Capturing the awesome beauty of storms
A DURBAN photographer has been chasing lightning storms, capturing the power of nature that the naked eye rarely sees.
Christo Smith’s latest image was taken at Umhlanga beach on Thursday.
Smith said the storm had been strange and unforgettable. He was grateful to have captured a good shot.
“It was one of the most incredibly active lightning storms I have ever had the privilege to witness. It was also quite peculiar,” he said.
Smith, who works as a boxing coach, moved to Durban 18 months ago from Johannesburg where he did events, commercial and lightning photography.
But it was only when he moved to KZN that his focus shifted to shooting landscapes and the weather.
Out of love for capturing beautiful things and with no formal training, Smith bought his first camera 15 years ago and started taking photos.
“I read up as much as I could and went on to various available platforms to develop my skill. I suppose I might have had a natural knack for it, but they say the first one hundred thousand photos are your worst.” Smith said with taking lightning photographs there was always a risk but so far he had evaded being struck.
“I’ve been shooting storms for many years and I do my best to read the storm to try to be as safe as possible, but at the same time there is a bit of a thrill that I do enjoy from witnessing the power of nature. It’s awe-inspiring,” he said.
“As a photographer, I often go out in the middle of nowhere at night to shoot. Generally, you need to be quite secluded. From a safety point of view I always have to be on the lookout for danger.”
In all the years of taking striking images, Smith has only suffered a minor injury from falling into a manhole.
“I still managed to get a good shot,” he said. “I have climbed up on the side of a building once before to try to get a shot even though I am very afraid of heights.”
Smith hopes his images will inspire many to look around them a little bit more and to take the time to appreciate their surroundings.
“We are constantly so busy but we are surrounded by beauty. I want my photos to inspire someone to take a second to look and keep looking for beauty everywhere.”