Sunday 22 August 2010

The magic of nature; a fiery sky.

On Sunday morning I was awoken by a deep, throaty roll of thunder just as it was starting to get light. I slowly stretched, then climbed out of bed to open the shutters in the bedroom. Nothing very interesting was happening on that side of the house, so I took my time wandering down the passage. I decided to open the shutters covering the glass doors on the other side of the house, and as I did so, I was literally struck dumb by the beauty of the gathering storm in front of my eyes. It took me a few seconds to register, and  I raced to get the camera!

The following nine photos are all in order and were taken in a space of just under five minutes. I was facing west and the sun was rising behind me. I cannot believe how close I came to missing this magic of nature.










A morning I will not forget in a hurry; I only wish I could add sound to this post!  It was very noisy!

62 comments:

  1. Wow! A fabulous set of photos, and you did so well to capture the lightening!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow ! That really is magnificent - just imagine if you'd slept in a few minutes longer, you would have missed it all ! You have captured it all beautifully .....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jan I cannot tell you how hppy I am with this set of photos:-) Diane

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lynda, I so nearly turned over to sleep in for a bit longer!!!!! It was only the thought of feeding the cats for David that made me get up when I did. Thank you cats:-) Diane

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow - some amazing shots there - well done!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Chris, glad you appreciated them. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful pictures. Thor says he's glad you couldn't add sound to it, so he didn't have to hide.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is so cool! What a great photo journal of a storm! It sure gave you a fascinating light show of all sorts.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I could see, hear and feel that storm. Very dramatic. Such a wonderful morning gift.

    ReplyDelete
  10. These are amazing shots, Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice pictures ! I don't know how you manage to take lightnings ? It's very rare !

    ReplyDelete
  12. Marjie, Thor would not have been a happy dog at all, suppose I could have found some ear plugs :-) Diane

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lyndsey, I was just so lucky I did not miss it. Sure I will never see anything like it again. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  14. Gaelyn I think every time I look at those pictures I will be able to re-live that storm. It was spectacular. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you Francois. Hope all is well over there with you. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  16. Those first two are absolutely stunning Diane!! What luck to get all those lightening shots too.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sébastien I have been trying for many years to get photos of lightning, then I got about 6 in a row, but these were the best ones. Have a good holiday. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  18. The power in nature is awe striking. If the sun were behind you I am guessing that the clouds were just high enough for the light of the sun to hit them Spectacular. Attended college in the mountains, and with no regard to the danger, we would sit out on the top of "girls hill" on the stone walls and watch the approaching storms. The clouds and light display were messmerizing.
    Beautiful pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  19. WOW!! that is some cloud formation and excellent shots :)) it looks like you were in Texas for a while :))

    ReplyDelete
  20. Joan the whole series will keep me happy for years! I am even impressed with myself:) Diane

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sonia it is a pleasure to share, this was so out of the ordinary. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  22. Mya you are right, the power of nature is awesome and sometimes very frightning. When it is beautiful though, it is well worth recording if possible. I hope I can re-live this over and over from my photos. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  23. Philip, not Texas, just in our back garden in France. I always though S.A. storms could be dramatic, but we have had a few here which have been very scary! Diane

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thunder storms in France are something else. We get off lightly here. Good thing you got up to early to capture the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wonderful photos Diane! A good thing you woke up and didn't miss the storm. I love the fiery orange colours and the fantastic progression!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wow ... great set of images Diane - isn't it wonedrful when nature surprises you like that hey? - makes your day and the whole world seem beautiful ...

    the early bird certainly caught the worm here ... :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Marianne we used to have huge storms in Africa, but I think France have even more violent ones from time to time. You are right the UK seems to get off in general very lightly. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thanks Neil and Susan for the comments. I am also glad the noise woke me up. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks Graham for your Wow. You are right, it really was a case of the early worm here. If I had not have got up I would never have known what I missed. That would have been tragic. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  30. Absolutely amazing, Diane!!
    Those clouds reflecting such intense sunset light are fabulous! They seem to roll in like a fiery wave! WOW!!
    And I am very impressed with yours lightening pics!
    I've never tried this yet!
    Fantastic!!!
    Have a great day and bring us more of these beauties! :))

    ReplyDelete
  31. WOW!! It almost looks as if the sky had been set alight...that must have been some wake up call!!

    C x

    ReplyDelete
  32. Noushka you are right it was like a fiery wave, it was amazing to watch. I am just so glad I have the memories on camera. Thanks for the comments. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  33. Carol it one of the best wake up calls I have ever had. I am so glad I did not miss it. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  34. Spectacular shots, Diane! I just saw the most amazing day-glo pink setting sun last week. I was driving and had no camera to document it. You did!!! Thanks for sharing the amazing colors.

    ReplyDelete
  35. What a wonderful series of photographs, so glad you did take them and share with us.

    ReplyDelete
  36. longpastremembered there is nothing worse than when you see something amazing and you have no camera to cature the moment on. Glad I could share these. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  37. Lindy these photos I will treasure, I will never see anything like that again I am sure. It is a pleasure to share moments like this. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  38. Awesome pictures!! My kids loved to look at them too!!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Hi Debbie, thanks for the comment, glad the kids enjoyed them as well. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  40. Lovely photos, and wonderful capture of the coming storm.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Vera thanks for the comment. I have to admit to be being very pleased with myself over these photos:-) Diane

    ReplyDelete
  42. Whatb a brilliant start to your day. No wonder you aren't looking forward to winter in the UK. Amazing photos!

    ReplyDelete
  43. You got some really lovely shots of the lightening! Your pictures are gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Michelle it was a brilliant start to the day literally with the lightning!!Luv to Zebby. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  45. OH WOW!!! Stunning set of pictures. I have a prosumer camera, so its one shot at a time which means that I have never been able to photograph lightning. I am impressed.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Thanks Faith, as I have said previously I was just lucky to be in the right spot at the right time! Diane

    ReplyDelete
  47. Firefly thank you for visiting. These pictures for me are something very special. I only have a very cheap digital camera but it did cope with the lighning shots. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  48. Beautiful shots! In some of them the sky seems to be in flames. Also love the mysterious header image.

    ReplyDelete
  49. JM thanks for the visit and the comments. You are right the sky does appear to be in flames, I was stunned by the whole effect. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  50. Great series shots of the fiery sky! It would be interesting to see them for real! Hapy Mid-week!

    ReplyDelete
  51. Llani it was quite dramatic and noisy few minutes. Have a good day. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  52. What an amazing sky and I love the photos! You did a great job, thanks you so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  53. Wow! These shots are so amazing, you've really captured all the moods and essence of the storm! Beautifully done!

    ReplyDelete
  54. Taste of Beirut, thank you for visiting. So glad you enjoyed the photos. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  55. Thanks Nicky for your comments. As I have said previously there was a lot of luck attached to these photos, but I am so pleased with the result. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  56. your photos are fantastic! Deanna

    ReplyDelete
  57. Thanks Deanna, it was a great show in the sky all in 5 minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Wonderful shots of the impending storm. We experience a lot of thunder and lightning here. Sometimes the lightning makes us jump out of our skin, literally. Therefore staying out of it's way is the best thing to do.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Keats the Sunshine Girl, we also have thunder like that. I jump sky high sometimes it is quite scary. Thanks for the visit. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  60. Oh my goodness...those are amazing! So glad you sent me the link...timing is everything, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lynette you are so right timing is everything, thanks goodness I did not miss this once in a life time shot for me. Diane

      Delete

Thanks for taking the time to visit and pass a comment. Every comment is appreciated and I try to reply to each and every one. All comments are verification free but will come to me for approval first :-)) No Anonymous Users!

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.