Shot in Raw. Post processing in Elements 2: levels, cloned out some dead pixels and a couple of lights in foreground. Cropped. Held shutter open manually until bolt of lightning captured - don't own a remote
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Great storm capture. I like the way the city lights light up the clouds on the right and the way the lightning lights 'em up on the left. You lost me a little with blurred lights themselves but that's not the focus of the picture so it doesn't matter much IMO. Among my top picks.
this is very stirring stuff. colours are very dramatic here, and visually appealling. the fact that you resisted temptation and haven't gone and focused just on the area of sky with the lightning bolt should be commended - the fact that it only occupies a small piece of sky gives some balance to the shot and a great sense of scale. it's a pity in a geographical sense that the landscape is so dull in comparison (more city or more rugged ruralness might have been better) but you've worked around that well by taking the focus into the sky. it's a masterclass in cropping and composition. definitely belongs in my little box of 10s!
P.S for some reason the sky puts me in mind of a guinness commercial. now i fancy a pint.
I think the "scope" of this shot is too broad for me, and the upwards angle of the horizon as it nears the right edge, makes it feel a bit unbalanced to me. I think I would have been tempted to crop most of the angled horizon out, and concentrate more on the lightning strike area, giving it a more powerful presence. Have to admit that overall it is a "strking" shot. Haha!
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