As a lifeguard for the New York State Parks, I spend the majority of my time in a natural environment. When I’m not screaming at kids or preventing accidents, I love taking a moment to look around my workplace, as it really is a beautiful lake. Just the other day we had a thunderstorm. During the storm I witnessed some of the coolest lightning I’ve ever seen, which made the scenery equal parts gorgeous and terrifying. As weird as it may seem, I went home that night and spent a while looking at storm photography.

Loving thunderstorms is practically part of my job. Lightning storms only occur in the summertime, and nobody is allowed to swim in one! I have always thought thunderstorms were fascinating, but had never bothered to look for pictures of them. To me, nothing could be better than witnessing the power of nature firsthand. As it turns out, though, some photographers have a talent for capturing lightning the second it strikes – and it makes for beautiful photography. Take a look at some other powerful, yet absolutely stunning, examples of storm photography.

What do you Lovelies think? Any other storm fans out there, or am I the only one?

[Images: top photo, Gallery images: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]