Long distance lightning and stars, oh my

Last Saturday night I shot fireworks, again. But I liked the unexpected photographs I took while driving home from the display better.
After the fireworks I stopped at a grocery store. On my short trip home, the sky above was clear, but I noticed flashes of light in the west. My destination changed to a spot in a new subdivision with a clear view of the western horizon. The frozen meals and cold beverage in my grocery bags could wait.



Lightning was illuminated clouds low on the horizon. And the best part for me was that stars were visible higher in the sky. I had never captured a scene with lightning and stars before. Here' another photo with more stars.



The lightning was appearing all across the horizon. To get better pictures, I decided to drive further west and made two stops at the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area. The first spot, at a boat launch, was so dark I had trouble focusing the camera. And I left my glasses at the fireworks.

At the second spot there were lights in the distance to help with focus, and I got some good shots.



The lightning is smaller in the frame because I used a wide angle lens. The red streak and light comes from a fisherman casting his illuminated bobber.

The lightning still seemed pretty far away, so I headed west again, this time to the overlook on Route 52 above Ellenville. Someone else was already there taking photographs when I arrived. The following picture is looking northwest over Ellenville.



The final photo is looking directly west. The storm was actually in Delaware County.



Here's a slideshow of lightning images with some fireworks shots at the end.


Lightning and fireworks - Images by Tom Bushey