Today marks the OFFICIAL start of Astronomical Fall! And we’re beyond the start of Meteorological Fall! So no matter which you accept as the formal start, summer is now over in both manners! For me, the summer 2026 will go down as one of my best lightning photography seasons ever. I cannot recall having the level of success I had this past summer with the opportunities I had to snag some awesome lightning photos! I plan to do a “was this my best lightning year ever” at some point here soon as I have fantastic pictures dating all the way back to May, but to ring in the start of fall, I am doing my Top 5 favorite lightning photos of the ASTRONOMICAL summer 2026!
#5 FLAGLER, COLORADO – SEPTEMBER 19, 2026
This was my most recent snag on one of the best chases of the year. After documenting intense hail and even snagging a couple tornadoes, I stopped on my way home to pick up some lightning photos out of some garden-variety storms that popped up in the wake of the earlier severe storms. This was a two-shot composite of a few bolts I snagged and I love the result!
#4 JOHNSTOWN, COLORADO – JULY 21, 2026
One of the closest bolts I caught this season, and almost by accident! I had my lightning trigger going and had repositioned my car to hide from the rain and point south where the next waves of bolts were hitting. I had just parked, braced my camera on the window frame when this bolt trigger my lightning trigger and BAM! One of my best, single bolt shots of the season!
#3 OVID, COLORADO – AUGUST 12, 2026
It was between this and another shot from this stint, and I went with this because of the craziness that was the cloud-to-cloud bolts. I just love how they fan out! This was one of many taken on this stint on my way home from a decent Nebraska chase as storms were firing off south of I-76. This was very impromptu, and yielded some of my favorite shots of the year.
#2 WINDSOR, COLORADO – JULY 1, 2026
Without question, this would’ve been the night of the year for me, but something else came along later… but in terms of quantity AND quality, this night stole the show, easily one of my best lightning sessions in years! This is a multi-image composite taken during my second round of shooting and before the insanity of the blizzard hailer kept me out til 2am. The lightning strikes out of this were insane, and I captured dozens of frames between Eaton and Windsor, and this shot shows off many of those frames in one image.
#1 JOHNSTOWN, COLORADO – SEPTEMBER 6, 2026
Not only is this my favorite lightning shot of 2026, but it may be my favorite lightning shot of all time. This was a VERY impromptu shoot, just a few miles north of my house as a storm rode along the foothills, with just enough eastern movement to push it closer to me. I set up on one of my goto spots, pointed west, and waited. My early shots weren’t terribly spectacular, but then came the window where some of the most vivid strikes I have ever captured were hitting within just a few miles. Even at my widest zoom, many were cut off at the top, but then I captured my Holy Grail shot of the year. In addition to the spectacular front strikes, a random couple bolts came out on the backside of the storm, something I do not recall happening outside this shot. This all occurring in the single 10-second exposure. When the front bolts hit, I knew I had just hit the jackpot, but in my brief second of celebration, I somehow MISSED seeing the two back bolts, so when I previewed this on the camera and saw this shot, I lost my ever-loving mind! It easily takes first prize from 2026, and possible of all-time for me.