Lightning photos

[Blue Deuce]

I live in Central Fl. which is the lightning capital of the U.S. Looking forward to the up coming storm season. Which lens in regard to focal length would be the best choice to capture these shots ? It will be mounted to a 20D.

[Todd]

Greetings-
I guess it would depend on how predicitable the strike locations are and the landscape configuration. Here in Indiana I have hills, trees and power lines to contend with and very short notice of lightning activity. I have dearly wanted to go to Florida for lightning shots since I would think all of the conditions would be better. That said I usually resort to my 16-35mm wide angle and try to catch what I can. The 28-70mm is also good for my conditions. Using the 1D I must limit the shutter to less than 7 seconds at best under night conditions due to the ccd heating up quickly. I bought my nephew a 10D and he can really be liberal with the shutter speeds since he is using a cmos sensor ( I think he can go 3 min or more with no noise). Keep in mind the danger of getting good shots, I was not afraid of something happening to me until a strike near me made me blind and deaf for what seemed forever and it took a while to stop shaking. I am now an absolute chicken of lightning but I still love to shoot it.

Good luck
Todd Asher

[Tom W]

If you live around the Clermont area where there are actually some hills, you might find a good vantage point where a medium-wide lens would do well. Make sure to stay safe, of course.

Or follow golfer Lee Trevino's advice - "Hold up a one iron, because even God can't hit a one iron".

j/k on the one iron advice BTW!

[wonton]

I live in Central Fl. which is the lightning capital of the U.S. Looking forward to the up coming storm season. Which lens in regard to focal length would be the best choice to capture these shots ? It will be mounted to a 20D.

I live in Orlando and there are a lot of lighting strikes. I am hoping to get one of those shots myself.

[S230]

I live in Central Fl. which is the lightning capital of the U.S. Looking forward to the up coming storm season. Which lens in regard to focal length would be the best choice to capture these shots ? It will be mounted to a 20D.
I personally think lightning has to do most with luck being at the right place and the right time. The bolt is really bright but short therefore you may need to use a larger apature (smaller hole). Depending if you want to keep the background in the picture otherwise with too fast speed, you will end up with just the bolt.

Attached is a photo that I've taken with my S230 Point and Shoot camera of lightning.

[primoz]

Hehe if you want to check how luck you are then 16-35. And be close enough to get nice photos :)
But seriously... I don't shoot lightning really much (maybe few times a year just for fun) and usually I do use wide angle. You don't need to be really close to lightning if you choose some nice foreground and it's not completely dark yet. So you get nice composition and some smaller lightnings in background which just add some power to photo. If you want to get lightning only then tele and lot of luck that you will point it to right direction.

[EoSD30fReAk]

i also shoot lightning occasionaly.

i always use either the 28-135IS or the 17-40L.

[robertwgross]

For some lightning photographers, the secret is in timing the shot.

First of all, watch the weather channel or someplace so that you know exactly which direction the storm is coming from, and make sure that you are situated in a place with a view that is safe. You do not want to become a Crispy Critter.

Once the storm intensity gets high enough, and if the sky in general is dark enough, then set up on a tripod for a long-duration shutter. Let's just say that you shoot at one second. Damn. No lightning. Shoot again. Damn. No lightning. Keep that up for a hundred shots, and you'll get lucky on one. If that had been film, then you would have had a lot of wasted film frames. But with digital, you can simply reformat the memory card and keep shooting. No waste. All it takes is patience.

Anecdote>
I was working on a rooftop near Kansas City (testing stuff with lightning protectors and radio antennas). I could see the storm coming my way, and I started to count the flash-to-bang time. It was five. I worked faster and faster. It was four. Then three. The rain was now falling. Two. I was soaked in rain. One. Hell with it! I dove through the roof hatch and slammed it tight. Just as I stepped down onto the main floor, the big CRACK! hit, almost overhead. If I had been in a safe spot with my camera, that could have gotten interesting results.

---Bob Gross---

[Volatile]

I have never had any luck in the few times I've tried. Too much city lighting and too far away lightning.

[HKFEVER]

Is there some device that will tigger the shutter when the lightning strike? Long time ago I heard that.

[Blue Deuce]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions. Lived here for my 44 years so I have an appreciation and respect for it. Bought a Manfrotto window mount and swivel head in addition to a remote shutter release. Figure this will afford me the ability to drive to where the brunt of the activity is and still remain somewhat safe in my vehicle.

[S230]

Is there some device that will tigger the shutter when the lightning strike? Long time ago I heard that.
You can technically build one but timing may be hard because I am currently working on a similar project but with motion. The Rebel allows a plug-in to trigger the shutter. The problem with lightning is that it's so fast that by the time the sensor detects the light and fires off the shutter, it's already gone or only catch the tail end of it.