I'm innocently photographing lightning....

And suddenly, a monster bolt smashes into the trees about 300 yards away!

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Wow, that is great... I've had lightning hit a tree that I was very, very close to and it is something else to be sure. What a capture!

That is one fierce bolt of lightning! nice capture!
Paul

Did you go check out the tree after the storm past? If so, have anypictures of the tree?

AWESOME SHOT!!! I love lightning photography, but getting the shot is risky, no matter how far you think the storm might be.

Yes, that one looks exceedingly loud! Nice capture and definitely right place, right time.

dave

Awesome shot Darin! My first thought when I saw it...

...Run outside and yell up at the sky... "Ha! Ha! You missed me!"

When you see the flash and hear/feel the bang simultaneously, you know it was close!

Great capture. I don't think I'd be brave enough to hang around for any more shots. That strike is a bit too close for comfort.

I had to stare at that for some time, well done. It is so 'perfect' it has the feel of a Hollywood special effect.

Unbelieveable.

Reminds me of a time where I was at summer camp and lighting hit the ground about 250' away from our cabin onto the sandy ground on the soccerfield. After the storm we all ran out and found runs of 'glass' about 3' long where the electricity had fused the silica/sand into glass.

Awesome power. Again, well done.

That is so awesome. It almost makes the trees look like miniatures from a movie.

Thanks everyone! and this one is SOOC! (Except for a tiny crop to remove the corner of my window).

I was afraid it was too bright when I saw the bolt, but i looked at the LCD, and it was just about perfect!

Yep, when a bolt strikes 15 or so feet from you, it makes a nasty Thud!

And here is our best guess as to what it struck; the neighbors said it wasnt like this before.

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Wow, thats a monster hit.

Saying you were "Innocently Photographing Lightning" is like saying you were "Innocently Photographing Traffic" by standing in the middle of the freeway...

Stay smart and safe out there...

Did you just toss that set of underwear? LOL great capture! I hope I never have a strike that near to me. I'm sure that bolt made the air nearby smell like fresh ozonated air.

Reminds me of the time I was at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon with a storm beginning to roll in.

The locals were all starting to head for cover while the tourists were jumping around laughing at each others hair standing on end!

Needless to say, were were checking the next day's paper to look for a story about one less family of tourists in AZ...