Stormy Night Over Shenandoah
This was taken last July during a quick trip up to Skyline after my friend Mike Besant suggested we head up there to look for some lighting as a storm was exiting the area. At least we thought it was exiting the area. After shooting sunsets and rainbows on our way in, we were surprised to see some lightning moving in on the Western side of Shenandoah National Park. As we pulled into the Little Devil Stairs Overlook, the lightning began to pick up in intensity. As darkness fell, you could hear both Mike and I yelling from across the valley after each burst. I had run out of the door without my ND filter, so I shot 2 or 3 second exposures until it was dark enough to leave the shutter open longer. The shutter was probably open about 15 seconds into this shot when the entire sky erupted and bolts flew in all directions before finally heading right over our heads.
I would have to admit that at this point I screamed like a little girl and hit the ground. When I finally got back on my feet, both Mike and I were silent for about 10 seconds as we waited for our exposures to finish processing. When they finally showed up in our LCDs, both of us yelled and there were high fives all around as we confirmed that both of us got the same shot. Being a storm junkie from Southern California, it was easily one of my favorite nights I've ever spent with my camera.
Stormy Night Over Shenandoah
This was taken last July during a quick trip up to Skyline after my friend Mike Besant suggested we head up there to look for some lighting as a storm was exiting the area. At least we thought it was exiting the area. After shooting sunsets and rainbows on our way in, we were surprised to see some lightning moving in on the Western side of Shenandoah National Park. As we pulled into the Little Devil Stairs Overlook, the lightning began to pick up in intensity. As darkness fell, you could hear both Mike and I yelling from across the valley after each burst. I had run out of the door without my ND filter, so I shot 2 or 3 second exposures until it was dark enough to leave the shutter open longer. The shutter was probably open about 15 seconds into this shot when the entire sky erupted and bolts flew in all directions before finally heading right over our heads.
I would have to admit that at this point I screamed like a little girl and hit the ground. When I finally got back on my feet, both Mike and I were silent for about 10 seconds as we waited for our exposures to finish processing. When they finally showed up in our LCDs, both of us yelled and there were high fives all around as we confirmed that both of us got the same shot. Being a storm junkie from Southern California, it was easily one of my favorite nights I've ever spent with my camera.