'Sheer excitement': Manitoba photographer snaps photo of lightning strike and double rainbow

Joey Siemens captured a photo of a double rainbow over Winkler at the same time as a lightning strike during a thunderstorm on Sept. 16, 2024. (Joey Siemens)

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

Joey Siemens, who lives in Winkler was out Monday chasing the thunderstorms in the region, trying to get a photo of lightning which eluded him. During a break in the storm, he got the perfect opportunity for a photo.

"When the sun was setting, it shone toward the east and managed to display this brilliant rainbow in the sky," he said. "So I literally just kind of stepped out of my house, took the opportunity, set up my camera, and started firing off a shot."

While Siemens photographed the double rainbow, he was able to capture something else; a lightning strike from the nearby storm.

"A lightning strike happens so quickly, and this, this happened within 1/13 of a second," he said. " You're not 100 per cent sure whether or not you actually got the shot."

"When I reviewed my photos on my camera…it was just like complete disbelief, really, and then followed by sheer excitement and shouting for joy."

Siemens said when photographing storms, he typically does time-lapse shots, hoping to grab a lighting photo in one of the frames. Getting one on a regular shot was something he had never done before.

The feedback for the photo has been positive.

"There's quite a large following of people who are quite interested in storms, so they all were quite impressed," Siemens said.

His advice for photographers looking to capture a lightning strike? Be safe, and practice at night, when lightning will be more visible.

"Lightning is so unpredictable, it's a very tough thing to shoot," he said. "But really, you just have to go out there."