civilized ku # 1062-64 ~ sturm & drang / front & lightning
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 01:38PM 
Storm front / lightning over the bay ~ Stone Harbor, NJ • click to embiggen
Storm front looking SW ~ Stone Harbor, NJ • click to embiggen
Storm front looking NE ~ Stone Harbor, NJ • click to embiggenThis storm front, sweeping in from the NW like a Steven Spielberg special effect, stretched from horizon to horizon - not something we often get to see, end-to-end wise, in the Adirondacks.
The front brought in the storm which eventually moved out over the ocean later that evening and afforded me the opportunity to make the heaven and earth pictures.
FYI, the heaven and earth pictures: the pictures were made by placing the camera on a tripod and making a whole bunch of 4 second exposures. I ended up with a bunch of "blank" - no lightning - frames and about 20 lightning streak / lightning flash (illuminated sky, but no streaks) keepers.
The 4 second exposure allowed for "luck" - which, I must point out, most often rewards the prepared - in capturing the lightning. In the case of the storm out over the Atlantic, the frequency of the lightning was such that I basically made one after another exposures with very little elapsed time - 5-10 seconds - between exposures. I captured lightning in approximately 1 out of every 3 exposures.
The lighting in the storm front picture in this entry was captured using a 1/200 shutter speed and pure unadulterated dumb luck - I snapped 6 quick frames, 5 had no lightning, 1 did. When the picture was viewed on my iPad shortly after the making thereof, the assembled crowd - 70-80 of the wife's relatives - was amazed at my picture making skill and abilities.
Obviously, I didn't tell them about the dumb luck part and I won't tell them if you don't.
Reader Comments (3)
"Dumb luck?" or "coincidence?"
When the picture was viewed on my iPad shortly after the making thereof, the assembled crowd - 70-80 of the wife's relatives - was amazed at my picture making skill and abilities.
To be expected... we are amazed by your picture making ability nearly every day!
Thanks for sharing how you made the images Mark. It is a great series.