Giant Sparks

July 3rd, 10pm, my wife and I are enjoying the evening reading books on our deck. We noticed some “interesting” clouds moving our way. After much deliberation I decided to pack up my cameras and head out just in case it turned into something. It did! There were a lot of giant sparks emanating from the clouds heading more or less earthward. It was very enjoyable to watch. My first stop was south of Joffre across the river looking east. Within minutes the storm gained some life with the odd CG (cloud to ground) strike from the back of the storm, although there were many that only lit the clouds up from inside. After setting up my camera I hit the shutter and waited, and waited, and waited for what seemed like 5 minutes for another strike to hit where I had my lens aimed. I was only seconds from stopping the exposure, to head for another location as more storms were around me, but thought I would pack up my second tripod first and then end it. As I was getting the other tripod into the car I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye. Quickly swinging my head to the screen on the back of my camera, I confirmed that it had indeed captured the strike pretty much exactly where I wanted it!

Printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 310gsm