Lightning Over St. Catherine's Lighthouse

THE PHOTOGRAPH

 Photographing lightning can be both exhilarating and frightening. There's a lot of guess work involved. You set your camera up on it's tripod and shoot long exposure after long exposure, hoping lightning will strike. Close enough, but not too close.

I was up all night on this occasion, chasing the storm fronts around the island. As I pressed the shutter on this picture, I felt my skin prickle with the static in the air. It's an exposed spot to be standing during an electrical storm with a large metal tripod. But excited with capturing this double strike, I decided to risk one more. The next exposure on the film is bleached white by a strike that left me sitting on the ground with my ears ringing.

HOW WE MAKE THE PICTURE

We build everything ourselves in the gallery. The photograph is printed on the very best archival matte canvas and then left flat to dry for a few days. The great thing about a matte finish with no glass is that you have no distracting glare or reflections. It's a much more direct experience.

Whilst the print is drying we can get on with making the stretcher frame and the tray frame that the finished canvas will drop into. The tray frame is then hand painted.

Next the canvas is stretched over the stretcher frame. After that, we carefully paint the canvas edges with several coats of the same paint used on the tray frame, so they match perfectly. Then we assemble the canvas and frame, put a hanging wire on the back, and attach a Certificate of Authenticity. Finally Neil signs the piece front and back adding the title and edition number.

We use the very best materials, and I would expect my pictures to look exactly the same in 100 years. They won't fade in our lifetime. 

BUYING OPTIONS

This picture is available as a framed stretched canvas, and comes in two sizes as detailed below. A shipping charge of £35 is added at checkout.

Large Stretched Canvas Framed in a White Tray Frame: £495

Limited Edition of 150

Framed Size 122cm by 71cm (canvas 114cm cm by 63cm)

XL Stretched Canvas Framed in White Tray Frame: £750

Limited Edition of 50

Framed Size is 163cm by 93cm  (canvas size is 155cm by 85cm).

Canvases can be rolled and shipped abroad unframed. Please get in touch for a quote.

Feel free to call Neil on 07957 473693 with any more questions, or email us at neil@neilwilliams.co.uk