I just returned from a great trip to Ohio with the Mentor Series. We packed in the shooting from landscapes to portraits to sports, but one of the highlights for me was the incredible skyline images we created. We had scouted a good bridge to photograph the Columbus skyline, and we were hoping for a nice twilight image. But what we found was much more than your normal skyline shot. When we arrived an incredible thunderstorm was moving through the area, creating a spectacular sky above the city lights. The timing was perfect since both twilight and the city lights helped illuminate the moody storm clouds. After about five minutes of shooting, a downpour began and we retreated to our bus. To add even more drama and mood to this shot, I used the adjustment brush in Lightroom and added Clarity, Saturation and changed the white balance slightly. I also added a slight Topaz Adjust action to the final image.
We had lighting during this storm, but unfortunately no clean bolts, just cloud to cloud. But summer is the time to thrown your lighting trigger into your photo bag, you never know when you will be in the right place for a good lightning storm. I use the AOE Lightning Strike as my trigger; small and easy to use.