Picture Plymouth: Lightning Strikes

Practice and patience led to a stunning shot.
third Place Wildlife & Nature by Troy Brantner

Capturing the perfect shot of lightning can require some work and caution. Troy Brantner had set up on a bridge over Medicine Lake during a thunderstorm to get this shot. “Fortunately the radar from my phone showed me that the storms were far enough away and were starting to move north, allowing me to stand there for the next hour or so photographing,” he says.

While the circumstances were a little risky, the process was not as demanding as it seems. “I have taken test shots and set up cameras for the picture,” he explains.

“It was the culmination of a number of years of practice.” After capturing the lightning in several shots, Brantner eventually selected this particular picture because of “the way the lightning streaks across the sky and the reflection in the water below.”

Brantner’s journey into photography has been a gradual process. “It really started when it was time to upgrade my first digital camera. At first I was reluctant to learn all the different aspects of photography or change lenses all the time,” he says. “It was not until later that I started to understand how much more freedom there is and how much better the results can be once you learn the technical aspects of a camera.”