Lightning...

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Deleted member 88227

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lightning_09_isle.jpg


Figure I'd share with the rest of you all, I love doing this type of thing. I have others from last year. This is the first real thunderstorm we've had this year; at least the first one that lasted long enough for me to get out in.
 
Man,now I have to dig up some of my lightning pics...

But very cool. I love lightning shots but my biggest gripe is all of the waiting with the shutter open.
 
I am hoping into capturing lightning myself soon, however, I have no idea where to begin, do you have any tips for a fellow newbie?
 
I am just realizing that I lost my lightning photos along with about 10gb of other pictures.... Let's just say I will be vigerously looking in to recovering that data.

Anyway, capturing lightning requires an energetic storm, low ambient light, and a steady camera mount.
You need a camera that lets you take LONG expsosures. (Some cameras have a "bulb" setting that allows you to keep the shutter open as long as the button is pressed) This feature allows for 2min exposures captuing some really awsome lightning shots. You can also use an f22 apeture to limit the effect of ambient light and heat lightning. (This also works for shooting fireworks.)

The best thing about digital cameras is now you can see right away if you got your shot. I remember going through a couple of rolls of film at a time and having to wait days to see how badly I did. It is a trial and error thing but you will get some awesome shot, even if they are accidental. The cool thing is, now you can just read the photo's exif data to see exposure apeture and iso speed. (I used to keep a shot notebook with the information jotted down and an exposure number.)
 
2 mins? wow, the max my camera can go is 30 seconds (D60). I suppose that will do for a newbie.

There was a thunderstorm today, some nice lightning, but the ambient light sucked big time.
 
Empty_Quarter said:
2 mins? wow, the max my camera can go is 30 seconds (D60). I suppose that will do for a newbie.

There was a thunderstorm today, some nice lightning, but the ambient light sucked big time.
Click to expand...

Try setting your camera to bulb exposure mode, and then you can have the shutter open for as long as you'd like.
 
Empty_Quarter said:
2 mins? wow, the max my camera can go is 30 seconds (D60). I suppose that will do for a newbie.

There was a thunderstorm today, some nice lightning, but the ambient light sucked big time.
Click to expand...

As berndawg pointed out, just set your camera to bulb mode. Then the shutter will stay open as long as you hold the shutter down (best with a remote shutter release...you can get them cheap at dealextreme.com).
 
Oh, I thought my camera didn't have this bulb feature as I thought it would be reserved for higher end models. A quick search of the manual says I do indeed have the feature!

I already have the remote for my camera.

I guess I'll be hunting thunderstorms this summer!

Thanks :D
 
The trade off with longer exposures is increased "noise" in the image. This can be partially mitigated by using the lowest ISO possible. Also check to see if your camera has a noise reduction mode. This will alter the camera's internal method of handling dark areas on the sensor.

Lastly, make sure you use your camera's raw mode. (If available)
 
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