PHOTOGRAPHER CAPTURES INCREDIBLE MOMENT OF A DOUBLE RAINBOW WITH A LIGHTING BOLT IN THE CENTRE
Photographer Jason Rinehart is fortunate to live close to Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, offering him access to an incredible landscape. Over the years, this has helped him improve his storm photography techniques, and he's gotten pretty good at anticipating the weather patterns that will give him the best shots. This knowledge paid off recently when he managed to capture a picture of a lightning strike that was precisely centred beneath a double rainbow. As if that weren't enough, the scene took place entirely at dusk.
The end effect is a surreal picture in which the rainbows resemble bell jars holding a lightning bolt. The image has a mystical quality that is further enhanced by the pink and purple sky, which coincided because Rinehart was able to decipher the weather forecast. The end effect is a surreal picture in which the rainbows resemble bell jars holding a lightning bolt. The image has a mystical quality that is further enhanced by the pink and purple sky, which coincided because Rinehart was able to decipher the weather forecast.
"Just as this amazing rainbow was about to form in front of me, the rain stopped." As with all of my lightning photography, I immediately set up my Canon 6d, Sigma 14-24, and Hadia rear mount six stop ND filter, and I began shooting in continuous mode," he says to My Modern Met.
“I knew right away as the rainbow started growing bigger across the sky that this was going to be something very special. I’ve captured rainbows before on the parkway but never one so bright and vibrant. The colour was something to witness and takes your breath away. Being a photographer, knowing you're capturing something so special is a pretty indescribable feeling. I like to think that in these types of circumstances and moments, words are unnecessary because the image now tells the story.”
Even though Rinehart was already quite pleased with what he had witnessed, something extraordinary occurred next. "It seemed like a bolt from the sky, perfectly framed within a stunning rainbow," he remembers. "Once my shutter stopped, I knew that I had successfully captured the exact moment I had spent so much time and effort on."
For the photographer, it's a perfect illustration of how having insider knowledge of the surroundings can pay off. He wants other creatives to be reminded by his work that sometimes the best work comes from very close to home.
“It’s a beautiful thing to be passionate about something enough to share a gift with the world. These are the moments I can’t help but feel alive.”