lightening

[LaiLai]

Hey all. It's storm season again! Does anyone have any pics of lightening, or any tips on how to get "lucky" enough to capture them? I have been out once and had zero luck!

[Dana]

As my father (a "funny guy" ) would say:

"Attach a lightning rod to your hat and stand in front of your camera, remote in hand..." :-)

Google search on "photographing lightning:"

http://www.planetneil.com/colourzone/lightning.html

http://cameras.about.com/library/weekly/aa111500a.htm

http://www.cimms.ou.edu/~doswell/ltgph.html (beauty shot here at the top of the page)

http://www.apogeephoto.com/mag4-6/mag4-6l_trigger.shtml

Most of these are more about shooting w/film cameras, but the info there is applicable.

I'd try:

Tripod
Manual "M" mode
Flash off (unless you want to include foreground in the pic)
F8 (start there and back down as desired)
Exposure lock before the picture
Shutter lengths ranging from 1s to many seconds as desired for overall exposure and number of strikes in a frame. (Take several test shots w/various F and shutter times to get that settled.)
Umbrella or other camera protection if outdoors!
Don't become a lightning rod yourself! Lightning is dangerous, so don't stand in the middle of a broad flat area under the storm where you are the tallest object!


Have fun and post your results!

Dana