Lightning, Calais - Dunkerque, France, July 2nd & 3rd 2009


Page 1: Convection before dark



It was getting dark and storms were developing fast in France. We had more than an hour drive ahead so we drove on towards Calais, trying to catch up with the storms moving north from Abbeville. But we didn't have to drive that far. Along the highway, storms were developing alongside with lightning. Before we reached Calais, we stopped to start photosgraphing the newly developed storms


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First picture was a hit right away!

A few shots later another hit

We moved on since all these storms were short lived pulse storms, and CG lightning sessions were impulsive too. Sometimes CG's would fire several times with average time intervals, than stopped for minutes, and fired up again as a new tower (invisible to the eye) developed


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What I should've known is that all along the highway between Dunkerque and Calais, there are powerlines. Really everywhere. But because the region is really dark, you don't see them until you check your pictures into detail at home. Had a lot of work cloning all those horizontal high lines away. But I didn't do it for every picture.
This shot was made looking east.

See what I mean? .....

No, it's NOT hitting the parking lot. Had to force up the highlights to make the lightning channel come out better. This was looking north, using the 5D with the 70-200mm

One of my favorites from this chase. This was looking north, using the 5D with the 70-200mm

Another nice bolt. This was looking north, using the 5D with the 70-200mm

A roll cloud shows up. This was looking north, using the 5D with the 70-200mm

Corner from a failed shot. I was moving the tripod without closing the shutter. Before I set it up properly, this CG came in the top right corner or the frame.

Set up properly, shooting with both 5D and 5D MkII in the same direction now.

fotobeschrijving

fotobeschrijving

fotobeschrijving

Rain set in on the previous location, and checking the radar, it looked like everything turned into rain further west to Calais. So we went back east as by now a line of storms along a convergence line developed from Dunkerque till almost the south of France. We soon got out of the rain and started on an oncoming storm from the south


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Distant lightning (cropped)

Multiple lightning strike

Crop from the picture above

Nice detail in the bottom left corner of the above picture: a moth flying in front of the lens gets lit up stroboscopicly in the counterlight of multiple return strokes

Nice cloud compostion

Detail of the picture above

Another multiple discharge - getting closer now

Long vertical CG

Detail of the above picture - moth still trying to look good on picture

Double vertical CG

Detail of the picture above

Lightning was getting too close and rain set in again from this storm. We moved furters east again to a new spot


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Shooting along the powerlines

Shooting along the powerlines

CG west

CG west

Double CG north

CG north

Apart from the trees one of my best lightning shots (of course, if there is only one bush, lightning will perfectly hide itself behind it)

CG north

CG north

Detail of the picture above

CG north

Same picture with the 70-200 (and cropped)

CG north

CG north

Same as above with 70-200 (and cropped)

CG north

Same as above with 70-200 (and cropped)

Lightning activity north over the Channel was decaying and moving away. It was past 3am as well and there still 2 active showers somehow along the way home. Unfortunately the highway was under construction and we could not take the exit we wanted and had to drive on further past the storm. From a parking lot facility, we were able to take a few more distant shots


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Distant CG north of the parking lot

Distant CG north of the parking lot

Detail from the picture above

We ended with a nice sunset close to home, with view on yes: another newly developed line of storms NE of our home location. Too late for picture though, but we still saw some nice lightning in the distance

Page 1: Convection before dark



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