Lightning Storm

On August 16 I was awakened with a start as a once-in-a-decade (or two!) dry lightning event slammed into San Francisco and the entire Bay Area. We had been in the middle of a rather rare heat wave so that all my windows and blinds were open in an attempt to coax even a small breeze into my flat. The first lightning strike must have been very close because I swear it was as much the blinding light as the almost immediate crash of thunder that woke me up.

"What's this?!" I mean we NEVER get lightning. I bolted out of bed to see what was going on as, one after another, flashes and roars shook the house. I became very excited because I'd never successfully photographed lightning before and didn't know how long this rare event would last. Ripping my tripod and camera out of the back room I dashed out on to my top floor deck just when another blast from the sky shook the neighborhood. Hmmmm, maybe not the best idea in the world to be so exposed to, what is it, a million volts or so? Luckily I could set up just inside my patio door, still get an unobstructed view of the bay and adjacent hills and perhaps gain a little protection as well.

Having never had the opportunity to shoot a phenomenon like this before I have to admit to feeling a bit like a complete newbie in the process. I very soon realized I couldn't just wait for a flash and trip the shutter when I saw that. WAY too late! So I dropped the ISO on the camera down to 100 and chose a pretty small aperture of f/11 which allowed me to keep the shutter open for anywhere from 30 to 45 seconds since it was still before dawn and the city lights were quite scattered. So I stuck to that plan, taking several (basically) time exposures and hoping one or more bolts of lightning would occur during that period. This went on for a couple hours or more. Man did this storm have staying power! It basically moved from the southwest to the northeast flowing right in front of me. The most impressive strikes occurred as the bulk of the energy moved over the bay itself almost directly southeast of my position. Zap! Zap! Zap! Just wouldn't stop!

The image above was featured on the San Francisco Chronicle's SF Gate digital portal as the lead storm photo the day of the event and is comprised of 8 different exposures that were blended together in PhotoShop to create a collage of the most intense moments of the storm. If anyone would like a more detailed description of the process please drop me an email and I'll send you the details.

The first strikes from my vantage point hit the neighborhoods south of me such as Mission Terrace in the shot above. When I first started shooting around 4 am the strikes that I could see were quite small and in the distance (despite the bright flash that woke me up!). However, over the next hour or so they grew closer and much higher in the sky such as those pictured here. Then gradually the entire event moved toward the northeast (to the left in this view) and over the bay. At that point I turned my attention and lens in that direction to capture the composite photo at the top of this post.

After most of the "drama" had subsided, the beautiful cloud formations and dawn light pictured above emerged to dominate the scene. Unfortunately this image also contains evidence of a much darker side to the event. In the lower left corner near the nascent sunrise, smoke from one of the very first lightning fires can be seen rising above the distant East Bay hills. The subsequent state-wide fires would eventually merge in numerous locations to become one of the most widespread fire storms in California history. As of this date over one and a half million acres have burned due to 14,000 lightning strikes and 900 wildfires and not all of the "complexes", as they are being called, have been totally contained. There have been 8 fatalities and over 3,000 structures destroyed. This has certainly created mixed emotions in me regarding the dramatic images I captured and my heart goes out to all who have suffered loss of property and the lives of loved ones. Accordingly I will be donating 20% from the sale of any of these images to the Red Cross California Wildfires Fund.

PRINTS FOR SALE

Prints are signed, limited edition, archival quality and produced using all acid-free materials. They are mounted on 4-ply backing boards and include a mat border appropriate to the overall paper size, between 1" and 2.5". Click HERE for a graphic of the various sizes. Sales tax & shipping extra.

Please give me a call at 415-309-6653 or email me at craig@molephoto.com to place an order.

20% DONATED TO RED CROSS CA WILDFIRES FUND

8x10.............................$139 11x14...........................$149 13x19...........................$169 16x20...........................$189 17x22...........................$199 9x22.............................$19