Incredible Lightning Storm Photography Over New York City Bridges

far away rumbling and a briefly lit sky
boom. flash. far away.
BOOM! Flash. Getting Closer.

A bolt of lightning over the Queensboro Bridge and Long Island City

Thunder now shakes my walls
Lightning bolts clearly visable
No rain in sight

A huge split bolt of lightning behind the Big Alice Con Edison power plant in Long Island City, Queens, NYC

A huge bolt of lightning, as photographed from the Eastern side of Roosevelt island, NYC

Dry lightning storms are a pretty common occurrence in New York City, though the bolts are usually pretty far off in the distance. However, on the night of June 8, 2008, I watched in awe as Mother Nature painted the sky just outside my window with a light show of bright white lines and dark blue clouds.

A split lightning bolt crashes behind the Citi building in Queens, NY

After spending a while shooting from my living room window on Roosevelt Island, I grabbed my tripod and remote shutter and headed down to the riverside for a different and closer angle.

(below is a full shot of the view from my window)

The view from my Roosevelt Island, NYC, apartment during a June 8, 2008, lightning storm

Thunder boomed in the distance and lightning bolts lit up the skies above the Big Alice Con Edison power plant and Queensboro Bridge – a mere few hundred feet from where Carrie and I stood.

Lightning lights up the sky behind the Big Alice Con Edison plant in Queens, NY

I used a remote release with my Nikon D80 to snap more than 1,000 photos over the course of the storm in hopes of capturing a few good images. In total, I got five ones that I was really happy with…although I did have to do quite a bit of cropping on some.

Queensboro Bridge Lightning Storm

Comments Question: Have you ever captured a bolt of lightning? What techniques did you use? I would love to see YOUR lightning shots!