[Part 3 of 4]  In its upper reaches, this flash's invisible step leader rambled wildly, in a chaotic contortion of loops and branches, before two main splits headed erratically downward, destined to be illuminated when one won the race to the ground charge.   In this case, however, the finish was a tie.  Both branches of the same discharge got grounded, but one (on the left) was markedly brighter, … [Read more...]

[Part 2 of 4]  Seemingly delicate, intricate, as if nature's ultimate lacework in the fluidity of hot plasma, the detailed wonder of a deeply forked lightning discharge never fails to captivate me.  Unable to do so in real time because of lightning's shocking brevity, I could stare at an image like this for many minutes, marveling at the fine-scale artistry painted in electric light.  As so often … [Read more...]

[Part 1 of 4]  In a rare block of pre-dawn time when I was awake, not at work, and elevated thunderstorms roamed the nearby countryside, I headed out in hopes of capturing a few of nature's pyrotechnics.  As I approached the shooting area, the original set of somewhat-discrete storms began to weaken and merge into a blob with only diffuse, in-cloud flashes, seemingly dashing hopes.  However, a … [Read more...]