Sparks are Flying

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As a child I noticed how great the photography is in National Geographic magazine. The photographers know how to tell a story in their snapshot of time. Many of these photos are masterpieces: perfect lighting, perfect exposure, great content and perfect composition. Some people say that it's being in the right place at the right time and it was a lucky shot. I agree!

As a photographer, I have had this dream to have an image good enough to be in Nat'Geo'. The type of images that I take, the landscape have been done by everyone in the world that holds a camera. I have shots that will bring tears to your eyes and some that are just cool to view. I think that my style is ever changing. I am trying to perfect my craft and be a better photographer. I try not to look at the same place in the same way that I photographed it in the past. Look outside the box. Is there a better way to see this image. Higher, or lower? Earlier or later in the day, or at night under moonlight? I have images shot in the direct sunlight while using a flash. It yields a completely different effect.


A few years ago I became interested in lightning photography. It's like trying to tame a beast and here in Tucson, AZ the monsoon season can be a very extreme "beast". I think that lightning photography can be so beautiful. I like it when the image of lightning is combined with an inanimate object that tells a story or shows it's location.



A lightning strike is extremely violent. The spark can be as long as five miles and contain a hundred million electrical volts. It can raise the air temperature by 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, compressing the surrounding air which is heard as thunder. The lightning detection systems in the US, "sees" one hundred strikes per second, on average, around the world.



August 14, 2008, while tracking thunderstorms on the internet Doppler radar, I watched a very powerful cell form at the Mexican border, 50 miles west of Tucson heading east. It was producing 100 lightning strikes per minute and intensifying. I drove 25 miles to Gate's Pass, a west facing ridge on the west side of town. The storm was 25 miles away and still sparking. I climbed 200 feet up to a clear shot of Kitt Peak and set-up my tripod. I made a couple of quick exposure tests and captured 3 lightning strikes.



But I wanted more. I started my last exposure of the night, the previous two strikes were long exposures and the darkness would make for a difficult hike down to the car. After opening the shutter, I noticed a small airplane with it's landing lights on, circling on final approach to Ryan Field. I first thought that this would ruin the shot and almost rejected it, and then thought it might make it more interesting to leave it in the shot. 135 seconds into the exposure came the flurry of activity seen in this photo.

I sent the photo to National Geographic's "My Shot" series where they published it in a video "Stormy Weather". Last week they made the same photo available for download using their logo and my named copyright.




It's not being printed in the National Geographic magazine, but it is on their web site. I am very proud to have been chosen by them. I got a lucky shot. I was lucky enough to have tracked the storm for an hour, drive to a location that I hoped would have a good view of the storm & have the storm hold together long enough for me to take the shot. I put myself in the right place at the right time and got lucky to have had the camera aimed at the right spot for that two minute plus exposure. Pretty lucky! It is a great shot!

Thank you National Geographic for making my dream come true.

Links:

Download the wallpaper: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/myshot/weather


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