Downtown Miami Lightning

[stephen.shelley]

I was in Downtown Miami yesterday for a meeting and when I got out I noticed a building Thunderstorm. Luckily I had my camera equipment in the car with me. I drove to a nearby underpass that has a decent vantage point of the city in hopes of capturing some lightning and skyline photos. I did get some funny looks from people as I was standing on the side of the road with my tripod and camera while still in my suit and tie.

Unfortunately, most of the lighting occurred out over the bay and beaches and not behind or over the Downtown Miami Skyline. I did not get the shot I was hoping for but I will share the ones I did capture.

One bolt actually struck one of the buildings causing the bolt to pulse a few times. The bad news was that particular building was not in my camera's field of view when it occurrred.

I will have to try again another time.

Partial Skyline and Branched Lightning


Lightning in Front of Skyline


Lightning Mixed with Rain

[chadci]

Very cool.

Also, very nice Everglades shots. It's been a lifelong dream to visit and finally, in just a few weeks it'll become reality. We're staying in Homestead and going to Anhinga Trail plus some places on the north end as well. Turner River Road and Shark Valley to start. Anhinga Trail seems to have some sort of night hike with a ranger so I'm looking into that as well.

[rick_reno]

wow, love that 2nd shot

[CRobH]

I always enjoy your storm photos! These are no exception! Good job!!!

[MidnightSun]

First shot is worth any stares you might get. They don't understand......Outstanding.

[David Arbogast]

These are super cool! The horizon appears tilted down to the right though.

[stephen.shelley]

Thanks for the compliments. One of my favorite things about living in Florida is the Summer Thunderstorms. My goal this year is to spend the summer chasing storms and building a photography portfolio of thunderstorms. I had the same goal last year but my time constraints kept me from accomplishing it. Hopefully this year will be different.

I noticed the tilted horizon also. I think it is partially tilted and partially the angle of the skyline that causes it to look more askew.

[stephen.shelley]

Originally Posted by chadci

Very cool.

Also, very nice Everglades shots. It's been a lifelong dream to visit and finally, in just a few weeks it'll become reality. We're staying in Homestead and going to Anhinga Trail plus some places on the north end as well. Turner River Road and Shark Valley to start. Anhinga Trail seems to have some sort of night hike with a ranger so I'm looking into that as well.

We just started to get rains over the last week or two. The Everglades went from being bone dry to having high water levels in a short time. I prefer having the water throughout the glades for photography purposes as it gives you better reflections and makes the scenery more interesting. However, the downside is that it makes accessing off road areas more difficult and the mosqitoes have started to get pretty thick.

If you have any questions about the Everglades or where to go feel free to send me a PM and I will be happy to point you in the right direction. The birds have thinned out considerably due to the heat but there are still some around.

If you do a night hike I also recommend staying out to do some astrophotography. Mahogany Hammock is a good location for shooting the stars. Just bring the bug spray.

[bps]

Absolutely wonderful! Nice work!

Bryan

[KirkS518]

Originally Posted by stephen.shelley

Thanks for the compliments. One of my favorite things about living in Florida is the Summer Thunderstorms. My goal this year is to spend the summer chasing storms and building a photography portfolio of thunderstorms. I had the same goal last year but my time constraints kept me from accomplishing it. Hopefully this year will be different.

I noticed the tilted horizon also. I think it is partially tilted and partially the angle of the skyline that causes it to look more askew.

Why chase them? Spend a week in Tampa Bay, they come to you everyday, around 3pm. We are the Lightning Capital of the World, ya know!

Seriously though, those are awesome shots. Since I do live in TB, I want to try and capture similar images. Would you mind sharing the mechanics of getting such great shots? I'm under the impression that it's a whole bunch of long exposures, and you get lucky in a small % of those photos. Is that correct?

[stephen.shelley]

Originally Posted by KirkS518

Why chase them? Spend a week in Tampa Bay, they come to you everyday, around 3pm. We are the Lightning Capital of the World, ya know!

Seriously though, those are awesome shots. Since I do live in TB, I want to try and capture similar images. Would you mind sharing the mechanics of getting such great shots? I'm under the impression that it's a whole bunch of long exposures, and you get lucky in a small % of those photos. Is that correct?

I grew up in Largo/Clearwater, across the bridge from Tampa. I remember the daily storms. Unfortunately, I was not into photography back then. My family still lives over there and when I go visit I always bring my camera. I tried to shoot one storm with the Skyway Bridge in the scene but the lightning did not cooperate.

For night time lightning you can use the long exposure methodology and have a good chance of capturing some good lighting shots. However, you do end up deleting the majority of your shots unless it is a really active storm. The other problem is you still need to expose for the scene if you have any bright lights in the field of view. Otherwise, you will capture the lighting but the overall image will not be as impressive. This may result in shorter exposures and more wasted shots.

The long exposure method can be accomplished by using a remote and setting the camera at 30 second exposures and then locking down the remote button causing repeated shots. Hopefully lighting occurs during any given exposure. This also can result in multiple lighting strikes captured in one image.

The other way is to use the remote with the camera set to bulb. Hold the button down until lighting occurs within the field of view and then let go. Repeat this process. This allows you to leave the shutter open longer than 30 seconds if the storm is not very active.

The best way to capture lightning and the only way to capture lighting consistently during the day, is to use a lightning trigger. I have had one for about 2 years now and love it. The lightning trigger goes on the top of your camera in the Hot Shoe and plugs into the slot the remote shutter would go. Turn the Trigger on and it senses the lighting and triggers the shutter.

There are two primary triggers on the market. The Lightning Trigger by Stepping Stone which is more expensive and the AEO Lightning Strike which is more affordable. You still will get wasted images as the triggers will also activate the shutter for lighting that strikes outside the cameras field of view, but your success rate is exponentially higher.

I have used both triggers and they both work great. I currently have the Lightning Trigger. I found the AEO Lightning Strike to be overly sensitive resulting in a lower capture to non-capture ratio. It also would trigger the camera if my cell phone started ringing. I used one of the earlier models and they have since come out with one or two newer versions. Either way I would not hesitate using or recomending either brand.

For all techniques above you have to use a tripod, and should focus the camera to infinity to make sure the lightning bolts are sharp and in focus. If you google this subject there are a number of articles and websites that discuss these techniques and discuss the technical aspects in more detail, such as what the best aperture is based on the distance of the lighting and other similar information.

Good Luck

[BGrounds]

nice captures! I usually straighten my images using the arbitrary image rotation in CS5, type in a number, use the tool menu to check for level verticals.

[Logan_from_Miami]

Nice shots!

[Eliza Rain]

very nice! I love the first shot!