Lightning in Maine

Jul 6

Being in a new location (western Maine), I'm still learning places to take photos when the weather is acting up. Something as unpredictable as lightning is an added challenge, as it can come from many directions, and, of course, one never knows exactly where or when it will strike.

When I got the alert that lightning was coming, I immediately gathered my gear, kissed my wife goodbye, jumped in the truck, and, watching the direction of the storm cell, headed toward a vista point a ways from "home". As I drove along the Androscoggin River, I started seeing spots that would make great photos, though few were pointed in the right direction for this storm or had parking safely nearby. I turned to explore a side road, where I spotted this location spanning a branch of the river that almost looked like a pond, with a large culvert under the road. I parked at a small grange is nearby and walked to the the side of the road, posted my tripod straddling the guardrail, and set my camera for the shot. As soon as I started taking shots, the skies unleashed, with rapidly increasing winds, darkening skies and pelting rain. I furiously worked to keep my lens as dry as I could, with my efforts futile as my lens wipes quickly became soaked. Drivers passing by must have thought I was crazy in my shorts and rain jacket with my camera under its rain cover. I saw several strikes in the general direction of my focus, and hoped that the camera captured at least one of them.

I watched the radar closely to monitor the storm. Once the cell had passed, I gathered up my gear, peeled off my soaked jacket and packed up into the truck, setting out my gear to let it all dry. I got home and immediately started sorting through my images on my computer, hoping to find at least one shot worthy of editing. I found this one, which required cleaning up some water droplets on the lens, but offered this incredible strike.

I'm grateful to be in a place where I can work on my lightning photography, as lightning is rare back home in California. It's a natural phenomenon that has always fascinated me, and I can remember trying to photograph it as a kid, with entire rolls of unusable shots as I tried to manually capture it. How technology has improved!