This is so close to being a perfectly composed image but I would love to jump back in time with you and shift the tripod one step to the left so it's not ever so slightly off centre.
Otherwise, it's a beautiful choice of focal point for the subject, lending curiosity and a sense of depth in juxtaposition to the storm on the vast horizon.
This is WILD!!! Brilliant exposure and contrast in the sky. Spot on white balance and I just love the foreground of happy campers seemingly dry and unperturbed by the raging storm nearby.
The slight elevation has given this image the perfect depth and sense of human community in proximity to the lightning. Love it! Just love it!
This is such a fantastically terrifying image. It's probably the closest strike in the top 10 and I just hope you were safely inside a vehicle as it's too close for comfort.
This image could be a potential top 3 shot were it not for the dust spots that are so visible at the top of the frame. It would only take a few minutes in lightroom or photoshop to clean up and it would make a big difference to a great capture.
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I wouldn't be surprised to see people preying in the streets at the sight of this. What a truly phenomenal beast of cloud and the absolute perfect time for it to roll into a city from the point of view of a photographer.
Great vantage point and delicious colours. You can see the inner cloud lightning illuminating the cloud itself but if there was a strike reaching out towards the city, this would surely have made the top 10.
Oooh this is a simply sublime detail shot! Surprisingly there were not so many entries in this competition that captured cumulonimbus clouds in high detail so this one stands out in that respect but it's more than that.
The contrast is gorgeous and the detail that is illuminated by the lightning flash is so good I have been looking at it for a long time now!
What is so fabulous about this image, is that considering the explosive subject of this particular competition, it evokes a very real sense of tranquility.
An inspired choice of shutter speed gives just the right balance of creative blur and detail, which in combination with the monochrome effect, gives the viewer a great deal of visual interest to pour over.
This is the most mind bendingly epic photo of the whole competition. The composition is perfect, with the misty city lights dwarfed by the dark rugged mountains and towering cumulonimbus. The way the lightning strikes straight down the centre of the frame is just fabulous also.
This is very close to being a winning photo for me but I strongly encourage you to take 5 minutes to clone out the dust spots in the future as it could make the difference between 1st and 2nd place.
I'm glad to read in your description that you live close-by because you will hopefully get another chance like this but with an improved technique and maybe also, earn that 1st place :) Well done!
This photo more than any other in the top 10, speaks to me beyond just the competition subject of lightning. It is such a brilliantly ordinary British landscape of green fields, castles and council blocks.
What makes this really stand out for me however, is that in this class obsessed country, the lightning has leaped over the English Heritage landmark and dumped its 600 million volts onto the council estate. This photo is an accidental social statement.
I love a good 'look up' Lightning shot and this is one of the best in the comp. Lovely subtle use of tropical silhouettes to ground the viewer but the bulk of the composition goes to that stunning hulk of a lightning bolt.
So perfectly exposed and framed that i really feel rotten that it didn't get in to the top 10 this time.
Brief
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One of nature’s great spectacles, tricky to shoot well, but rewarding with truly memorable images. When the weather delivers, and the skies are cracking open, the well prepared photographer sets their tripod, frames the shot, and employs long shutter speeds to capture the scene that unfolds.
Wonderful scene and bonus points for clearly describing the shooting and editing process too.
What I particularly like about this shot is the contrast between the warmly illuminated building and steely blue sky. The choice of angle is great too, elevating the horseback hero into the pantheon of raging gods. Great drama!
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Incredible creation! I use that word over capture as the heavy editing has left me wondering if this is a single still capture?
I would really love to know a little bit more about the process because it is a wonderful image. The subtle rainbow and puff of dust or gas is delightful and the colour balance gives it Tornado Ally kind of vibe. Solid work, well done!
