Lightning Strike and Eiffel Tower

Provided by: Bertrand Kulik
Summary Authors: Bertrand Kulik, Jim Foster

The remarkable photo above shows the blue tinted Eiffel Tower in front of a bolt out of the blue. Because lightning usually strikes the highest point of a structure, and not lower down as it appears in the photo, a viewer can tell that this cloud-to-ground strike is in fact behind the tower. The tower was purposely illuminated in blue light to celebrate the European Union (EU) presidency. It was taken at 9:00 p.m. from the window of my home in Paris during a summer thunderstorm in July of 2008.

Photo Details: Canon EOS 350D camera, lens Sigma 70 300 at 70mm, fd 7.1, 8 second exposure, 100 ISO.

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