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A new lightning gallery and literary fun

Creativity|, , |
Mammatus with lightning

Lightning amid the mammatus in southern Nebraska on May 30, 2011. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

Let’s start with the literary fun – please stop by the fabulous Coco’s in Cocoa Village on Saturday during the gallery walk. The whole event is fun and free, and at Coco’s (in the Threadneedle Mall next to Ossorio’s), I’ll be signing copies of my novel “Funnel Vision.” Ready for a little storm-chasing adventure? I’ll be there from about 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, I’ve been playing with photos and have created a new gallery/slide show of my lightning photography. Click to check it out!

Lightning, lights and water

Storm chasing|, , |
Lightning and the bridge

Lightning fires beyond the S.R. 520 causeway as seen from Cocoa, Florida. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

It was a long day Saturday of gardening, puttering and a most pleasant party. So when we got home and the sky started sparking around 11 p.m. or so, I was not particularly motivated to chase the lightning. The storms were moving offshore, and the best view would have been from Cape Canaveral or maybe Cocoa Beach. After several minutes of agonizing, I instead drove just down the road to Cocoa’s Riverfront Park and took some shots pointing east toward the storms. The lightning was really far away, but the lights on the water and the S.R. 520 causeway bridge made for an interesting setting. Here’s the best of the bolts, partially obscured by clouds. I cropped this shot to get the framing I wanted.

Lightning over water

Storm chasing|, |
Lightning over water

Lightning flashes over the Atlantic Ocean, as seen looking east toward Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral, Florida, from across the Banana River. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

Crawler

A lightning crawler and CGs on August 17, 2011, as seen looking east toward Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

I love to see an isolated cell light up right at sunset, and over water, it’s even better. This was more of a cluster of cells, and they produced a few nice bolts before they croaked. I’m sure I missed a few as I drove over Merritt Island and got into position on the Banana River to take photos (and donate a quart of blood to the mosquitoes).

The lightning may have been sparse, but it was pretty. I’ve found sometimes the best crawlers happen in the dying phases of the storm, and sometimes you have to wait several minutes between flashes to nab them. But this storm hovering off Cape Canaveral really stopped when it stopped producing, allowing me to get several more mosquito bites as I painstakingly held the shutter open for 20 or 30 seconds at a time, hoping against hope. Oh, well. Comes with the territory.

Cloud-to-ground bolts

Nice cloud-to-ground bolts on August 17, as seen looking east toward Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

Lightning and the bolts that got away

Photography|, , |
LIghtning strike August 1, 2011

LIghtning strikes August 1, 2011, over Viera, Florida. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

Close lightning bolt

A close lIghtning bolt overexposes the frame on August 1, 2011, over Viera, Florida. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

I took a chance on a wave of lightning storms after dark Monday – they seem to be rare creatures these days – and dashed down the road to Viera with my camera to get out of the rain. It’s amazing how circumstances conspire to deprive you of shots. The bolts were few and far between this night, yet on a relatively quiet road, a car drove in front of me just as one hit. Another strike had its best leg just out of frame. Still another was so bright (and close) that it drastically overexposed the frame and burned itself on my retina for a while. And a perfect shot eluded me during one of the two seconds when the shutter wasn’t open each minute.

Car obscures a lightning shot

A passing car obscures a photograph of lightning, casting a "shadow" at the bottom of the frame, on August 1, 2011, in Viera, Florida. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

Still, as you can see above, I got one. But I also wanted to recount the ones that got away. Even if you think you know how to do this stuff, it’s never easy to get that perfectly framed shot when it comes to lightning. It’s unpredictable.

Earlier Monday, I drove south to check out some storms and saw a lightning bolt hit well ahead of the rain and clouds – one of those bolts from the blue. That’s why the lightning safety folks say, “When thunder roars, go indoors.”

Forget the matinee

Storm chasing||
Lightning crawler

Lightning flashes in a weakening storm over the Banana River Lagoon on July 12, 2011. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

Late afternoon storms

A line of storms is seen from west Cocoa, Florida, looking northwest over the St. Johns River, on July 12, 2011. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

I don’t necessarily have all day to wait around in central Florida for storms to fire, but I did go out before sunset to check out a line of storms in extreme western Brevard County. They made for a pretty backdrop to the anglers courting lightning strikes out at the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp. After dinner, I went out again, hoping for the storms – and the lightning – to persist. I saw a few crawlers while I got into position and barely anything after that. Once again, the storms didn’t survive much beyond sunset. I had a similar experience when I tried to chase the Arizona monsoon several years ago, though I’m sure I gave that too few days to be successful. Here’s hoping we get more lightning shows this summer – at night, when I can see them!

Photography vs. the rain

Storm chasing|, |

While you need a storm to shoot lightning, one of the obvious side effects of a storm, the rain, is a real hindrance to lightning photography. And when the severe storms came to the Space Coast tonight …

Severe storm approaches Rockledge June 18, 2011

Severe storm approaches Rockledge, Florida, on June 18, 2011. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

… they had a fair amount of lightning, but it was all embedded in precip. In other words, a mess. So after the evening’s social obligations, I attempted to get a little shelter under a pavilion in Cocoa Village to catch a few lightning crawlers. Still, the rain was spitting on my lens, and the one awesome crawler happened to fire in the split second between exposures. Ack! Anyway, here’s one, despite everything.
Lightning crawler over Indian River Lagoon

Lightning crawler, as seen from Cocoa, Florida, over the Indian River Lagoon. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

June 14 lightning storms

Storm chasing|, |
Lightning over Indialantic, Florida, on June 14, 2011

Lightning over Indialantic, Florida, on June 14, 2011. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

Today was good evidence that east-central Florida’s dry season is finally over, or at least taking a break. We had several rounds of severe and nonsevere storms in Brevard County, but chasing the lightning wasn’t easy. The storms this evening were moving south so fast, I could barely get ahead of them, thanks in part to way too many traffic lights. Makes me miss the prairie! Check out the photos.

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