Front Row Seats
Thunderstorm at Lido Key beach, Florida. The two brightest celestial bodies are the Moon and Venus. Because of the storm most people cleared the beach, but because of the storm, I was drawn towards it.
Unfortunately, I did not get another good shot of lightning that evening – I forgot to bring my tripod, so the photos prior to this one are too blurred. I captured this clear shot by setting my camera on a beach chair, and propping up the lens with one of my flip-flops. And this stroke of lightning was the last significant one. But I’m sure grateful for it!
(Photo taken on July 17, 2007)
”#12 Great Features.”
Front Row Seats belongs to the following groups:
Astronomy, Beach Art, Dawn and Dusk Light, Florida the Sunshine State , Horizons, Light In The Darkness, Lightning and Storms, Live, Love, Dream: , Masterpiece: Photography, Miniatures and Mammoths, Mood & Ambience - Strictly Photos, Nature's Wonders, SEA, Shoot The Moon, Sunrise, Sunset, The true beauty, United States and Vibrant and Vivid Color Available for sale asGreeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints and Framed Prints

salsbells69
What a capture!!! Magnificent job~! Well done.
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks salsbells!
EOS20
WOW!! Amazing image Matt!
filthy6
Awesome shot Matt
ADMarshall
This is such a great shot MM – sometimes these things are worth the wait….?
Steven Guy
Oh my, this is a most beautiful shot.
Matt White
great shot well done
LindaR
whoa ~ THIS is an award winner or should be!! you have the celestial sky and a storm dancing all in the same shot ~ a miracle truly!! I love the way you came to shoot it and the flip flop tripod fix has me lol…excellent in every way ~ xx
Michael Rowley...
what a shot brilliant work matt
Matt Merritt
Thank you EOS20!
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bmckain
This is a really nice image, wouldn’t have found it if it weren’t in the contest. Great work!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks for the complement Bob!
eXposure
such ana amazing outlook and beautiful capture …
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Wendy!
dinghysailor1
brilliant capture! well done that flipflop! and you of course! this is an exceptional image!
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you Ding!
estrada
Beautiful!
Matt Merritt
Thanks Estrada
Denis Dalby
Dramatic and surreal Matt! A great capture.
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Denis!
Rebecca Cruz
This is incredibly stunning, Matt! Definitely surreal. Well done!
Matt Merritt
Thanks Rebecca!
Nixter
Wow..great shot!
ECGardner
Magical capture! I can certainly see why you were grateful for and drawn to the storm. It made for an incredible moment. Your beach chair/flip flop tripod sounds like something I would do, lol. :)
Matt Merritt
Thanks Erin!
Sometimes improvising is the only way to succeed.
stacyshell67
This is a magnificient shot! I love Lido Key!
stacyshell67
You should enter this in the national geographic photo contest. It is free too, I think you have an outstanding chance of winning.
Matt Merritt
Stacyshell, thanks for the complement, and the tip about the national geographic photo contest!
Audrey French
This is freaking amazing! I love it
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Audrey!
Bradley Shawn ...
Absolutely superb shot. Propping up your camera with your flip flop – sounds like the kind of thing I would do. What an excellent capture.
Matt Merritt replied
Bradley, thank you for the complement and for favoriting this!
Pischapa S
wow! Brilliant capture!!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Pischapa!
Dayonda
Another lovely work of Art, Matt!
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you Dayonda!
Dayonda
Again, it’s me—check out our new Group Avatar!
Rachel Stickney
Superb capture! Love it! A fave for me! That sky is amazing. I’d love to get a shot like this but I’d be too afraid of getting struck by lightning. Glad you got this fantastic shot safely!
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you Rachel!
Being a lightning photographer demands that I respect the dangers of lightning. Generally I stay inside if lightning is closer than 4 miles away (20 seconds between the flash and the thunder), and 4 miles is probably closer than I should be. But I have gotten good photos from indoors, and from storms that were over 20 miles away.
Steve Sharp
Beautiful photo, it must have been quite a sight to witness!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Steve, it was!
Roddy Atkinson
Stunning capture, love the beach chairs!
Jen Millard
Wow, this is incredible! What a shot…
Stephen Vecchi...
Very nice and unusual cloudscape shot.
Rikki Pool
How have i not seen this. This is truly superb! Thanks so much for sharing!
Lam Tran
This is amazing my friend! well done
MattGranz
Great story on how you got this tremendous shot! The hues turned out beautiful and your framing of the event is magnificent. The title is fantastic as well. You really nailed this one good.
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks MattGranz, and thank you for favoriting this! I am very happy with how this turned out.
KiimiG
that looks wicked – great capture
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks KiimiG!
eelsblueEllen
Featured in Mood & Ambience
LukeThomas
An incredible, magical picture. An excellent piece.
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks LukeThomas!
Tibby Steedly
WOW!!! Beautiful and magical shot!!! Congratulations on being featured!!
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you Tibby!
Daniel Sly
Awesome shot, well done!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Daniel!
HELUA
An amazing capture…the colours and drama are extraordinary !!!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Helua!
ROUBLE RUST
Gorgeous!!!
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you Rust!
Donna Adamski
Beautiful capture…Congrats on your TOP TEN finish in the Never Placed in the Top Ten challenge in the #12 Great Features group.
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Donna, I was glad to see that! :)
LindaR
congrats on your placing in the top ten ~ so deserving! xx
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you Linda! :)
riverotter
AMAZING capture! WOW!! And, congratulations on this capture!!!!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Emily!
Gethin
incredible capture.. well done
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you Gethin!
dimsim
amazing, superb work!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks dimsim!
Beve Brown-Clark
Stellar shot….such incredible details…what a story line!!
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you Beve!
clizzio
Wow, The purple color is amazing with the moon too. This is quite unusual. Nice capture.
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks clizzio. I was quite excited when I saw how well the photo turned out.
Donna Chapman
fantastic
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Donna, it was an amazing sight!
kathy s gillen...
fantastic shot
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you kathy!
MoxieNox
This is stunning! I abolutely LOVE how you captured the chairs. Is there a popcorn stand nearby so I could sit in one of those chairs and watch? Instant fav!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Moxie, and thanks for favoriting it!
I don’t know about a popcorn stand, but there were a lot of seats to choose from. lol
Laura Cutmore
stunning.. that sky is just exceptional!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Laura! :)
Jens Helmstedt
Great picture!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks!
Novice
A
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Matt Merritt replied
Thank you, it really was!
Brandie1
Fantastic Capture
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks!
Asoka
WHAT A WONDERFUL SHOT!!!
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you!
Heather Caye
Wow, I love the coloration in this photo, and I love the photo in itself.
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Heather!
Forget-me-not
I love this picture. You have captured a great moment!
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you, I’m glad you like it!
BarbaraManis
Wonderfully captured!
Matt Merritt replied
Thank you Barbara!
jeffrae
great job!!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks!
Gina Cormier
Awesome. We can get creative when we want the shot!! lol Great job!
Matt Merritt replied
Thanks Gina!
Nori Bucci
Wow, what a fantastic shot!!! Unbelievable.
Santamaria
I love all your work!
Derek Dobbie
wonderful capture