Lightning shots... tell me about methods

[pupp]

Looks like we've a day or two of storms brewing hereabouts and I've always wanted to try shooting lightning... anyone dabbled with any success? Handheld or supported? Long exposure I'd imagine... any tips?

[sstein]

You could always find a large empty field and stand with the metal tripod above your head, have the camera on a long exposure sitting in front of you.... Then post the resulting pics up here!



-

Stuart

[Typhon]

I think I used the 'Fireworks' setting on my A85 when I got this shot. Something like a 2 second exposure if I remember right.

[imperialism2024]

Typhon said:

I think I used the 'Fireworks' setting on my A85 when I got this shot. Something like a 2 second exposure if I remember right.

Actually you took it at 3.22 seconds and at f/8.

[graham@reading]

Luck, patience, luck, a tripod, some more luck, a remote shutter release/timer and some more luck



Don't even try to react, it's too quick. You have to go kind of backwards Best bet is to leave the shutter open for 30 seconds or so (depends how much ambient light there is and how low an aperture you can get on your camera/lens combination) and then close it when a strike happens (hence the remote to avoid shaking the camera).

Obviously a tripod or solid base for the camera is a must.

[V6GTO]

graham@reading said:

Obviously a tripod or solid base for the camera is a must.

And LOTS and LOTS of luck!

M.

[graham@reading]

Oh yeah, and some luck

Actually, that one above was shot 3 of about 200 I took that night. Sod's law really

[anonymous-user]

I've taken some photos, waiting for a flash then pushing the button!!

That was on a Digi with shutter lag aswell

[graham@reading]

Oh by the way...





Amazing stuff from Stephen Noyes :

www.pbase.com/snoyes/lightning_strikes

[pupp]

Well... it's rumbling away, right on cue. Hmmmmm.....

[imperialism2024]

There haven't been enough storms here in Pennsylvania lately...

I think another tip would be to have a wide field of view as well. Helps increase the chances you'll get something.

[2jamesl]

graham@reading said:

Oh by the way...





Amazing stuff from Stephen Noyes :

www.pbase.com/snoyes/lightning_strikes

But i think anybody could do that if they were in the right place at the right time and had a good enough camera with the right lighting conditions.

[graham@reading]

2jamesl said:

But i think anybody could do that if they were in the right place at the right time and had a good enough camera with the right lighting conditions.

Does that diminish the impact or attraction of the picture then?

[jackgta]

I've been trying to shoot lightning recently, no luck yet though. Think I might give some mild storm chasing a go tonight if theres another storm in the distance.

[Oakey]

As has been said; wide angle lens and a tripod. Set it to long exposure, use something to cover the lens (like a black baseball cap), take pic, wait, (this part is all about timing), remove cap, hopefully capture some lightning, replace cap, release shutter:



Nothing spectacular but unfortunately that's all the lightning we've had here in over a year and that's as close as it came to our house. I feel some cool photos might have been taken had it been closer.

[imperialism2024]

Hmm yesterday we had some lightning, but it was at about 4PM, so there was far too much light, even at f/29, for a decent long exposure...