Struck by Lightning

As a photographer, I tend to keep a list going on things that I plan to photograph in my life. Some seem far fetched and deep in the depths of a pipe dream, yet sometimes life aligns and the seemingly impossible comes true. On this list, I have been fortunate enough to check off a few like NOFX and Motorhead concerts, but the vast expansion of my desires reaches into much more difficult endeavors. Underwater macro of Sea Slugs, Baobab trees, Muskoxen, Sundew plants and lightning are all on this list. The latter of all these requires a very specific set of circumstances. Lightning is unpredictable and extremely tough to capture, unless it is that one in a million storm that concentrates in an area, that happens to have a worthy landscape in the perfect ambient evening light. It must be far enough away, with no visual obstructions and the shooting location should be dry with no rain sheeting getting in the way of a crisp photograph. This recipe for the shot I am after seems almost impossible. Yet, it happened to me. I was in the right place at the right time far away from home. I had all my camera gear, my tripod and all the time in the world. This is the moment I was waiting for.

That night I did not take a single photograph.

No matter how ideal of a situation it was, there was no way I was going to give up this chance to experience one of the most perfect moments in my life. I was with someone who means the world to me and the thought of living this moment through the lens felt like it would be defying the real purpose of my life. We sat on a bench in the warm summer night on a hillside overlooking the peaceful waters of a beautiful Saskatchewan lake. The sky's electrical storm surrounded us in panoramic perfection. Strike after strike, the lightning danced its way to the ground in blissful rhythm. Thunder rumbled up and down the open prairies, through the valley and across the lake. Not a drop of rain touched our faces as we sat, the only forces were the warm breeze and the comfortable peace of being in each other's arms.

As the spectacular display faded into the distance, we stood up to leave. He turns to me and says:" I bet you wish you brought your camera." I smiled and said "Not a chance"

Too often I have heard photographers complain about the little technical and photographic annoyances at some event that might have otherwise been one of the best moments in their lives. Spending half an hour getting the lights and background just right on a tray of cupcakes at their daughter's first birthday, cursing the lights at a venue showcasing their favorite band on stage, getting flustered at the unpredictability of breaching Whales in the Pacific Ocean....

Life is all a series of moments, not a pile of pixels or a shoebox of negatives. Sometimes it's better to let go the feeling of trying to capture life in a take-home format and living in the moment that matters.

Cat