Lightning in San Diego County

And the Lightning Strikes - Anza-Borrego Desert - October 12, 2018

Nice lightning bolts looking west-northwest from the top of Sweeney Pass in the southern portion of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. These appear to be over either Banner and/or Mount Laguna. To the right is Sweeney Pass Road aka. County Route S2. Last night I got to experience the most epic thunderstorm I've ever seen in southern California. I know I may have said something similar a week or two ago, but this one tops ALL thunderstorms I've experienced out here. Fortunately I was able to capture this one before it started raining and I had to shelter my camera from the rain using a table and had to switch to a more narrow lens. I have a few more shots that I'll be posting in the next day or two. This was shot with a Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG lens at 5 sec f/2.8 ISO 250. It took a lot of post-processing to reduce a blob of blown-out light above the third lightning bolt from the left. I probably should have shot at a slightly smaller aperture or lower ISO. I also spent considerable time playing with the white balance adjustment. I wanted the lightning to pop, but didn't want to image to be too purple or too blue. Other than these items, I'm pleased with the way this turned out.

Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder? You better run, you better take cover.

I've been busy with work and all, but finally have found some time to post some more shots from the epic thunderstorm earlier this month. Nice lightning bolts looking west-northwest from the top of Sweeney Pass in the southern portion of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park on October 12, 2018. These appear to be over either Banner and/or Mount Laguna. To the left is Sweeney Pass Road aka. County Route S2. Please share and like. :) A bit over week ago I got to experience the most epic thunderstorm I've ever seen in southern California. I know I may have said something similar a week or two ago, but this one tops ALL thunderstorms I've experienced out here. Fortunately I was able to capture this one before it started raining and I had to shelter my camera from the rain using a table and had to switch to a more narrow lens. I have a few more shots that I'll be posting in the next day or two. This is a single exposure and was shot with a Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG lens at 5 sec f/2.8 ISO 160. #thunderstorm #lightning #thunderbolt #anzaborrego #desert #california #storm #cawx #borregosprings #canon #cd #sigma15mm #sigma #socal #sosandiego #sandiego #sky

1.21 Gigawatts - Anza-Borrego Desert - October 12, 2018. Take 2.

I decided to repost this shot from last month, but with more muted processing. Nice lightning bolts looking north from the top of Sweeney Pass in the southern portion of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This bolt was VERY close by - almost too close for comfort. I heard and felt the loud BOOM of thunder almost immediately after seeing the flash of the bolt. In order to shoot this shot, I placed my camera rig under a folding table to shield it from the pouring rain. Luckily the rain was coming straight down and not blowing sideways - otherwise I'd be making an insurance claim on my gear. Haha. While the weather station on my camper registered only 0.04" of rain up here, it all came down with about 30 minutes or so. Among the commotion, I didn't have much time to carefully frame my shot before shooting this frame as part of a timelapse - I made sure to get the ocotillo and cholla in the fame to the right, then had to start shooting and seek shelter under the canopy of my trailer. On the night of October 12, 2018 I got to experience the most epic thunderstorm I've ever seen in southern California. I know I may have said something similar a week or two ago, but this one tops ALL thunderstorms I've experienced out here.

1.21 Gigawatts - Anza-Borrego Desert - October 12, 2018

Nice lightning bolts looking north from the top of Sweeney Pass in the southern portion of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This bolt was VERY close by - almost too close for comfort. I heard and felt the loud BOOM of thunder almost immediately after seeing the flash of the bolt. If the sky here has kind a fake or "plastic" feel to it, it's because it was POURING rain at the time and this was a long exposure. The pouring rain appears like a coat of glossy clear paint as a result. No Photoshop work here. In order to shoot this shot, I placed my camera rig under a folding table to shield it from the pouring rain. Luckily the rain was coming straight down and not blowing sideways - otherwise I'd be making an insurance claim on my gear. Haha. While the weather station on my camper registered only 0.04" of rain up here, it all came down with about 30 minutes or so. Among the commotion, I didn't have much time to carefully frame my shot before shooting this frame as part of a timelapse - I made sure to get the ocotillo and cholla in the fame to the right, then had to start shooting and seek shelter under the canopy of my trailer. On Friday night (October 12, 2018) I got to experience the most epic thunderstorm I've ever seen in southern California. I know I may have said something similar a week or two ago, but this one tops ALL thunderstorms I've experienced out here.