Chasing Light - Photos of Lightning Storm in Vegas | Marc Sanchez

Chasing Light – What wakes you up at 2 am?

Returning to the comfort of my bed at 1 a.m. following an evening of chasing light, I was rattled out of bed with the sound of thunder at 2:00 a.m. I looked through the blinds and saw a bright flash and it was on; grab the photo pack and head out the door to chase the storm around the valley. As I rolled out the garage door I noticed the storm was right on top of us in North Vegas so I had to move quickly to get into position. There is usually no time to waste when shooting lightning because one moment it’s there, and the next gone. With some luck, anticipation, and a little experience I should be able to find a spot where I don’t get cooked by a lethal dose of death from above.

I drove out to the Cannery Hotel and Casino and parked. While getting the gear set up lightning crashed down about two blocks away that sounded like a gunshot had gone off; I was still too close. I could hear buzzing on my radio antenna like electricity flowing through the high voltage power lines down in Jean so I knew it was sketchy but I operate quite comfortably in the sketchy zone. I snapped a couple of shots and headed for the outskirts of town.

44110913003 Nevada Lightning Chasing Light What wakes you up at 2 am?

Arriving at my next location at Apex and Nellis Dunes I set up and again I could hear the buzzing coming from my antenna on my truck. Oh, yeah it was sketchy and the storm was moving fast across the valley as I could see the sheet of rain coming across the valley. At one point I could not see The Las Vegas Strip. I quickly set up and snapped a few more shots when an extremely large bolt of lightning hit the runway at the Nellis Air Force Base. I could see the little landing light explode and glow orange. This was quite the storm yes but unfortunately the shot was out of frame. I did manage to capture a frame with a bolt blasting away at something on Frenchman Mountain adjacent to the base.

44110913019 Nevada Lightning Chasing Light What wakes you up at 2 am?

With the sheet of rain approaching and the lightning moving North across the Valley it was time to move again. I drove down to the Love’s Truck Stop and set up under the canopy. I did not anticipate so many truckers stopped at Loves even with the power being out, the parking lot was full.

44110913041 Nevada Lightning Chasing Light What wakes you up at 2 am?

I waited out the deluge of rain under the Loves canopy and then moved back towards Apex to get behind the storm. The rain was coming down so heavily I could not see the road with full wipers and driving at 25 m.p.h. I was amazed at the power and intensity of this storm.
With the rain passing I drove back to Nellis Dunes and shot there the rest of the morning from a safe distance.
44110913102 Nevada Lightning Chasing Light What wakes you up at 2 am?
Here are the rest of the images I shot that evening.