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4-02-07
Some pretty strong thunderstorms fired to the northwest tonight and provided a dim light show for my viewing. Nevertheless, I try to jump on any lightning opportunity that comes along. The bolts were pretty distant from my first vantage point, but I still pulled off some ok shots. I really should have shot north to begin with. I knew storms were to fire tonight and I was watching the radar all night long for signs of initiation. The SPC had originally put us in the slight outlook for the night.
A severe thunderstorm watch was also issued.
In my waiting, I decided to screw around with the full moon. I was going to take many shots and screw around with my focus and exposures, but about a minute into the shots I noticed some flashes to the north lighting up the clouds above me. I ran inside and checked out some quick SPC models and discovered that they JUST issued a pretty large MD that literally covered the entire state of Iowa and also included me on the extreme eastern edge. Soon after I checked the radar and noticed that the entire line was firing to the north. I lost a little hope here, but figured I'd still shoot down to the river anyway.
I wasn't really too optimistic at this point. On the way down, I pretty much figured I'd be waiting around for quite a while for some flashes. The lightning strike chart wasn't showing anything too close to me. Then again...that chart really needs to be replaced. As soon as I reached the river, before I even PARKED, I saw two pretty awesome cloud to ground strikes. I didn't waste any time in setting up on the dock. I was actually pretty surprised by how electric this storm was.
This was the one of the first shots taken. Judging by the last few lightning outings I have had, I was just glad to be able to snag this. Little did I know that out of the 188 total shots I took, every one of them but 8 had a bolt of some kind in it. Not too shabby, but I just wish they were a little closer.
I noticed this barge coming at me as soon as I stepped foot on the dock. As it got closer, it really started to annoy me as it cast lens flares in many of the shots. \
Alot of these pictures still have hot pixels in them, but there were just so many I just didn't bother with sweeping them out.
As I noticed the bolts drifting further and further to the east, I decided I wanted to get some closer shots. WHY I didn't think of this before I don't know. I could have taken some much better shots if this genious idea would have popped into my head earlier. Sometimes my mind just seems to work slower than usual. Anyway, I knew of this spot in Albany that I have been before, but wasn't sure how much of the horizon I could see from the river. As it turned out, it wasn't much...
After taking a few shots, noticing a TON of flashes but very few bolts, I knew I had to get up higher. I packed up really quick and set up to the top of the hill by a gas station. It had a picnic table which was perfect to set up on. The only problem was that most of the action was now developing to the southwest a little more but trees really hindered my view. So, I just pointed the camera to the same spot I had originally set at. Right around this time the wind started to pick up a bit and I think it might have rattled the tripod quite a bit. From here on out, the majority of my shots came out sort of blurry.
That is the ADM plant in Clinton, Iowa.
A few of these looked as if they were striking the ADM plant. Of course they were WELL behind.
Wide angle. I love this lens, but for this type of opportunity, 17mm is just WAYYYYY too wide. And yes, the horizon is crooked.
Another wide angle shot. I really should have just kept it at 40mm the entire night.\
About this time I realize the action is starting to drift too far north. The cg's were getting less and less visible by the minute and it was getting pretty late. I pack it up and had for home. When I get there, I quickly pull the first image fromthe loop. I'm not sure exactly how accurate the image is since it was approximately 40 minutes after I left the last spot.
I saved this image around the same time as the above radar. As you can see, all of the strikes were to the north. I'm actually very surprised I saw as many as I did judging by these two graphics.
This wasn't my favorite lightning outing of all time considering the situations and storm locations, but it was definitely the most I have captured on camera so far. It's only April 2nd, so I'm more than positive I'll have hundreds of more opportunities. I'm just glad to hear that rolling thunder again. What a sweet sound.