Photographing LIghtening

PixelCharm

So, in the South..... April brings wicked storms. I would like to play around with photographing lightening..... need some tips.

I have a Canon 6D. Which would be the best lens? I am thinking a wide angle - I have a Canon EF17-40mm f/4.

My other thought is.... Is there some sort of "raincoat" or covering I should get to protect my camera and lens?

I thought only the Marks were water proof.

Thinking I can get my shots with long exposure

However, if anyone can point me in the right direction on the needs to capture this, I would really appreciate it.

endurodog

Not sure that I have the best method but I put the camera on a tripod in a dry area and aim it in the direction of the lightening and give it 10-15 seconds exposure. I have placed it on the dash of my car and done the same exposure. I have some captures that I really like doing this method but lots and lots of deleted clicks too.

kdog

Endurodog is spot-on. My dad used to shoot lightning with film and told me how to do it. Shooting in bulb mode, open the shutter; wait for lightning, close the shutter. Simple as that. 15 seconds sounds about right, but it's however long it takes before your ambient light starts to overexpose the shot. You'll want a dark background for nice contrast. Focal length is whatever it needs to be. If the lightning is in the distance, it's probably localized and you might even need a telephoto. Observe the lightning, and use whatever makes sense. You do have a tradeoff between missing bolts because they're out of the frame, and capturing bolts that are too tiny for the scene. Observe the patterns then choose your lens. Shoot, shoot, shoot. Using an intervalometer, or even a bulb remote set to continuous exposures is an easy way to do it too. Capturing multiple bolts in the same exposure can add a lot of drama, but can also overexpose your shots. Lots of parameters to play with, so experiment and see what works for you.

DisneyNut

One more thing to mention...
Make sure you have a fully charged battery(s). Those long exposures tend to eat batteries.

moose135

I hope we get some good lightning down here this season. I wasn't able to get anything last year. This is from my one and only attempt at lightning, back home on Long Island a few years ago.


http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-LW89z

My technique was similar to what the others have said - find a dry place to set up your camera/tripod, shoot in bulb mode and take lots of shots. The shots in the gallery varied from 15 to almost 45 seconds.

David_S85

James Langford, who occasionally contributes to this forum, uses a lightning trigger in many of his shots. There are some inspirational shots in his Smugmug galleries.