Lightning Appearing to Strike Twice
June 16th, 2008I’ve had little success with long exposures. Our last night on the beach, there was a little bit of lightning. I spent an hour doing 30 second exposures. This shot was the best one by far. I love that you can see a couple dining on the beach with a spotlight as well as people looking for crabs along the shoreline.
This is pretty noisy, but I love the double fork of lightning and the cloud formation. Utah doesn’t deliver quite the same thunder/lightning that other parts of the U.S. can bring. I had hoped for 20 or 30 shots I could pick the best from, but alas, it didn’t work out that way.
I used this, wrapped around the deck rail to hold the camera and the 24-70 2.8L lens. It works well as a headdress, sure, but as a grippy camera thingy, it did very well, despite making Heather extremely nervous that our camera was being held four floors up by the Gorillapod.
This is a full manual shot, with aperture and exposure all dialed in by me. I tried to shoot it at 100 ISO, but 500 yielded a bit more detail and light in the foreground, especially because I wanted a higher f-stop (this shot is f11) for a broader depth of field. o
Tags: destin, florida, lightning, ocean, summer, weather
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June 16th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
i know exactly what you mean about long exposures….i have been trying to master them for a while now. at any rate, i think this shot came out beautifully - the lightning and surrounding sky are gorgeously framed.
June 16th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
That picture is breathe-taking! Well done!
June 16th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
That picture is freaking amazing. I mean that. I’m not much of a big photo-person but that is very, very special.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Thank you for the details!! And I think one of those inventive tripods is definitely on my list. Wonderful shot. The only lens I have so far is an 18 X 50, and those wide views are really fun. Love looking at your pictures, Jon.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I love this shot. It seems so surreal with the people and the spot lights.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I think that was one of the most amazing shots you have ever taken. The lighting of the clouds and water almost looks painted, which is in contrast to the sharp details of the beach. Breathtaking.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Please to make print available. Wants=Very Yes.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
What a great photo!
June 16th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Very very cool.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Sick. Shot.
I HATE tripods because I feel they are too restrictive. Will be purchasing that ingenious piece immediately.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Beautiful!! All of it - the fork, lit clouds, beach! The broad depth of field made this shot.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
This photograph could be an award winner. There are many elements that draw, focus, and please the eye - little details to love - not the least of which is the hint of (foreground beach coloured) brown in the sky and along the shoreline opposite the beach in the foreground. The contrast in the water - rippling on the peaceful side, like glass on the lightening side - is also lovely.
I haven’t a clue what your technical explanation means. (Unfortunately! I really should take a course.)
June 16th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Awesome, Jon.
June 16th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
please please please make that a print. and please please please still have one next week when i find some moneys.
June 16th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
I just clicked on this and saved it as my wallpaper–just a stunning shot that looks especially nice on my new laptop(sorry, Jon, not a Mac.)
Hope it’s OK that I am using that way…………everyone should try it!
June 16th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Nicely done Jon. The cloud really makes it.. and the foreground looks like it was light painted.
Incedently, Sam captured lightning well here too: http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/08/06/11/
June 16th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
@Marshall, thanks for the props and thanks for sharing that incredible photo!
Thanks, everybody else!
June 16th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I picked up one of those tripods a couple weeks ago. Very good
June 16th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I have tried to do this same thing with varying degrees of success. Some of my favorites came from a bunch I tried looking straight at the north star with about a 4 minute exposure from about the deepest part of the Grand Canyon.
June 16th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
That is breathtaking… Don’t you just love the Gulf Coast? It’s like Heaven there.
Will this be available as a print? I would love to buy one and frame it for my mom’s house in Florida!
June 16th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Nice work.
June 17th, 2008 at 4:58 am
i once swam in the gulf in a thunderstorm, it’s magical.
for good storms in utah, get to antelope island and photograph storms across the lake, they’re amazing.
nice pic!
June 17th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Wow, there are so many things that I love about this photo.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:46 am
My husband was in the navy for 4 yrs and he says his favorite part was watching storms out at sea..That’s what I love about him: his ability to appreciate beauty in situations that would have me curled up in the fetal position guzzling bourbon and anti-anxiety meds..
June 17th, 2008 at 8:45 am
LOVE that shot.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Beautiful shot! Thanks for spec’s on it.
June 17th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Very nice.
I would have been nervous about the tripod too especially given your previous review on it not holding large SLRs that well. I would recommend a remote as your next accessory for long exposures.
Just in time for the 4th of July. There is this lookout above I-215 where you can capture fireworks with freeway car lights moving below. And if you are lucky the sunset in the background.
June 17th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I swear by my GorillaPod. The first time I ever used it was on top of the Empire State Building. I was doing 4-second exposures just before closing time, the camera clamped on the OUTSIDE of the security gate. I had nightmares of dropping the thing to the sidewalk below, then having to explain to my wife why I came home cameraless.
Fortunately everything came out fine. Here’s one of the keepers from that night:
http://tinyurl.com/699ol7
I love this scene. It’s a snapshot of so many lives lived. I need to get outside when the thunder starts to rumble. Thanks for the inspiration!
June 17th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Fantastic picture. Really, really fantastic. Glad to hear ya’ll had a good vacation in Florida, too.
June 17th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
That’s an awesome shot. And I love my Gorillapod, though I have the smaller version so it doesn’t do as well as a headpiece.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I’ve been living in Tampa, FL for two years and have been trying, with no luck, to get a long exposure lightning shot. Great work, lots of fun too.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:40 am
Excellent shot. I’m going to have to learn that one.
Let your wife tell you about sinus’. I expect that you got sick from being in the south with our humidity. Discount it as you will. I get nosebleeds when I head west for a week. The humidity is something we southerners are accustomed to. When I change my climate like some of your splendid western weather my nose is never prepared.
June 18th, 2008 at 7:15 am
that really is a fantastic shot
June 18th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Wow that is amazing….
June 18th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Gorgeous!
June 18th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Love the photo. But more importantly the gorillapod. I swear this little device has changed my photography. I talk about like I am selling Amway products. Glad you like yours.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Great shot - love the detail. I had the chance to use a Gorillapod for the first time this past weekend and I loved it; definitely going to be getting one for myself.
June 18th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Wow, that’s stunning. I would like to reserve a spot in line for a print of this one!
June 18th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I love how you’re all “I suck at this, but here’s my cover shot for National Geographic.”
Whatever. Snot haver.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:21 am
holy crap. awesome.
and P.S. not to make Heather more nervous, but my Gorillapad broke in like one day.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Fantastic photo. One that you can sit and look at for a long time.
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:44 am
Dude… this rocks. Please make prints available in your etsy shop, if you haven’t yet done so!