>All I can say was ...... HOLY MOLEY, that was a close one!

Actually what I said was," HOLY $&@#%#! This is crazy fun!

But only after 8 exposures, BAM! The largest lightning bolt I ever came face to face with, struck the Chicago skyline, right in front of me! It was one of the most scariest moments of my life while taking photos. But I knew I was able to captue it, the "once in a lifetime" shot! I raced back into the car and that's when the hail started coming down. In certain parts of the city, baseball sized hail shattered many car windshields. Luckily, I was spared.

The lessons from this experience are:
(if you know the timeframe is small)

1. Be prepared mentally prior to arriving on location.
2. Have your camera settings preset for the stituation.
3. Have the legs of the tripod already fully extended and locked.
4. Attach camera on tripod securely.

So when I got out there, all I had to do was grab the camera, umbrella, and had the focus ring on infinity, and started clicking away.