On the South African Highveld, Spring has jumped into high gear already with the first major thunderstorms now circulating the region. After a very long and dry winter, the rain is a big relief for all and sundry, for South African Lightning Photographer Mitchell Krog it’s work as usual chasing storms. This image below captured an electrical storm at sunset.

Mitchell Krog explains the story:

Some storms were circulating our area from around 3pm in the afternoon, around 5:30pm I noticed a gap in the clouds on the horizon that showed potential of the sun being able to find it’s way through. I got my kit and drove down to a nearby field. Because it was raining I was confined to the vehicle and got myself into some rather uncompromising positions to get this shot. I had no option to use a tripod due to the space limitations in the vehicle I was in so I had to get myself into a position that I could shoot out the window and keep the camera handheld as still as possible. 30 minutes later, a stiff back, sore arms and voila it all just came together for one fleeting moment. I would have liked a few ground strikes but with lightning photography you settle for whatever you are given. It’s not often that the sun finds a gap through a storm front but nature is full of surprises.

Electric Sunset. This image taken on the afternoon of the 28th of September 2009 by South African Lightning Photographer Mitchell Krog captured the setting sun with a storm to the right streaking lightning across the sky. It's seldom that the sun finds its way through a storm front. From Mitchell Krog's Lightning Photography Portfolios. (Copyright Mitchell Krog - All Rights Reserved)