kayne on August 1, 2011 at 8:04 PM

OOOh AAAh!!! Excellent. I may take some of the blue out of the sky.....burt maybe not....marvelous, especially the sky over balanced rock!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 573 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on August 1, 2011 at 8:36 PM

Fantastic shot Rudy. Almost makes my hair stand on end. Larger image even better. Love the drama. A joy to look at.

Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on August 1, 2011 at 9:03 PM

What a catch! The entry point of that bolt on the right is especially cool.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on August 1, 2011 at 10:11 PM

Wow! Very cool to have witnessed and shot this. Those rocks provide a perfect foreground for the awesome blue clouds and lightning.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Joseph Balcken on August 1, 2011 at 10:15 PM

Very cool, Rudy. For something a bit different you could try a vertical pano with blanaced rock and the bolt on the right.

Registered on November 29, 2009, 48 Posts, 249 Comments

Comment posted by Yiming Hu on August 2, 2011 at 5:01 AM

Such a rare opportunity! The positions of the bolts (between rocks) are perfect.

Registered on April 28, 2011, 38 Posts, 733 Comments

Comment posted by Kevin Trinkner on August 2, 2011 at 5:27 AM

Love lightning shots Rudy, and this one is great. Lots of drama and energy to enjoy. Very nice.

Registered on June 30, 2008, 203 Posts, 2641 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Anderson on August 2, 2011 at 6:10 AM

Wow, quite the capture in time!
A stunner!

Registered on September 6, 2007, 346 Posts, 2696 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Cameron on August 2, 2011 at 1:01 PM

Electrifying oh I love the opportunity to pun. Seriously nice lightning shot though. I reckon a vertical pano of the Balanced rock and lightning bolt would be an epic crop and highly marketable..

Registered on August 6, 2004, 1125 Posts, 3318 Comments

Comment posted by Kent Mearig on August 2, 2011 at 1:49 PM

The lightning itself is really beautiful in this image. I don't remember noticing the more faint bolts or variation in visibility in other photographs the way I do in this one. Adding the interesting landscape beneath the sky is a great touch.

Taking an image like this to the next level would require being much more deliberate with the composition of the land occupied portion of the image, since it's not really possible to control the placement of the lightning.

Registered on September 4, 2006, 237 Posts, 4748 Comments

Comment posted by Christine Jackson on August 2, 2011 at 2:28 PM

ZORCH, beauty and danger, I love it!

Registered on September 19, 2010, 20 Posts, 244 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on August 2, 2011 at 2:29 PM

Awesome shot Rudy. This has to be one of my favorite lightning pictures. What a great landscape to go along with the lightning. Fantastic.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on August 2, 2011 at 3:48 PM

Geeze Rudy that is a powerful scene! Makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up!

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on August 2, 2011 at 4:28 PM

Wow!! you are so lucky

this is incrideble

Registered on June 1, 2009, 372 Posts, 2282 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on August 2, 2011 at 7:50 PM

The lightning adds a lot of drama, but even without the lightning I like this. I like the cooler tones in the rock formations complimented by the storm clouds. It's also interesting to see Balanced Rock in the wider context of its surroundings. Great work!!

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on August 2, 2011 at 8:50 PM

Unique perspective, amazing light, Rudy. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on August 3, 2011 at 12:01 AM

Pretty cool, Rudy! I might crop about 1/2 the fg.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Svein-Frode on August 3, 2011 at 8:37 AM

Cool shot! Sky seems a tad too blue?

Registered on November 13, 2003, 9 Posts, 277 Comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on August 3, 2011 at 12:58 PM

Feels very dangerous! Wonderful shot of some very dramatic conditions. Certainly no nits from me.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Chikku Baiju on August 4, 2011 at 5:54 PM

Very cool shot. The colors in the sky and the landscape make this is a great shot. And the lightning is awesome too!

Registered on January 9, 2010, 31 Posts, 246 Comments

Comment posted by Reed Bowman on August 6, 2011 at 11:24 AM

Wow! Not much more to say...glad you made it out alive...just beautiful!

Registered on March 2, 2009, 166 Posts, 1058 Comments