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August Lightning
August Lightning
bmartin


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Hidden Gem -- 1,000th Challenge! (Advanced Editing VII*)
Camera: Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Date: Aug 16, 2005
Aperture: f/10
ISO: 100
Shutter: 3.2 sec
Galleries: Landscape
Date Uploaded: Mar 10, 2009

Taken on the prairies of Southern Saskatchewan Canada during a late summer storm. A cool sky with a bright sun setting behind a wall of rain with a bolt of lightning over a small farm.

This is the most exciting scene I have ever captured.

The lightning was shooting down in all directions but I decided to risk it and wait a few more minutes and that's when lightning struck right in the middle of the frame. It may look far away in the photo but... it was worryingly close. Scared the bejesus out of me and I knew then that I was too close. Knowing that I gotten the shot I quickly retreated to the car just before the rain hit. Seeing the results on the camera LCD screen a shiver went up my spine and I thought, this is what landscape photography is all about. How exciting.

I love it when the power and beauty of mother nature along with the intent of the photographer come together all at once.

Statistics
Place: 28 out of 1129
Avg (all users): 6.7903
Avg (commenters): 7.6452
Avg (participants): 6.7750
Avg (non-participants): 6.8800
Views since voting: 2034
Views during voting: 740
Votes: 515
Comments: 101
Favorites: 11 (view)


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AuthorThread
03/18/2009 03:08:33 AM
Great capture. I am guessing that the strike was probably less than a mile away? Wow!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
03/17/2009 11:56:28 PM
i can only imagine what the original looked like before you processed it. whatever, you did a nice job both capturing and processing.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 11:36:10 PM
Stunning. What an amazing capture and beautiful color as well.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 10:08:53 PM
Love it. Excellent scene, execution, etc. Certainly one of the better lightning photographs I've seen.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 09:59:46 PM
To catch the lightning at such a moment is really remarkable.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 09:44:12 PM
OH, WOW. Best lightning shot I have seen in a while. I like the the colors you captured, bule sku, orange/yellow sun cast, and green field. Hands down. 10+
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 09:42:44 PM
spectacular capture - I can't imagine doing this better!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 06:04:05 PM
cool catch!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 03:46:11 PM
stunning!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 02:48:33 PM
too cool.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 01:22:14 PM
Wonderful colors and capture.

Not voting yet.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 01:03:48 PM
Wow! Great timing on that capture, I'm impressed. The colors are simply fantastic.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 12:43:46 PM
Right place. Right time.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 10:13:53 AM
Nice color.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 07:13:14 AM
cool.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 06:44:36 AM
Electrifying composition.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/17/2009 04:20:27 AM
great colours and a very nice lightening capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/16/2009 10:28:24 PM
Wonder if it struck those trees, or if it was many miles away. Very nice colors, love the falling rain in the distance.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/16/2009 07:53:28 PM
Great colors, very nice picture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/16/2009 06:58:52 PM
dramatic and colorful, great capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/16/2009 03:22:58 PM
Good capture. Nice colors as well.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/16/2009 12:54:54 PM
Spectacular!

Great colors, nice drama, great composition, great timing, -- hoocheemomma this is one excellent photograph.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/16/2009 12:51:09 PM
that is so freaking aweomse. like, really freaking awesome-10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/16/2009 09:28:21 AM
Nice shot! I'am never in the right place or the right time to capture lighting.
03/16/2009 05:28:56 AM
Excellent. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/16/2009 04:29:24 AM
Awesome capture and presentation. Gorgeous. Wow, wow, wow! Would love to be standing where you are!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 11:23:42 PM
Wow. Grand scene. Fantastic range of colors.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 10:59:09 PM
Wonderfully saturated colours here! What a moment!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 10:01:18 PM
whoa!!! awesome capture nice detail love the colours
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 08:09:20 PM
I like this because you have the complete picture with the land and the sky. Great coloring, sharp shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 07:18:23 PM
great capture of this spectacle of nature
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 06:52:43 PM
Great capture and fantastic color. If it were mine it would be a wall hanging by now!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 06:30:23 PM
I appreciate the patience you have for capturing a lighting photo, I have 1 lighting photo under my belt and I feel your pain ;)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 05:01:00 PM
Voted earlier coming back to leave comments now. Wow! Great capture of this lighting strike. You just did not capture a simple lightning striking the ground but there is also a significant amount of cloud to cloud lightning as well. Timing is always a matter of luck and patience when trying to capture this force of nature. So kudos to you for being lucky and possibly having a tremendous amount of patience to try and try again to get a good capture. Teh processing brings bold and vibrant colors that add to the visual appeal of this photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 04:29:37 PM
Amazing capture, the colors are extraordinary.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 04:11:28 PM
Wicked shot pretty but deadly at the same time.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 02:37:08 PM
nicely done! cool shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 01:07:02 PM
Lightning isn't easy to capture, much less to capture an incredible streak like this. The colors of the sky are stunning, and to get one frame with the combination of the two... amazing! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 10:38:34 AM
Very nice image. It's good to see a few "great" images. This is a perfect reflection of your abilities as a photographer.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 10:17:16 AM
This is amazing. Not only the fact that you managed to capture the lightning, but the colours in the sky are fabulous.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 09:30:49 AM
Wow - fantastic shot! The colors are so vibrant!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 09:30:08 AM
This is beautiful. I love it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 05:22:16 AM
Beautiful!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 05:04:57 AM
amazing! 9

brano
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 01:42:42 AM
The slender of nature captured very well. Nice work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/15/2009 12:07:18 AM
nice colors and great get on the strike
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/14/2009 08:45:08 PM
While the lightning seems to be the main attraction here (har har), I find the patterns in the clouds very interesting. Hope no one was standing under that tree.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/14/2009 08:23:41 PM
GREAT use of color & PP! Truly an amazing capture. Excellent work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/14/2009 05:38:02 PM
Very nice! New fave for me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/14/2009 04:29:56 PM
Incredible colors and lighting capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/14/2009 12:15:17 PM
Great capture and awesome colors!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/14/2009 12:01:17 PM
Be careful. It is interesting how we miss some of this with our eye.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/14/2009 11:32:49 AM
the colour work really adds to this shot, great drama
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/14/2009 10:35:05 AM
A tad oversaturated maybe. Great capture though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/14/2009 06:54:05 AM
I can see you now....

Click the shutter, check the LED.... S M I L E

Excellent photo, one of the best lighting entries and one of the best I have ever seen. Great work
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/14/2009 06:02:21 AM
wow, great capture of the lightning with the added bonus of such fantastic colours
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 11:12:58 PM
Nicely captured, the sunset and the lightning go well together
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 10:03:02 PM
Wow! That is incredible.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 09:11:30 PM
Dramatic capture! Great colors!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 08:01:22 PM
Nice colors
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 07:21:49 PM
Wow! What a capture!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 03:40:17 PM
holy crap! this is a great shot! I absolutely love the transition of colors and the contrast of those storm clouds, supremely well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 02:02:41 PM
oh wow lovely colors!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 12:02:54 PM
What amazing colors! (I know I know... "oooh what an amazingly original comment" that's what everybody else said too probably, but it's TRUE!)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 10:25:40 AM
wow, this a excellent capture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 08:01:45 AM
Beautiful lightning and lovely colors!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 05:26:53 AM
Excellent shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 03:51:33 AM
Lightning can be so tricky to capture, yet alone capture well like you've done here - excellent :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 02:50:24 AM
Wow. It almost looks like a water color painting. Vibrant colors and amazing lightning capture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/13/2009 02:35:23 AM
Incredible. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 07:42:27 PM
Wow , I love these kind of shots, This is a nice capture , but the oversaturation in the blues makes the clouds a little unnnatural. Still I like it , 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 07:25:26 PM
Nice lightening picture. I like that the foreground isnt cluttered with phone wires and other distractions. Good color and detail.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 06:57:25 PM
Nice lightning!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 05:39:08 PM
Beautiful colors, perhaps a tad bit over done, but a very nice captured scene.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 05:13:08 PM
amazing storm - love the colors
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 03:38:12 PM
awesome, great capture, love the colors
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 03:05:44 PM
great colors
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 02:43:17 PM
all i can say is WOW.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 02:29:28 PM
Very nice. All my storms lately have had no lightning.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 01:34:17 PM
Excellent capture. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 01:25:02 PM
Good picture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 12:25:07 PM
Great capture! Very cool & love the vivid colors!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 11:58:00 AM
What a capture! Magnificent stuff!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 09:40:44 AM
Wow - those are amazing colors together. This is spectacular!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/12/2009 09:34:10 AM
Great elemental capture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 11:09:30 PM
WOW! very nice!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 10:39:12 PM
Awesome storm shot! This will be really high on my list!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 08:38:09 PM
Oh wow.. great colour in this shot, and really cool capture of the lightning.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 08:06:11 PM
The colors are a bit over-saturated, but in a way it works for the image. The shot itself is very, very cool! Wonderful capture and interesting way of presenting it. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 05:08:50 PM
incredible
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 04:36:04 PM
oh, wow...talk about catching the moment...beautiful
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 02:57:19 PM
Spectacular capture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 02:54:48 PM
grat colors and great capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 01:55:44 PM
Wow wonderful timing. Great shot of capturing the lighting all across the sky.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 01:26:50 PM
Once in a lifetime capture, and done well..
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 11:45:03 AM
Very nice capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 09:58:29 AM
Beautiful capture. Nice range of colours.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 05:42:51 AM
cool capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 01:04:26 AM
WOAH - that's something from a Weather Channel calendar or something. Intense! Love the colors.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 12:19:52 AM
awesome colors
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/11/2009 12:05:20 AM
Beautiful processing. I love the red horizon and blue clouds, and really nice horizontal and vertical lightning capture. Good choice not to use the rule of thirds; the bottom would have been negative space.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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