(Featured in the Bastards Book of Photography: photography.bastardsbook.com/toc )
BOOM! Actually, it didn't sound that impressive. Hope everyone was OK
at the ESB.
From the 68th floor of the Top of the Rock, during a summer storm. No
tripod used, just holding the camera tight to my face and between the
glass partitions, shooting bursts until I got lucky. I think lightning
hit the Empire State Building at least one or two other times, including this one, but I wasn't quite quick enough to catch it :).
This was outside on the deck of the Top of the Rock; the very top of the observation deck is closed off, likely to reduce the chance that a tourist is the highest point of the Top of the Rock when lightning comes by. I'm half-joking about the people on the ESB; I'm sure the lightning rod pretty much eliminates risk to people on the observation deck, just as it does on the Rockefeller Center. So the bigger risk is probably heart shock; a few people ran for cover the few times lightning hit the Rock.)
The Canon 5D Mk2 shoots at 3.9fps. I waited for about a minute after each strike and then just periodically held the trigger down...The camera reading says it can store 52 (JPG) shots in its buffer, but I let off after about a dozen shots at each time to let the memory-writing catch up. From the half hour that I waited before this shot, it looks like I took about 550 shots before getting this one.
The metadata is here, but basically, 1/40th of a second at 2.8F, using the 24-70mm lens,
at 1250 ISO.
--
Here's more photos of the storm and lightning and the NYC skyline.
See my Tumblr of New York photos.
Thanks Boing Boing for the link!
chipoglesby, Kidsturk, cerulean_blue, alba, and 101 other people added this photo to their favorites.
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Aaron Dodd 24 months ago | reply
Amazing shot, well done
tastiger11 24 months ago | reply
nice strike, great series
akd200 24 months ago | reply
Way cool shot! Found it just now on BoingBoing! I have a excellent shot of lightning also, you are so right luck plays a part in it, but you have to be in the place to get lucky. Were you outside to take this shot? Scary.
Hosam Al-Ghamdi (Instagram: @hosamalghamdi) 24 months ago | reply
Excellent capture my friend
Well done
Dan Nguyen @ New York City 24 months ago | reply
Thanks for the kind compliments! akd200> I was outside on the observation deck of the Rockefeller Center ($75 to be in their "Loyalty Program", free admission for a year and discounts for guests, and even an mp3 player...a pretty good deal considering it's open every day till midnight, and isn't too full of tourists past sunset, usually). It seemed lightning might have hit the Rock at least once....but I didn't recall any particularly loud thunder, or a near instantaneous thunderclap...so maybe it was just right above us.
Max Hendel 24 months ago | reply
Great capture !!!
akd200 24 months ago | reply
I looked at more of your NYC shots and find them very "alive". Once again I envy you guys like my friend OMOO on flicker for getting to shoot NYC, but then again I have seen Polar Bears walking down streets in Alaska!
As a Boing Boing reader you must have read about Vivian Maier and the 10,000 negs found of her NYC street shots!
mambo1935 24 months ago | reply
stunning capture!
tkatona 24 months ago | reply
I hope you didn't get soaking wet while waiting for your perfect shot :) Excellent capture!
Maartuhh 24 months ago | reply
Very impressive!!
I once tried to make a shot like that, but it's really hard!
Rjay84 24 months ago | reply
amazing shot great timing
Dan Nguyen @ New York City 24 months ago | reply
Walter J R Freitas 24 months ago | reply
crazy picture!!!
J.Wood 24 months ago | reply
Amazing catch
Myben.be 24 months ago | reply
great job !
Ramón Espelt 24 months ago | reply
Que gran fotografía; me encanta!
Pragmatic1111 24 months ago | reply
Egads! What a trick shot!
Alexander Steinhof 23 months ago | reply
This is a really fantastic picture...I like it!
Greetings Alex
My website: web-done.de
Karol Czuba 23 months ago | reply
Stunning shot.
natashachakraborty 12 months ago | reply
Amazing timing!