Post your lightning pics HERE!

SecondHand · April 5, 2006

Hey all. It looks like a decent spring storm may drop in today, I was wondering about taking photo's of lightning? I've never done it and thought I might give it a go if the fireworks start up. I have a Canon 20D. Can anyone suggest some settings and exposure time to help me out. I'm still plenty new and just experimenting with it. Any advice would be greatly apreciated. And let's see your pics! Don't be shy, put em up!:D

gus · April 5, 2006

* set 20D to RAW (you will need to te,perature correct the shot)
* set 20D to AV
* pre-focus lens on very distant light & put switch to manual
* ISO 100
* aperture on tiny (f-whatever it takes to slow shutter to about 20-30 sec)
* use remote to fire
* use tripod
* have fully charged good battery
* use a decent sized CF card like a 1 gig so you can fire off about 120-150 (dark so you fit more on)
* get something interesting in the foreground
* just keep remotely opening shutter for 20-30 sec & you will eventually get something in the shot. If you get a ginormus strike close then you can opt to place a hat over the front of the lens (without touching) thus stopping any other bolts joining in the shot & possibly over exposing.

USAIR · April 6, 2006

OK I have one
I was at work (Airport) driving a bucket truck across the airfield
and the truck was struck on the boom I thought I hit a plane.
I was sent to the hospital for a while waiting to get my hearing back...I hate that sh$$

Fred

SecondHand · April 6, 2006

Great photos you guys. Thanks for posting them. Humungus, thanks much for the info, it'll help me out. Unfortunately the storm was a snow storm, not a rain storm and it didn't bring lightning. Should be soon!

Aloner · April 7, 2006

Just got this a little while ago. Pretty bad storm here but not too many strikes. I took it from my garage with a 30 second shutter and got luck to get 2 stikes in the same shot

I know it's not the best lightning shot, but I like it.

jamesl · April 10, 2006

My Lightning Shots
Hi Jim,

Great pictures everyone! I especially love that bridge shot. So cool.

: This is my favorite time of year here in Texas. So far, all of the storms have been up north of us. Hopefully we'll have some good ones around Dallas in the next few months.

I've been shooting lightning for the past 4 years or so. I love it. I started out with my sony F707, and then got a Canon 10D. The suggestions Gubbs gave were great. Here's how I shoot lightning:

1) Figure out ahead of time a few good locations to shoot. Look for interesting buildings, landmarks, etc.
2) I track storms on radar, and note the direction they are moving, and the amount of rain around them. Discreet cells not buried in rain are more photogenic.
3) I like to shoot the storms as they move away. You tend to have less rain, and get more photogenic lightning bolts.
4) I shoot in Manual mode. The aperature I use depends upon the intensity of the lightning. If it's really close and bright, maybe F10. If it's far away and faint, F4.
5) Shoot a few test shots, and adjust the shutter speed till the scene you are shooting is exposed properly. Be careful not to blow out the sky. Keep it nice and dark.
6) Once you've got your exposure down, shoot away. I use a remote control intervalometer. This allows me to let the remote fire off the exposures.
7) Many times I will take shots from the same location, and then layer them together. Works well with lightning.
8) I use Mirror Lock Up with my 10D while shooting lightning. If you are shooting brighrt buildings, the mirror slap can cause the lights to blur a bit.

Here's a few of my shots:

James

Langford Photography
http://www.langfordphotography.com

Micah Weber · April 10, 2006

makati city , philippines

SecondHand · April 11, 2006

Aloner wrote:

Just got this a little while ago. Pretty bad storm here but not too many strikes. I took it from my garage with a 30 second shutter and got luck to get 2 stikes in the same shot

I know it's not the best lightning shot, but I like it.

Aloner,
Thanks for posting, I like that shot too. I think with lightning it doesn't really matter. If you can capture it you've done well. I'm still waiting on my storm.

Thanks again!

SecondHand · April 11, 2006

jamesl wrote:

Hi Jim,

Great pictures everyone! I especially love that bridge shot. So cool. : This is my favorite time of year here in Texas. So far, all of the storms have been up north of us. Hopefully we'll have some good ones around Dallas in the next few months.

I've been shooting lightning for the past 4 years or so. I love it. I started out with my sony F707, and then got a Canon 10D. The suggestions Gubbs gave were great. Here's how I shoot lightning:

1) Figure out ahead of time a few good locations to shoot. Look for interesting buildings, landmarks, etc.
2) I track storms on radar, and note the direction they are moving, and the amount of rain around them. Discreet cells not buried in rain are more photogenic.
3) I like to shoot the storms as they move away. You tend to have less rain, and get more photogenic lightning bolts.
4) I shoot in Manual mode. The aperature I use depends upon the intensity of the lightning. If it's really close and bright, maybe F10. If it's far away and faint, F4.
5) Shoot a few test shots, and adjust the shutter speed till the scene you are shooting is exposed properly. Be careful not to blow out the sky. Keep it nice and dark.
6) Once you've got your exposure down, shoot away. I use a remote control intervalometer. This allows me to let the remote fire off the exposures.
7) Many times I will take shots from the same location, and then layer them together. Works well with lightning.
8) I use Mirror Lock Up with my 10D while shooting lightning. If you are shooting brighrt buildings, the mirror slap can cause the lights to blur a bit.

Here's a few of my shots:

James

Langford Photography
http://www.langfordphotography.com

James,
Those are really cool shots! I especially like the "Good and Evil" one, just beautiful. Thanks very much for the pointers, they'll come in handy. I hear a lot about layering but have no idea how to do it. I'm not even sure you can do it with the the program I've got. (photoshop elements 2.0) I'll have to investigate. Thanks for the post.

SecondHand · April 11, 2006

Micah Weber wrote:

makati city , philippines

Micah,
Neat couple of bolts you've got there! Thanks for posting it.

swintonphoto · April 13, 2006

I'm so jealous everyone. Great images.

Post your lightning pics HERE!

Comments