lightning photography?

DanielB · November 4, 2005

i was looking at photos today. And came across quite a few of Lightning. Just pondering how you can time that. or maybe its an exposure thing. Just let out the time and hope it goes?:dunno . anyways, I don't know.

-daniel-

Shay Stephens · November 6, 2005

There is only two really effective methods. One, you do a long exposure and hope something happens during the exposure. This is a cheap and effective method. Though it is prone to bad timing.

The second method is to use an optical or a radio trigger. When the trigger detects the lighting, it makes the camera take a picture. This method is the most reliable and productive method, but the cost forces many to take up method number one

DanielB wrote:

i was looking at photos today. And came across quite a few of Lightning. Just pondering how you can time that. or maybe its an exposure thing. Just let out the time and hope it goes? . anyways, I don't know.

-daniel-

RichardBrackin · November 7, 2005

DanielB wrote:

i was looking at photos today. And came across quite a few of Lightning. Just pondering how you can time that. or maybe its an exposure thing. Just let out the time and hope it goes? . anyways, I don't know.

-daniel-

You may or may not remember the famous lightning photo in National Geographic shot by Johnny Autery in Dixon's Mills, Alabama. http://www.highvoltagephotography.com/index.html
He's a friend of mine -- he lives next door to my wife's Aunt and Uncle.
Definitely a fascinating individual. He gave me a signed print of that shot.
We walked to the spot where he was that night and we walked up to the tree (yes. It's still there).

Long story short...
Here's his web site and he explains what he calls 'Pickup Truck Photography'
http://www.highvoltagephotography.com/articles2.html

I spot lightning in the west. It's time to go. I grab my gear and get into my pickup truck. Its interior is such that I can set up a tripod on the floorboard and seat and shoot out the window. It's the only way to photograph lightning when it's raining - besides, I feel safer when lightning strikes nearby. I drive around watching the storms and pick the best spot to shoot from...
... As the storms come closer, I retire to the truck and make final preparations. I load the film, mount a camera on a tripod, and attach a cable release. The latter will be used to open the shutter and keep it open. I must be very still because one leg of the tripod is resting on the seat; any vibration will cause the camera to move and the image to blur.

He is a very experienced, trained storm chaser.

lightning photography?

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