Thunderstorms

I've always had a fascination with thunderstorms and tornadoes. In 4th grade, my best friend and I wanted to be storm chasers. We watched Twister over and over on VHS. Following the April 27th tornadoes and seeing firsthand what they are capable of, I could probably just settle on thunderstorms- no more tornadoes please. I find an intrigue in capabilities of mother nature, and a romantic quality to it. There's always a peaceful still in the air once the volatility in the sky moves past. Last summer in New York, I remember standing on my rooftop with Chris watching a thunderstorm in the distance. The darkness slowly moved in and settled over the city, creating an eerie feeling and a charged energy in the air.  That was one of the few times I saw a thunderstorm like that in New York. It reminded me of the summers growing up when two or three storm fronts move through on any given day. Standing outside as the wind picks up and the trees begin to sway and swoosh around, leaves floating in the air, seeing the wall cloud approach- many times a distinct barrier between the dark and light of the sky, the quick passing of the storm followed by the sun and stillness. That's the passage of a storm, and that's exactly what is happening here this week. It's one of my associations with the Southern life- the crazy summer storms that move over the open expanse of fields and farmlands.

Sunday evening, as we traveled home from Tennessee, we could see the dark sky many miles south. Once we arrived near Elkmont, the storm had already passed through, creating a beautiful sunset on the horizon. In the spirit of the moment, my dad drove to a high spot near town, and I took some beautiful pictures of the sky. We were able to see some exhilarating lightning in the distance, as the spidery bolts traveled from cloud to cloud. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about photographing lightning. But I did manage to get one ok shot and we took some video.

 Sailor's sky