Marc Laidlaw in Redmond, Washington took an up-close picture of lightning as it hit a tree during a recent thunderstorm. He was in his backyard at the time, but jolted out of the area when the bolt struck a tree nearby. There’s a picture of the damage done to the tree, too.

For more lightning photos, check out Striking Images, Skyfire, WV Lightning, Mike Theiss’ storm photos, and Lightningboy.com.

Also, be sure to check out Lightning photo tips too, if you’re interested in taking pictures.