How to capture lighting and waterfall?

[sadx]

Hi all, i would like some guilde for shooting lighting and some waterfalls scape.
I don't know what appeature and shutter speed for shooting those pic :(
Well i need help for those pic...your help are much more appreciated thanks.

[Mark_Cohran]

You're asking for two completely different things, but here's what I do:

1. Lightning: First things first - put your camera on a tripod and attach a lockable remote release. Then your best best is to put a wide angle lens on your camera, with a low ISO, mid-aperture setting, and compose your shot so that you get the area of the sky/earth where the lightning storm is predominent. Focus on an object in the far distance. Put the lens cap back on the lens, or cover the lens with a piece of black cloth. Then set your camera to bulb and lock your remote to hold the shutter open. Remove the cap or cover from the lens and allow several bolts of lightning to flash, then cover the lens, unlock the shutter and set up for the next shot.

2. Waterfalls - for waterfalls, I assume you want that silky look of water that comes from slow shutter speeds. Once again. a tripod is paramount. Compose your shot using the tripod. Set your focus to the subject of interest - usually the fall, but sometimes I focus on the water interface between the fall and the pool at the bottom of the falls. Using a low ISO and mid- aperture (f8-f16), check your shutter speed. If it's about 1/2 or longer, you'll get the desired effect. Longer shutter speeds give more of the effect. If you can't achieve it with the settings I've recommend above you have a couple of choices - reduce the aperture (and risk some loss of sharpness due to diffraction), or put a Neutral Density filter on the lens to reduce the amount of light coming through. This will allow you to use a longer shutter speed. If you have a CP filter, you could use that instead, but it will only gain you a stop or two of light reduction.

Mark

[dazzlebea]

Fantastic explainations Mark, very easy to understand!!! Do you have an online gallery?

[Mark_Cohran]

Fantastic explainations Mark, very easy to understand!!! Do you have an online gallery?

My gear list link takes you to my personal website - don't have any lightning shots up there, but you'll find a few waterfalls. More to come in the near future.

Mark

[RuggerJoe]

Put the lens cap back on the lens, or cover the lens with a piece of black cloth. Then set your camera to bulb and lock your remote to hold the shutter open. Remove the cap or cover from the lens and allow several bolts of lightning to flash, then cover the lens, unlock the shutter and set up for the next shot.

Why not just use the remote to open and close the shutter?

[sadx]

Thanks Mark a very detail explanation!! Well i will try it out.

[Wilt]

Why not just use the remote to open and close the shutter?

It sounds like Mark's technique was adopted from the proper technique for multiple exposure on one film using large format! Since the shutter cannot be cocked without shaking the camera, you simply cover the lens rather than repeatedly cocking the shutter and firing it each time.

Or the technique is adopted when camera shake on the tripod could be captured when constant light sources are present...that show up the camera shake as streak patterns in the shot. You uncover the lens, pause to let the shake die down, then remove completely to make the exposure.

The mirror kicking up and down can manifest as streak patterns with constant light sources that might be in the scene, so you open the shutter and lift the lens cover, then pause so that lens cover removal shake and the mirror shade both diminish, then make the exposure, the reverse the cover-shutter sequence when ending the exposure.

[Mark_Cohran]

You could use the remote to open and close the shutter, but doing it my way reduces the amount of ambient light pollution on the shot between bursts of lighting, reduces shake due to mirror flap (though you could use mirror lockup if you wanted), and is more responsive (usually you want to capture 2-3 major strikes per exposure).

I should mention, this method is really for night time shooting. Trying to catch daytime lightning shots is a much more difficult proposition.

Mark

[Wilt]

I should mention, this method is really for night time shooting. Trying to catch daytime lightning shots is a much more difficult proposition.

Fast hands are required! ;)

[Mark_Cohran]

And burn salve. :)