Contrary to popular belief lightning can strike the same place twice as shown in this timed exposure in the Ajo Mountains of Arizona. Although there are devices available for capturing lightning images, I find that composing a shot and then making a timed exposure of one to three minutes in sync with the rhythm of the strikes works just as well.

This image was made with a 300mm lens at a distance of about ten miles. While heading back from a day of shooting at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, I noticed the storm in the distance just after sunset and was surprised by the consistency of the strikes on the ridge. Shooting lightning can be dangerous (a tripod makes a good lightning rod!), but the conditions were perfect on this evening with clear skies above me and the long lens bringing the drama safely into view. The challenging part was actually framing the image in complete darkness using only the light from the strikes to compose. After opening the shutter, I watched and waited as mother nature created her elaborate light painting.

I often praise the benefits of digital photography when compared to the old days of film, but one area where the digital world falls short is the constant need for power. People often ask how I manage this obstacle when traveling in the wilderness. The answer is the sun!

In addition to taking along a good supply of fully charged lithium-ion batteries I have a solar panel that rolls up into a small tube and cranks out a powerful 14 watts. That’s enough juice to power a laptop or sat phone and will even charge batteries on overcast days. So between that and several large capacity CF cards the sky really is the limit to shooting in the backcountry.