Holt's Allison Moy was relaxing after a long day of work when a storm brewing in the distance inspired her to jump in the car with her camera.
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Her striking image of the perfectly timed thunderstorm has won The Canberra Times Summer Photo Competition, selected from more than 200 entries.
Ms Moy said she was intrigued by the changing weather over the Brindabellas when she decided to capture the long-exposure shot from the top of the National Arboretum.
"I could hear a storm brewing in the distance. If there's any stormy weather around I'm always trying to capture some lightning," she said.
"The storm shot happened about sunset which is why I got the beautiful colour. By the time I left the car park at the top of the hill it was full of people setting up cameras."
Ms Moy she was surprised but humbled by the win.
"I was pretty shocked. It was a lovely surprise," she said.
"I take a lot of landscape shots. That one by far was my favourite because the intense colour really draws the eye."
Ms Moy said she particularly enjoyed capturing landscapes, heading out early morning or at sunset as a hobby.
"The arboretum has become a favourite of mine, how it looks back to the lake and all the trees starting to grow," she said.
A self-taught amateur photographer, Ms Moy first picked up the camera three to four years ago.
"I just picked up a camera and started playing around with it, trying different settings," she said.
"I try and get out a few times a week if I can...somewhere with a nice aspect.
"People talk about meditation as relaxing for them - for me it's photography. I get to see such beautiful things but for me it's more important I get to share it with other people."
Lyneham's Chad Clark claimed second place with his photograph Spinning Carousel, while Crestwood's David Tao finished third with The Arrival on Lake Tyers Beach.
The Canberra Times is kicking off a reader autumn photo competition. Photographers are invited to share their best seasonal weather images and have the chance to see their photos published and share in $1000 of prizes.
To enter, send a maximum of three photos to photocomp@canberratimes.com.au as attached JPEG files and include your name, address, phone number, photo title, a description of the photo and the date it was taken.
Photos must be at least 150 kilobytes and not more than one megabyte in size.
The competition closes on May 31.
