Blazing Sky

A shot of just lightning, front and center.

It’s cropped in from a larger frame, including a street below… but the image of just the lightning is much more dramatic. I processed this image using gratuitous amounts of clarity in Lightroom, “structure” in the now-deprecated Snapseed desktop app and various other contrast and sharpening filters to bring out the detail in the dimmer bolts.

I believe this to be inter-cloud lightning, based on what I’m seeing. The lightning occurred nearly overhead, and I must say that I was foolish enough to be standing out in front of a big metal pole (my tripod) as I made this image. Don’t try this!

With the looming threat of more thunder storms on the way, let this image be a reminder of the power that they contain. Beautiful sure, but respect the cold hand of nature – it knows no difference between life and death, as long as the cycle continues.