Lightning Over Gamboa Beach Brazil

April 29, 2011

GambaBeachLightning 
Photographer: Claudio A. Heckler
Summary Author: Claudio A. Heckler; Jim Foster

The photo above showing cloud-to-cloud lightning was captured during a midsummer, nighttime thunderstorm over Gamboa Beach, Brazil. Cloud-to-cloud (intra-cloud) lightning results when there's a sufficient charge difference between the top of a cloud (positively charged) and the cloud base (negatively charged). Most lightning discharges are cloud-to-cloud though; cloud-to-ground lightning generally commands more of our attention. Photo taken on February 9, 2011.

Photo details: To capture this picture, I set the camera on a tripod in BULB mode and used a cable release. The contrast was slightly enhanced during post processing. Camera Maker: Canon; Camera Model: Canon EOS REBEL T1i; Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS; Focal Length: 18.0mm; Aperture: f/6.3; Exposure Time: 48.000 s; ISO equiv: 200.