Clearing storm

Gallery: LandscapePosted September 7, 2012237 views11 comments

A massive line of thunderstorms passed near us last night, marching across central Kansas for over 3 hours. The lightning was amazing. This was taken near the end of the storm, as it cleared to the northwest. I have cloned out a couple of lights and a telephone pole. The crop is larger than I like, but I had a wide lens on at this point before going back to a longer lens. 7D, ISO 800, f/4.5, 7 sec.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Eirini Pajak on September 7, 2012 at 2:00 PM

I love how delicate the lightening makes the clouds look & the few stars that are visible! Did you have much more room to the left that would have included the tips of the lightening?

Registered on December 13, 2011, 216 Posts, 1671 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on September 7, 2012 at 6:51 PM

Rob,

Wow, what a great catch! The large version really stands out! Here with the smaller version, the stars aren't strong enough to hold the right and so the image seems unbalanced. But not so with the larger version. Great job!

Not really a nit, but I'm wondering if you should straighten the ground. I expect that your camera is level and it's simply the lay of the land - no problem. But since there is no vertical or horizontal reference in the sky with the lightening or stars, rotating this slightly I don't think would hurt anything and then keep people like me from commenting on tilted horizons...

No biggie though really.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hansen on September 7, 2012 at 7:45 PM

Really interesting shot. Beyond the immediate, "wow", I love the way the bolt lightens the upper and lower clouds as well as the precipitation band. The stars are a great addition to this. What focal length did you use?

Registered on May 5, 2011, 161 Posts, 908 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on September 7, 2012 at 7:50 PM

Amazing lightening dance Rob. The lighted clouds do look spectacular.

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

Comment posted by Rob Graham on September 7, 2012 at 8:39 PM

Thanks for the comments. Eirini, to the left, where the one bolt ends, another starts :). Lon, I can see your point about straightening the horizon. Jim, this was at 22mm, which is why the crop is larger than I would like. Thanks, Eva, the light from the bolts really lit up the clouds :).

Registered on August 22, 2006, 842 Posts, 2824 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on September 7, 2012 at 11:04 PM

Lightning and stars? Very nicely done!

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on September 8, 2012 at 9:03 AM

The combination of lighting and stars is just amazing! Great job in capture and processing! I don't know how much you've already cropped, but it might be interesting to get the horizon out completely.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on September 8, 2012 at 7:24 PM

Rob, This is really cool looking! That lightning looks awesome and I love how the clouds are lit up. The stars are an extra nice touch here. The large version shows this off really nice.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Morris McClung on September 8, 2012 at 10:15 PM

Great bolt caught here. And, I love that we can have stars with our lightning shots now with digital! Very well done!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Chikku Baiju on September 10, 2012 at 12:55 AM

Thats a crackin shot! I have always wanted to get a lightning shot with some stars. You sure caught a beautiful one. Just awesome dude!

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

Comment posted by Marc Ward on September 10, 2012 at 8:51 PM

Rob, wonderful catch! I wonder what this would look like with the ground and part of the right side cropped out. Fabulous lightning.

Registered on February 26, 2009, 304 Posts, 1365 Comments