Pueblo Lights Up

It's that time of year again that i can't resist running for my camera when i hear the rumble of thunder. This was Wed night, i spent about half hour sitting on my porch pushing the shutter for 20 sec exposures. Got about a 20% success rate, am hoping you can help me weed these down to the best 2. A few bad pixels that i havent cleaned up yet, but you get the idea

#2

#3

#4

And finally, #5, storm moved too far away after this.

there is something about the first and last ones that I like, could be the way it lights up the clouds

The last #5 seems the most dynamic to me

Sal

Hmmmmmmmmm must be that time of year! Ha... always enjoy seeing the lightning shots! Been pretty quiet all in all for a May in Metro Denver...

#1 is sublime. The composition and light is just awesome. I'd say you owe Mother Nature one for letting you grab that one.

I like #3 (this shows how large an area it covers) and #5 (good color and curves).

I really like #5 too, as far as the others I like them all -- the 1st has cool lightning and #3 a good perspective.

I like #5 best. That storm was quite a surprise to me. If I'd been ready for it, I would've grabbed the camera and headed out. Instead I just laid in bed with the curtains open, let the show light up the room, and fed my dog Rascal a doggie downer to keep her freak-out factor to a minimum.

Nice work, Stan! I scrolled down without looking at any other "votes". It's #5 for me, a no-brainer!

Awsome job Stan! #1 & #5 are my favorites.

#5 is the best of the lot IMHO. After that, I think I like them all about equally.

What are your settings when taking these?

Sweet shots, Stan! My votes are for 1 & 5.

The isolated lightning and effects on the clouds in #'s 1, 4 & 5 make those my favorites.

So you storm chase all around the Great Plains for a week and get your best lightning shots from your front porch? I like #s1 , 2, & 4. I might cheat and clone out the telephone lines in 2 & 3. I guess I'm an oddball who likes 2 & 4 and doesn't like 5 so much. It seems a bit overstaturated and I don't like the lightning being obscured by clouds.

Stan, These are all great. I've never had much luck photographing lightening. Maybe because I'm just to chicken to be out in it. I can feel my hair standing up just looking at these. My favorites are #3 and #4. I like all the little blue fingers of lightening in these.

#1 and #2 work for me. I saw this thunderhead building from Divide, it was huge and dynamic. Nice capture.

Another vote for 1 and 5. I love the diverse imagery you bring to this forum Stan.

Yikes!
It's a tough call. I think I'd vote for #3 because I like the way the vertical lightning streak almost meets the red streak of car lights, and #5 for sheer color and beauty.

Thanks for all the comments and votes! It looks like a slight consensus for 1,5. Interesting to me since im partial to 2&4, the latter because it was one strike and has such a mix of colors. But it helps to hear others' preferences!
Les, im ordinarily a bit more careful and choosy with my lightning settings, but here i was in a bit of a hurry so i just focused on infinity with my 17mm, and 20s at f/9.

I love the last shot. The clouds make it look very dramatic!

Stan.... I love 1,4 and 5 ....beautiful...colors and exposure are right on.... great job risking it and capturing them....regards, Rajeev.

I'm in the 1 and 5 boat. Love the branching and clouds.

Thanks, everyone! Ive reprocessed #5 to reduce the sat a bit and will post it for the tough crowd at ESS.