I have to say that our weather this summer has been less than desirable. It's been cool and rainy and pretty windy. While the rain is good for the farmers (so we think anyway), I've had quite enough, thank you! And as I sit at my computer tonight, I hear the pitter pat of raindrops on the roof.
I've been frustrated because the lack of good weather has put a damper on my photography this summer. When the winds are gusting at 25-60 mph, it's hard to shoot ANYTHING, especially with a tripod! And the rain, well, let's just say I don't want to have to buy a new camera because mine got wet inside. The cold I can usually deal with because I just dress with a few extra layers.
Well, the other day I got brave! A gal who grew up completely afraid of storms decided that it was high time I grew up and faced my fears. No more hiding under tables when the thunder rolls! While sitting at my computer, I heard some faint rumblings. At first I didn't think anything of it, because I can often hear the rumbles coming from the UPS depot nearby when the trucks come in to load/unload. Then they got a little deeper and a little longer, so I decided to investigate.
Upstairs I looked out the bathroom window and saw an amazing storm rolling in off the mountains. My husband had gotten a phone call from an employee who stated that there was actually hail in Browning and it could be coming our way.
It hadn't started to rain yet, so I left the kiddos with my husband, grabbed my camera and a couple lenses and set off to see what I could see. To the south, there were still blue skies and white clouds. However, from the northwest was the grayest looking blanket of clouds I had seen in quite a while. Off in the distance I could see the rain (or hail) just pouring down. The storm was so big and the clouds were so dark, you couldn't even make out an outline of the Rockies and usually you can see them clearly on an average day.
As I stood there checking out the storm, several lightning strikes hit to the west. Now, normally, that would have been enough to send me cowering to the basement. However, I suddenly got excited with anticipation that I just might be able to catch some lightning shots. Now, I'm pretty good with my camera on the pre-settings, but admit that I am still a student on manual ones. So, because I was already a little anxious about the storm, I didn't have my tripod and plus, it had started to sprinkle, I just decided to try my action setting shooting in triplicate hoping to get lucky.
I shot about 150 pictures and only three came out with visable lightning shots. This one was the clearest of the three.
So, although it wasn't "sale" quality, I was still pretty excited and proud of myself for catching lighting under the circumstances. I don't think I'll be making a habit of storm chasing or anything, but I'm seeing storms through a whole new perspective!
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