A week ago severe thunderstorms ripped through New England and
Boston from late afternoon into the night. I always wanted to photograph the
Boston Skyline at twilight with lightning flashes and saw great potential to
finally capture my vision in a photo. Approximately an hour before nightfall I
made my way over to the Museum of Science parking location. The upper parking
deck is a fabulous skyline photo location at all times and I figured if I pick
the one beneath I would be safe, dry and still get a decent view of the city.
Turned out I was pretty much right. Upon arrival I set up tripod and camera a
few feet away from the building edge so rain would hit my lens. A Canon 28-70
zoom lens allowed for some compositional flexibility and all what was left was patiently
waiting for the lightning show to start. It didn’t take long when the sky
turned completely dark and the lightning and thunder rolled in. I immediately started
shooting but it was a bit dicey when the storm unfolded right above me. A
couple of times I crawled back into the car because lightning was followed by
immediate thunder and I was worried I may get hit while pushing my luck a bit
too much.
When the first storm front finally made it's way passed Boston, a second was unfolding at
the horizon, probably across Wellesley, Newton, Natick, Framingham areas. Instead of leaving I therefore stayed around and boy was it worth it! The
second front passed by further south exactly behind the skyline with its famous
landmarks like the John Hancock building, Prudential Center and Boston
brownstones that line the Charles River. With the heavy rain gone and the storm
far away I was in the clear. I moved tripod and camera closer the building edge
for a more unobstructed view, recomposed the picture and kept shooting. In the
meantime twilight arrived which allowed me to capture the image that I
originally envisioned. It was awesome too watch and a few minutes after twilight
I was able to capture a couple more dramatic storm pictures over Boston.
During post processing I followed my routine digital workflow
of dust removal, minimal lighting, contrast and color saturation adjustments
before sharpening the final images of Electric Boston, Boston Lightning Thunderstorm, and When Lightning Strikes.
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Amazing, amazing captures, Juergen ... glorious lighting and twilight images against that spectacular skyline!!! I'd say you can cross this off your to-do list because it just doesn't get any better than these!!! Congratulations!!! (And glad you're safe!)
ReplyDeleteYou are the best Lois - thanks so very much for commenting on my recent lightning and thunderstorm across the Boston skyline photography image. I am glad I finally was able to capture my vision of this image - carried with me for quite some time. Btw, I went back to the same location tonight and captured a breathtaking sunset - it's really one of the best photo locations in Boston. Happy Sunday and have a great week, Juergen www.RothGalleries.com
ReplyDeleteWonderful, Juergen ... I look forward to seeing your sunset shot, too!!
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