Ocean Storm
Days waiting for a storm to break over Surfer paradise. It didn't happen, but on my last night, it hit out to sea. Just a small patch. I went tight to catc...
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Days waiting for a storm to break over Surfer paradise. It didn't happen, but on my last night, it hit out to sea. Just a small patch. I went tight to catch lightning bolts, then decided to catch the breaking waves simultaneously with my wide angle. Rapt with that decision.
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Jan, 2018Views
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Magnificent Capture
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Behind The Lens
Location
Burleigh Heads, Gold Coast, AustraliaTime
It was the final day of a week long holiday, with that view from our unit. All week, those spectacular Queensland summer storms had been threatening. But delivered very little. I was desperate for some crashing lightning over the lights of Surfers Paradise, which is left of frame of this photo. But after waiting and hoping and trying to catch something, I thought my chance had passed. Until this cell swept across the water around 7pm on 13 January, 2018.Lighting
The luck of lightning and fading light, helped me use a long exposure to catch as many strikes as possible. I'd tried to go in tight but it wasn't working for me. So thought I'd pull wide to have the blur of the breaking waves as well as the lightning.Equipment
I was using my Canon 70D with Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 EX DC HSM on a tripod. 30 secs at f8, ISO 100. I stacked 4 images to show the activity of the cell.Inspiration
I love trying to catch lightning and it had been a frustrating week with threatened storms, but no action. When it finally hit, it was offshore and at first I thought too far away. So I tried something different - switching to my wide angle lens and giving the context of the shoreline.Editing
This cell was pretty active, but get that cluster of lightning bolts, I needed to stack a few of the best images, which I did in Photoshop. I also had to lighten some of the darker sections of coastline in lightroom.In my camera bag
I've invested in my glass - knowing one day soon I'll upgrade to a full frame body. So a Canon 70-300 + Sigma wide angle. Love my little Nifty 50. My general purpose zoom is next on the upgrade list. I can't live without my polariser or my 10 stop ND filter. I use a Canon 70D - which is brilliant for the WiFi connection to my iPhone for remote shutter release.Feedback
Don't stop taking photos! You never know when the next lightning is going to hit and how big it'll be. But most importantly - be adaptable. I set out with a very specific image in mind - of lightning crashing above city buildings. I wanted to zoom in on those buildings and fill the frame with light. Instead what I walked away with was something entirely unforeseen, but a shot I love .. from one of my favourite destinations.
