Two of my hobbies are flying rally big kites and photographing lightning (but not at the same time!). Set up during a storm recently and decided to include me and my Xterra in the photo. Luckily got a a nice flash across the sky behind us. I use a Nikon D1X digital camera and a lightning trigger which trips the shutter when there is a flash of lightning.

Very cool pic, I see an Xterra of the Week in your future.

C'mon Ian, you gotta consider this one!

No doubt!! Great pic. Any chance of a 1024 x 768 for wallpaper?

I second that idea.

Question: What settings did you use to take that? Namely, what shutter speed?

Holy shit thats gotta be one of the coolest pictures including an X I have ever seen...Good shot.

Glad you guys like the photo. To answer a few of your questions, if you would like more info on the Lightning Trigger go to www.lightningtrigger.com . The unit costs $329.00 plus a modified shutter cable but it works great, allowing you to photograph lightning even during daytime. The Xterra photo was shot at dusk with the camera in Aperature priority mode - f 13 and 1.6 second exposure. To see more of my lightning photos go to www.iScout.us/bobgathanyphotographer . If you want a 1024x768 image for wallpaper go to www.iScout.us/bobgathanyphotographer/BG%20images/XterraLightning2.jpg . Email me at gathany@iScout.us if you have any more questions.

Bob, can I add it to the Xterra of the Week Gallery ?

You might be able to sell or give that pic to Nissan for their shift campaign...great pic!

Best wallpaper I've had since Superjens (yeah you, you grumpy fucker) had that one with his his X parked on a rock. Thanks man.

Yep, looks great on the computer. Thanks Bob, incredible shot.

Thanks for my new wallpaper.

I didn't know they had such a thing as a lighting trigger. Very cool toy.

Of course you can add it to the Xterra of the Wek Gallery. Everyone who has seen it has liked it so far, Thanks!

Me? Grumpy? FUCK YOU MAN!!!

Nice lighting pic! Definitely in my top-3 Xterra pics.

very cool pic! right click and save!

Ummmmm yeah, I'm gonna have to say that's pretty awesome! Yeah...

Lightning -Always great when you can capture. You cheat, try doing it free hand all the way!
like this link:
Free hand Lightning picture

Your is so much better, like it should be.

Night time lightning is easy, just leave the shutter open. Lightning during daylight is not eay to do without using the Lightning Trigger. How else are you going to guess the right 1/2 second to trip the shutter? When you see the flash it's too late! I don't consider it cheating to use the technology that's out there.

Just thought I'd let you know that the BBC picked this photo as their Weather Photo of the Week. Probably the first time an Xterra has been featured on the BBC Weather page! Check it out at http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/weatherwise/diy/photogallery.shtml

Way cool! One of the best I've seen in a while. Looks great on my computer (even though we're not supposed to do this AT WORK!).

Neat toy. I used to do photo stuff too and didn't know they made such a thing. I tried a bunch of times to do it manually with no luck. Maybe I'll have get out my 35mm's and try again...

Thanks!

Ian: Since posting it originally I have had 1450 entry hits on my website ( www.iScout.us/bobgathanyphotographer ) from the XOC site. I also have it posted on the photo.net gallery ( http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1836072 ) and it has been viewed 4395 times. Pretty good exposure for one Xterra photo. Thanks for using it in the Xterra of the Week Gallery!

Awesome pic bob. Glad to see another Alabamian on the site. Are we the only ones? Im from Birmingham but have family in Huntsville.

War Eagle, Aaron. I'm in Birmingham, but mostly I just pop in and lurk for a while when I get the chance. If you're interested in wheeling, I can hook you up with some guys around here. Good guys with nicely modded Jeeps. Send me an email if you're interested.

Mark