Storms in Montana

jamesl

My wife and I just returned from a vacation to Montana. I'm originally from there, and have always wanted to take pictures of some of the awesome storms that roll through the state in the summertime. Well, this year I finally got my chance:

These first 3 shots were taken near Choteau, Montana (where Willie Nelson's big 4th of July concert was this year). I had been driving north following the Rocky Mountain front range when I saw these little storms. I setup my camera using my intervalometer and starting shooting:


Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F5.0, 1/10 second


Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F8.0, 1/4 second


Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F8.0, 8/10 second


After capturing these, the storm started moving off North East of me. I followed it for a while, and found this little farm to shoot as a foreground. The storm was really dieing by this point, but let off a few last bolts for me just as I was running out of space on my memory card:


Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F5.6, 2.5 seconds


Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F5.6, 2.5 seconds

On the last evening of our trip, I was packing when this nice storm rolled through Great Falls at around 10 pm. I said to heck with packing, and headed out to a lookout over town to shoot some. Most of the good lightning was gone by then, but I did get one good shot:


Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F4.0, 2 seconds

Take care,

James

Ann McRae

James
These are wonderful!
I particularly like #1,4 and the last one. I think #1 is my favorite.

What is an intervalometer?

ann

MrCrabs

Awesome
These are awe-inspiring. Loved them all!!

jamesl

Ann McRae wrote:

James
These are wonderful!
I particularly like #1,4 and the last one. I think #1 is my favorite.

What is an intervalometer?

ann

Hi Ann,

Thanks! Glad you liked them. 1 is my favorite as well.

An intervalometer is a timer remote that you can get for the Canon SLRs. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/164271-REG/Canon_2477A002_Timer_Remote_Controller_TC_80N3.html

I use it for shooting lightning and star trails. It allows me to take one picture after the other without any pause between. Although, my new 30D now has a fast shoot mode which can be used with a normal remote control.

James

jamesl

MrCrabs wrote:

These are awe-inspiring. Loved them all!!

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed them. Take care. James

hawkeye978

Absolutely beautiful, I particularly like the last one..

schmoo

Wonderful photos! The title of your thread alone was so enticing to me, and the shots truly lived up to the expectation. If I had to pick one, the last one is my favorite. I have always wanted to capture a bolt over a city like that.

LilleG

Oooh, that #4 is nice! Love it!

tobers

Whoa!! #2 and #4 are totally superb. Very well done indeed!

#1 is also really cool, though I'd maybe try it in a more usual crop rather than a panorama as all the action is in the centre and the edges dont add much to the pic (in my uneducated amateur view of course!!).

Did you have the 30D on a tripod with remote release and mirror lockup just out of interest?

Tobers

Dee

These are great!
I love the last one over the city the best, but they really all are great.

ShepsMom

I just love the skies on the last show. Very powerful. All of them are pretty darn good!

dogwood

Fantastic shots! Wow. Thanks for sharing.

Phil U.

Holy cow, that last one is incredible - love the cloud and the way the bolt comes out of the middle of it.

Marc Muench

schmooo wrote:

Wonderful photos! The title of your thread alone was so enticing to me, and the shots truly lived up to the expectation. If I had to pick one, the last one is my favorite. I have always wanted to capture a bolt over a city like that.

Schmoo, just who do you think you are, a greek GOD?


I agree with you though, I have always hoped for such an opportunity myself. Great images James

emmalou

THat last one is breathtaking............they are all fabulous..the first is also such a strong picture........We get such wimpy storms here, alot of gusts, but not many bolts.......

USAIR

These are wonderful

Great lightning shots

Fred

David_S85

James...

Wow. Awesome storm captures. :wow :jawdrop

Andy

The undisputed master.

I can't stop looking! WOWOWOOWOWWO

jdryan3

All are really nice. I go for #4, then #1. On #4, don't lighten it, but maybe try and bring some of the detail of the foreground buildings out of the shadows, just so they don't look quite as flat.

Skippy

jamesl wrote:

My wife and I just returned from a vacation to Montana. I'm originally from there, and have always wanted to take pictures of some of the awesome storms that roll through the state in the summertime. Well, this year I finally got my chance:
These first 3 shots were taken near Choteau, Montana (where Willie Nelson's big 4th of July concert was this year). I had been driving north following the Rocky Mountain front range when I saw these little storms. I setup my camera using my intervalometer and starting shooting:
Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F5.0, 1/10 second
Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F8.0, 1/4 second
Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F8.0, 8/10 second
After capturing these, the storm started moving off North East of me. I followed it for a while, and found this little farm to shoot as a foreground. The storm was really dieing by this point, but let off a few last bolts for me just as I was running out of space on my memory card:
Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F5.6, 2.5 seconds
Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F5.6, 2.5 seconds
On the last evening of our trip, I was packing when this nice storm rolled through Great Falls at around 10 pm. I said to heck with packing, and headed out to a lookout over town to shoot some. Most of the good lightning was gone by then, but I did get one good shot:
Canon 30D, 28-135 IS lens, F4.0, 2 seconds

Take care,
James

Absolutely amazing James
I love to see images of Lightning, some of those bolts look a little too close for comfort though :uhoh

These are just beautiful my favourite is the first shot too
Thanks for sharing........ Skippy
.

jamesl

hawkeye978 wrote:

Absolutely beautiful, I particularly like the last one..

Thank you Tom! The funny thing about the last shot is that I didn't even know I'd captured it until I got home. I was packing up my bags, and my memory stick was almost full. I was sure happy to get home and see it during my review.

James

jamesl

schmooo wrote:

Wonderful photos! The title of your thread alone was so enticing to me, and the shots truly lived up to the expectation. If I had to pick one, the last one is my favorite. I have always wanted to capture a bolt over a city like that.

Thanks schmoo! I appreciate it. Pretty much everytime there is a good thunderstorm around here in Dallas, I try to get out and shoot it. Up there, though, you can see the storms from a long, long ways off. I bet that one was probably 50 miles away. It makes it much easier to shoot them.

James

jamesl

LilleG wrote:

Oooh, that #4 is nice! Love it!

Hi Lillie! Thanks. It was a fun shot to capture.

James

jamesl

tobers wrote:

Whoa!! #2 and #4 are totally superb. Very well done indeed!

#1 is also really cool, though I'd maybe try it in a more usual crop rather than a panorama as all the action is in the centre and the edges dont add much to the pic (in my uneducated amateur view of course!!).

Did you have the 30D on a tripod with remote release and mirror lockup just out of interest?

Tobers

Thanks for the comments and suggestions! I started out with a 3:2 crop, but the top and bottom of the image didn't add much to me. I decided on the paroramic crop to try and emphasize the bolt. I may go back and create a more normal crop as well. Especially for selling on my website.

James

jamesl

Dee wrote:

I love the last one over the city the best, but they really all are great.

Howdy Dee! Nice to see an old STFer. Thanks for the comments. Glad you liked them.

James

Elaine

Wow!!!! Amazing! Fantastic captures! Thank you for sharing these...they're incredible!

DavidTO

jamesl

ShepsMom wrote:

I just love the skies on the last show. Very powerful. All of them are pretty darn good!

Thanks! It is amazing how a lightning bolt can turn a boring sky into an amazing one. There can be so many different colors that come out.

James

jamesl

dogwood wrote:

Fantastic shots! Wow. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you Pete. Thanks for looking.

James

jamesl

Phil U. wrote:

Holy cow, that last one is incredible - love the cloud and the way the bolt comes out of the middle of it.

Howdy Phil! Thanks. Yup, I had that last one all planned out that way. ha ha. Pretty much luck of the draw with lightning photography like this. I will take it, though.

James

jamesl

Marc Muench wrote:

Schmoo, just who do you think you are, a greek GOD?


I agree with you though, I have always hoped for such an opportunity myself. Great images James

Hi Mark. Thanks a ton! I appreciate it. I try to jump on these types of opportunities whenever I can. Usually, though, I don't get so lucky.

Thanks for taking the time to look.

James