Mesmerising shots of Mother Nature at her most angry

When 52-year-old photographer Franz Schumacher sees a storm brewing he does not run for cover with everyone else. 

Instead, he grabs his camera and photographs the thunder and lightning from the middle of the action for all to see.

His atmospheric pictures capture the ferocity of storms around Strohgaeu in Germany at harvest time. 

Eerie: The extreme stormy weather captured by 52-year-old Franz Schumacher near Stuttgart, Germany 

Electric: Graphic designer Franz says: 'I want the viewer to share my fascination for the forces of nature'

Lonely: A single farm stands out against the backdrop of the dark clouds covering the fields around it

The graphic designer has a passion for landscape and whether photography and took to the great outdoors to take these stunning pictures. 

Franz, 52, from Ditzingen near Stuttgart, Germany said: 'I want the viewer to share my fascination for the forces of nature and the situations that I experience outdoors in this type of weather.'

He needs precise timings and exactly the right location to achieve impressive images of lightening bolts mid-strike.

The harvest time background provides the perfect background as the ground is a warm brown colour contrasting to the dark clouds above. 

Franz manages to capture forks of lightning zigzagging down to earth, as well as eerie pictures of a single tree and a single farm surrounded by the dramatic storms. 

The rows of golden corn look almost surreal with the swirling clouds and heavy rainfall hovers surrounding them. 

Eye of the storm: The small clear gap in the middle of the swirling clouds looks oddly calm

Surreal: An unnatural-looking light shines through breaks in the cloud as the storm lifts

Lightening: A double bolt cracking across the fields as the rain pours down

Light and dark: Some sunlight manages to creep through the clouds illuminating the long glass

Dangerous: Franz gets right into the path of the storms near his home in Germany to get shots like these

Ethereal: Swirling black clouds gather on the the hilltop as a pink light shines through in the background

Dramatic: The forked lightening is visible in the heart of the cloud and cracking down to earth at the bottom

Engulfed: A lone tree is surrounded by the gathering storm across the countryside

Strike: As the storm builds to a climax an amazing lightening bolt illuminates the whole sky, while a smaller forked bolt stays deep in the cloud