claim: photograph shows a long-exposure shot of lightning striking a tree.
question: is this image a long-exposure photograph of a lightning bolt hitting a tree?
origin: some of the most spectacular images of natural phenomena in the annals of photography are long-exposure shots of lightning, such as this example reportedly captured by art photographer amery carlson during a lightning storm off the coast of ventura, california:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  a similar eye-catching image has been widely reposted on the internet with captions identifying it as a “long exposure picture of a lightning bolt hitting a tree,” supposedly a sensational capturing of lightning striking a tree and producing an amazingly colorful result:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  however, this image is actually an artistic work (a form of light painting) created from a composite of two different photographs, as the creator of this image, darren pearson of dariustwin.com, told us:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the original photo was posted to flickr on march 20th, 2010. it is not real, it’s a composite of two photographs: one is mine (a photo of a tree taken at the presidio in san diego, ca) and the other is from the noaa webpage:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  my image is a long exposure, 619 seconds, taken at night. during this time, i used ‘el wire’ to create the blue smoke-looking effect, and a color-gelled spotlight to give the tree a pink glow.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the lightning bolt was an idea that my roommate joey (also a photographer/filmmaker) had while i was processing the photo. he mentioned, “you know what would be incredible? a lightning bolt striking the tree!” i was amused by this idea, and added in the lightning, which i thought looked awesome!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  i never intended it to be taken for a real photo of lightning striking a tree. it was meant to be an artistic expression, but turned into an internet misinformation fiasco.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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comment: a spectacular lightning photograph is actually an artistic creation formed from two different images.
summary: a photo of lightning striking a tree has been widely reposted on the internet with captions identifying it as a “long exposure picture of a lightning bolt hitting a tree’ the image is actually an artistic work (a form of light painting) created from a composite of two different photographs, as the creator of this image, darren pearson of dariustwin.com, told us. the original photo was posted to flickr on march 20th, 2010.