There is a specific kind of electricity in the air when a summer storm rolls over the Bellarine Peninsula. But yesterday evening was different.
As I stood by the water at Corio Bay, the atmosphere felt heavy—not just with the incoming humidity, but with the haze of the Victorian bushfires drifting across the horizon. The result was a sunset palette I’ve rarely seen: bruised purples, deep charcoals, and an eerie, filtered orange glow.
The Moment the Sky Cracked
I was set up near the old pylons, watching the clouds churn, when the sky finally gave way. This wasn’t just a simple bolt to the ground; it was a massive display of horizontal "anvil crawler" lightning that seemed like veins winding their way through the smoke-heavy clouds.
The reflection on the water, usually crisp, was softened by the long exposure and the haze, making the bay look like liquid metal.
A Contrast of Elements
Photography is often about capturing light, but yesterday was about capturing a collision.
-
The Fire: Represented by that low, thick smoke hugging the horizon—a reminder of the heat and the struggle occurring elsewhere in our state.
-
The Water: The stillness of Corio Bay providing a mirror to the chaos above.
-
The Storm: A violent, beautiful release of energy that finally broke the day’s tension.
Standing there with the shutter clicking, you realize how small we are compared to these systems. The smell of salt spray mixing with woodsmoke is something I won't soon forget.
Gear & Settings
For those wondering how I caught this:
-
Location: Clifton Springs, Victoria.
-
Timing: Just before sunset as the storm front moved in.
-
The Trick: Using a tripod was essential for the long exposure to let that lightning "write" its path across the sensor without losing the detail in the dark water. In order to do this, since there was still quite a bit of light around, I set the ISO to 200 and dialled my aperture down to 13 to reduce the amount of light hitting the sensor. To set the shutter speed, I used the Aperture priority mode, so that the camera could automatically select the appropriate shutter speed (which was 4 seconds for this one). And then I just had to keep snapping away, hoping to catch a lightning strike within that narrow 4 second window!
What do you see when you look at this? The beauty of the storm, or the intensity of the season? Let me know in the comments.
Add comment
Comments