Boat in the Storm

Boat in the Storm
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*

I love when Mother Nature gets all fired up and frisky. When that happens it usually makes for some impressive weather.

Tonight at the trailer by Lake Ontario I enjoyed quite the light show as a massive thunderstorm worked its way down the lake and to the south towards the New York State.

Storms like this are amazing to watch and safe to enjoy as they're quite a distance away yet easily visible across the open water.

The storm didn't produce a lot of visible lightning strikes however. The flashes in the sky were almost non-stop and took in the entire horizon however sightings of actual bolts were few and far between.

This didn't stop me from grabbing my camera and tripod in the hopes of capturing an interesting lightning image. I knew the odds of surpassing past lightning success would be slim with the storm being so far away but I had spotted a sailboat anchored on the lake earlier in the evening and could faintly see it through the darkness.

It was my hope to get a shot of a bolt of lightning coming down into the water near the boat or at the very least within the area I was focused on.

As luck would have it, after taking only a couple of images, I opened my shutter on about the fourth try and down came a bolt of light. It wasn't until after I had the image on my computer that I realized there were actually three lightning bolts striking the water with a couple more fingers in the sky.

As I was editing the image I decided that the final photo would look more dramatic and interesting in black and white. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for B&W photos so any chance I have to make one I usually go for it.

Not only was I pleased with the lightning but considering the image was a long exposure, to see the boat as sharp as it is without any blur from rocking in the waves was a bonus.

I'm still hoping that one day I'll get another chance to capture lightning much closer and more dramatic, as long as it isn't too close and I haven't been electrified in the process.

NOTE: You can click on the image to see it larger.