Floridian Nights

Hi my name is Christopher & I’m from a small farmers town in California called Castroville. Living in this small town I never really had much around me. For the first few years of my adult life I realized that I had been living under a rock and that the world all around us is such a beautiful place and I needed to see more! This aspired me to go out and see the world we live in as I thought life is short and I should fill every moment with something to remember. This photo is for my outdoor shot challenge this photo was taken at night! At Fort Myers beach in Florida’s south west region. I was out one night trying to capture some cool pictures of lightning and I’ve always aspired to catch some beautiful images of lightning as it went through all its stages. Lightning always has fascinated myself because nature is such a beautiful thing. I began watching videos earlier in the week so I can figure how exactly to capture lightning as it is extremely fast. I’d say about 90% of my pictures are black and not of lightning before I learned a neat technique. Growing up in the area I did in California the whole first 19 years of my life I’ve only witnessed 1 lightning storm. The first lightning storm I seen I immediately fell in love but it wouldn’t be until 9 years later that my eyes would see lightning again. I ended up moving to Florida later I had no idea about the lightning storms in Florida so when I discovered the lightning it brought back so many good memories. I thought me being able to capture these moments the little kid in me was excited and my imagination began taking over. I had no idea Florida had this much lightning later I was told by some locals that Florida is the lightning capital of the world! Which amazed me because I grew up in a small farmers town that was known as the artichoke capital of the world. Being in the Gulf of Mexico the water here is warm even at night so I decided to take some shots in the water little did I know I was moments away from getting shocked. As I was taking these pictures lightning stuck closer and closer but that didn’t stop me because I didn’t get the shot I wanted. I stayed a few minutes more during this time I was able to capture some of the Most beautiful images of the lightning I have ever caught but it just wasn’t enough I wanted more. Then BOOM I immediately felt the Jolt of electricity run up my leg and throughout my whole body. It wasn’t enough to knock me off my feet but it was enough to send me running into my car. Such an exhilarating feeling at that time before the strike I was calm and relaxed after the strike I was wide awake ready to take on the next which I did not challenge because I decided I wanted to live to see another lightning show in the sky and it was better not to test Mother Nature as I was taught in California never turn your back on the ocean. I took a lesson from that and chose not to challenge Mother Nature. That night I took over 200 photos this was one of the best pictures I got and it always reminds me of the time I got electrocuted In the water at the beach. Always be careful when taking pictures with lightning near by don’t test Mother Nature.