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The power of Lightning
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The power of Lightning



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While I lived in tropical Darwin, Australia, I always looked forward to see the amazing lightning storms during the wet season. I know understand why Darwin ha...
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While I lived in tropical Darwin, Australia, I always looked forward to see the amazing lightning storms during the wet season. I know understand why Darwin has been named the Lightning capital of the world.
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cameraCanon EOS 5D Mark II

settings Aperture f/5.6 ISO 100 Shutter 86/1 Focal Length 42/1 

upload_dateJan, 2016

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9043

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Awards

Chatter Award
Top Shot Award 22
Contest Finalist in Night And Rule Of Thirds Photo Contest
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Runner Up in Celebrating The Sky Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Celebrating The Sky Photo Contest
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Peer Award
kattoolavi68 Ulysees Vorster gman176 Jaspa davidjprosser PhotosByJEM +376
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lauraenglebert Sara_wright18 Wendy01 fikrihumani joshuasubijano Evanheiges Somefoxtrails +167
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16 Comments |
jimhelmick
 
jimhelmick January 20, 2016
Over the top photo - also scary as hell.
Shashiclicks
 
Shashiclicks March 09, 2016
awesome...
JohnCater
 
JohnCater March 12, 2016
Fantastic Shot.
Cairnphoto Ultimate
 
Cairnphoto March 12, 2016
Spectacular. That is some outstanding timing and maybe a little luck! Awesome work!
anitaselvog
 
anitaselvog March 14, 2016
What an amazing capture!
rmr731 Platinum
 
rmr731 May 17, 2016
Magnificent capture!~ Wow!!
ge1701
 
ge1701 June 09, 2016
One of the best shots I have seen in a long time
Tamstms
 
Tamstms June 11, 2016
Amazing
siegart
 
siegart June 14, 2016
amazing and dramatic photo wow
Philjmainey PRO
 
Philjmainey June 14, 2016
Love it! And your description and tips
PiPiPiP
 
PiPiPiP June 14, 2016
Amazing
mareemckenzielopes
 
mareemckenzielopes August 16, 2016
Love this ??????
F3tart-bobert Platinum
 
F3tart-bobert February 18, 2017
Stunning
benwood
 
benwood March 08, 2017
Wow...!!
gazza60
 
gazza60 March 16, 2017
amazing
johnchilver
 
johnchilver June 30, 2017
Fantastic image

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#lightning #australia #ocean
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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in Darwin, Northern Australia

Time

Late in the evening, when the darkness had set in and when the storms rolled in from the ocean.

Lighting

Lighting in all its forms and shapes is what makes photography. Chasing that unique light and being able to capture it is not only a skill, but a true passion. Getting the right light and capture it in a unique way is what defines you. Trying to capture the forces of nature and these spectacular lightning bolts has truly been a huge learning curve in all kinds of ways. But flyer many tries and many near misses it is like a dream come true when you see the perfect light reflect in your own photo.

Equipment

My Canon 5 D Mark II with my 24-70mm lens f2.8 and my tripod

Inspiration

Having lived in the Northern Part of Australia for a while I was fascinated by the forces of nature and these very powerful lightning storms that light up the skies here during the build up and wet season. It is also why Darwin is the lightning capital of the world. In many ways these storms scare me, but they also drew me out in trying to capture them.

Editing

Just some cropping and a small correction of the horizon.

In my camera bag

Always my Canon 5D Mark II and my Canon 7D. Then my 2 favourite Canon lenses which are the 24-70mm f2.8 and the 70-200 f.8. I also carry my wide angle as well as my 50mm prime. Always my tripod and of late my newest toy which is the Sony Alpha7II.

Feedback

With Lightning you have to be prepared. First of all while chasing these storms you want to check the radars for where the storms are, which way they travel and the intensity. Always be careful on how close you get and where you position yourself. But once you are in control of the safety part, make sure you have your tripod and remote. Choose long exposures for the evening (I choose BULB, so I can control myself), and start shooting. It took me many tries in order to get the perfect shot, but the mistakes all lead to the perfect shot finally. I know many storm chasers now use these devices that recognise the lightning coming out of the clouds, but it is still the challenge in trying to capture it all yourself, which I did in this photo. And last but not least, with lightning you just don't know where exactly it will shoot or come out of the clouds. And my big mistake in the past was that I constantly moved my camera where I saw a strike. But be patient, choose an angle and trust you will get it.

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