Summer Storm

After waiting for 3 months we finally got a killer storm in Northeast Ohio.  I was sitting out at the Canfield Fairgrounds watching big puffy clouds slowly morph and expand across the warm summer sky.  It was quite the show!  Soon the soft yellow colors gave way to deep reds and soft purples as the sun slowly sunk towards the horizon.  As I was walking back to my bike I noticed a flash inside a massive cloud mountain.  "Finally!" I thought, hoping this could be the big summer storm I'd been waiting for.



I rushed home as fast as I could, hoping to grab my camera gear and head out for a night of shooting.  Once I was packed up I headed south, to the farmlands surrounding Canfield.  Ahead of me was a massive cloud, looking like Mt Everest but shooting out lightning!  I peeled off the road onto a dirt drive and started setting up my camera gear.

The next hour and 30 minutes were mesmerizing and intensely exhilarating.  I watched as massive bolts of lightning lit up the clouds like bombs bursting!  Yet there was no noise, apart from the sea of crickets in the surrounding field.  



As the storm continued its eastward voyage I noticed the stars shining brightly overhead.  I then thought "I should be trying for some Milky Way photos."  



This was one of the highlights of my summer this year, and it brought back some memories of my epic storm experience last year.  I was looking out over the vast Great Sand Dunes of Colorado watching as a powerful storm tore across the desert landscape.  One of the photos I took on that night actually won First Prize in the Canfield Fair Photography Contest.  



To see the rest of the storm photos, head over here!