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Some people get real nervous when severe weather threatens; I get real excited and hope for big storms with lots of cloud-to-ground lightning. As I watched the 6p.m. weather on TV on May 2, 1984, the forecaster said a line of thunderstorms was likely to enter western Alabama sometime after midnight. Since I live in Marengo County in southwestern Alabama, we would probably feel the brunt of the storms, so I began to check my camera equipment. The first thing I always check is film - I always carry more than I will ever need. For lightning photography I use Kodachrome 25 and 64 slide film almost exclusively; the grain is great and the colors are very rich and warm. Of course, with lightning you are never sure of the colors that will be recorded, because the intensity of the lightning itself and varying exposure times will change the colors of the final image. Next I check my cameras. I usually carry three. I make sure the shutter rings are set to "B" (bulb) for time exposures and that the lenses are clean. I also make sure the lens shades are in place and secure; they protect the lenses from rain. Finally I check that I have all the lenses I might need, as well as cable releases, tripods, towels, and - last but not least - a NOAA weather radio. Next I begin to plan my photographic locations. I have different spots to shoot from, depending on the storm's location and movement. During this time I monitor the NOAA weather radio continuously. At 10:20 the radar on TV shows thunderstorms in Mississippi, possibly intensifying and definitely heading my way. Though I'm not tired, I must try to get some sleep, since I could be up most of the night. By now it's 11:00 p.m.; I set the alarm for 11:30. From now on I will get up every 30 mimutes and go outside to look for distant lightning. Finally, at 2:30 a.m., I spot lightning in the west. It's time to go. I grab my gear and get into my pickup truck. Its interior is such that I can set up a tripod on the floorboard and seat and shoot out the window. It's the only way to photograph lightning when it's raining - besides, I feel safer when lightning strikes nearby. I drive around watching the storms and pick the best spot to shoot from. The National Weather Service in Birmingham is reporting that a line of thunderstorms will soon be moving into my area. It won't be long now! I get out to watch for a while. The location I've chosen is on a ridge, and I have and unobstructed view to the west and north. Even with the approaching storms, the early morning is peaceful and serene. I'm all alone; no one else is going to witness what is about to happen. As the storms come closer, I retire to the truck and make final preparations. I load the film, mount a camera on a tripod, and attach a cable release. The latter will be used to open the shutter and keep it open. I must be very still because one leg of the tripod is resting on the seat; any vibration will cause the camera to move and the image to blur. It's now 3:30 a.m. and it's beginning to sprinkle. During each lightning barrage in the west I can see towering thunderheads. My heart begins to beat a little faster. Now one of the storms is close enough to begin shooting. I roll the window down, set the lens to F8 and press the cable release. The camera has a 50-mm lens and is loaded with Kodachrome 25 film. Since the lightning itself determines the exposure, it may last for a few seconds or a few minutes, depending upon the lightning's intensity and frequency. At times I let the lightning "pile up" on a frame and may even change the f-stop to compensate for over - or underexposure. At this time I terminate my first exposure of the night. As I begin the next exposure, the lightning suddenly becomes intense, popping all around. Now I must make a decision - where to point the camera. Quickly I change to an 85-mm lens (at f8) and aim toward the west; the lightning seems to be most active in that direction. Again I trip the shutter and wait, but nothing happens in the camera's field of view. I consider changing the camera angle, but decide to leave it where it is. After a few more seconds, I look away briefly to scan another sector of the sky when "crash!" - there is a tremendous flash of lightning. I don't see exactly where it hit, but there's no doubt it was very close and very powerful. I am extremely excited, but keep my cool and slowly release the shutter. All the while I'm wondering, "Did I get it?" I don't know. All I do know is that the strike was close and I think it hit the ground. Soon the thunderstorm moves off to the east and I pack up and head for home, where I arrive at 4:30 a.m. I fall asleep still wondering "Did I get it?" After a few hours sleep I get up and go to work. Later that morning I hear that a tornado struck Montgomery, 100 miles to the east, killing five people and injuring 37 others. It dropped down out of the same storms I had been right in the middle of just a few hours earlier. Several days later my slides come back. I have indeed captured on film the lightning bolt I didn't see! It is barely inside the left corner of the frame, but it is there - the photograph of a lifetime! used by permission |