Special Feature
BAMOS 2021 / 2022
Summer 15
May : Lightning strike near Forster , New South Wales © Cliff Gralton
When photographing lightning , timing is everything . A sudden burst of light and sound , and in the blink of an eye it ' s gone . This shot of cloud-to-ground lightning was taken during a summer storm outbreak in January 2021 . These storms brought large hail and intense winds to the region .
The photographer captured this shot during a long night of storm chasing . " It was around 2 am and there were lightning bolts dropping down everywhere . The air felt electric . There was a huge flash and a bang that made me jump . This is the biggest , scariest bolt of lightning I ' ve ever captured ."
June : Afternoon thunderstorm , Gunn Point , Northern Territory © Louise Denton
In the tropical Top End of the Northern Territory , where this photo was taken , the seasons are broadly categorised into the ' dry ' and the ' wet '. However , the Larrakia people in the Darwin region observe 7 main seasons . These recognise both changes in the weather and changes in the local plants and animals .
Afternoon thunderstorms like this one are common during the wet season , which typically begins in October and runs until the end of April . The wet season is also the tropical cyclone season . The warm waters around the Top End provide the fuel to form and sustain these severe systems .
October : Large swell along the coast near Port Campbell , Victoria © Andrew Thomas
Wind is the main cause of waves . Waves caused by local weather conditions are called sea waves . As they move away from the weather system that caused them , their appearance changes and we call them swell waves . Swell waves , like the ones in this photo , play a big part in shaping Australia ' s constantly evolving and eroding southern coastline .
The photographer said he was shooting into a really strong wind . " With the amount of sea spray building up on the camera I had to wipe the lens every 5 minutes to clean the salt off . I was facing southwest towards the ocean , really trying to get the tiny people in the shot ."