LIGHTNING OVER WORKINGTON, 1984

Not - strictly speaking - a nostalgic look at the town per se, more an indulgent look at a couple of the more interesting photgraphs in my collection, which I thought I would share. Yes, there are better lightning photgraphs available, though none which mean so much to me.

These photos were more-or-less spontaneous (can you have more-or-less spontaneous?), as the idea was quickly formulated when arriving back home from the pub one evening, having been caught in a storm. My pentax was hastily plonked on the upstairs window-sill, set to f8 with the shutter locked open. I retired to the kitchen for a beer-absorbing snack before returning upstairs and re-positioning the camera out of the front bedroom window, over the town. A similar period was allowed to pass, then the camera was taken inside to dry off!

The LH upper photo is taken from the back of my parents' house on Newlands Lane, looking over the back of Thirlmere Avenue, Lorton Avenue, and the Chaucer Road area. I would guess that the huge lightning-bolt hit the ground about Castle Gardens, or Hunday or Winscales, perhaps on the golf-course. Note the corona surrounding it.

The RH lower picture looks over the town from the top of Craig Road, and is taken from the front of the house. The lighthouse light can be seen on the pier-end, its occulting beam exposed to consistency, and Chapel Bank twinkles in the distance.

Both photos taken on 'Kodachrome 64', f8 at five minutes (approx: the time it takes to knock up a cheese butty and eat it...)

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