Rare lightning storm over Vancouver Island captured by photographers
Two northern Vancouver Island photographers proved Monday night that with the right equipment and a lot of patience, they could capture some stunning images of a passing lightning storm.
Anthony Bucci is a professional photographer who captures nature, landscape and wildlife images for a living, along with conducting guided wildlife tours. On Monday night, he spent 8 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. on the hunt for perfect lightning photos.
Lightning bolts over Vancouver Island on June 27, 2022. (Anthony Bucci)
Bucci says he was notified of the approaching storm using the lightning tracker app on his phone.
“An electrical storm up here is kind of rare, I guess you could say. I was doing a whale-watching tour yesterday and I was monitoring it on a lightning tracking app,” Bucci says.
He has the app set to a 300-kilometre radius around the north end of the island and says the storm Monday night came down from the Cape Scott area towards Port Hardy.
“It kind of started off with fork [lightning] and then it was about an hour of just sheet and then it was three hours of fork lightning non-stop and then the fog rolled in,” Bucci says.
But during that time he was able to grab an estimated 600 photos and 40 videos, operating two cameras with 30-second exposures with two different focal-length lenses.
“I had a 70-200mm on one for more of an up-close personal photo and then I had a 50mm on my other camera for more of a wider view and then I had the two cameras tethered together with triggers and then I just had a remote button in my hand,” he says.
Bucci says there are motion detector gadgets that can be purchased that will automatically trigger cameras after picking up the lightning bolt but he prefers to do long exposures instead.
His images can be seen on Facebook at A Bucci Photography or at abucciphotography.com.
He wasn’t the only photographer out lightning-bolt hunting Monday night though.
Brian Texmo says he was just about to head to bed when his wife saw some flashing in the distance so knew the lightning was coming towards him.
“Last night you could sort of feel it in the air, you get that really humid, hot, wet feeling, out on my deck and I thought OK it’s going to happen here,” Texmo says.
Lightning bolts over Vancouver Island on June 27, 2022. (Brian Texmo)
Texmo considers himself more of a hobby photographer with a passion for landscapes.
He went three to four kilometres away from his house towards the Bear Cove area to capture 15-second exposures.
“What happens when lightning strikes in your frame, you’re taking a long exposure, it will actually burn itself in your camera sensor so while you’re taking the picture for 15 seconds, every single lightning bolt or any event that happens in that frame will be burned into that image," he says. "You can get multiple lightning bolts over 15 seconds."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.