Lightning

[Linuz]

Here, my last photography and much of patience before this catch.

(Canon, Powershot G3)

[Reeforbust]

Did you use the ND filter or any other filter?

[Linuz]

No Filter. Just my G3 and a tripod. F6.3, ISO 50, Exp 10 Sec., Auto WB

I took this photo around 11:15pm this Monday evening (Alma, Qc. Canada)

[Reeforbust]

It's a cool shot......I think if you used a filter to cut some light out you might get a better "bolt" appearance.
My G5 has a built in ND filter that I use a lot....not sure about the G3??

Sometimes I will use the ND and a Polarizer when doing longer exposures or shooting into the sun...

[rpolitsr]

I agree with Reeforbust. 10 seconds exposure allowed you to catch the lightning, but there is too much light captured from the elements at ground level, a ND filter will help.

Nevertheless, if you have PhotoShop, (mine is CS), you can use curves to darken even more the dark areas of the image.

I used:

Image>Adjustments>Curves… (Channel: RGB; Input: 190; Output: 110)

It worked for me with your image.

[JMHPhotography]

Originally Posted by rpolitsr

I agree with Reeforbust. 10 seconds exposure allowed you to catch the lightning, but there is too much light captured from the elements at ground level, a ND filter will help.

Nevertheless, if you have PhotoShop, (mine is CS), you can use curves to darken even more the dark areas of the image.

I used:

Image>Adjustments>Curves… (Channel: RGB; Input: 190; Output: 110)

It worked for me with your image.

Using your settings for me made it look really flat. I use CS2.

I think the best way to do it is to actually simulate the ND filter. Create a new layer over the background layer, change it's blend mode to overlay... and color it black. For less darkening, use a lighter shade of black... like 12/12/12 Remember that 128/128/128 is totally nuetral for this effect. Anything north of that will lighten and south will darken. And to make the filter even more fun... you can add a layer mask and do half reveal/hide to simulate a graduated ND filter.

[nomorefilm]

The G3 has a built in ND filter, that's buy you 3 stops. You can activate it in the menu.
If you're shooting outside your door and if you think it's safe, you can tether a long USB cord to it and use remote capture.
I just happened by this guys site while surfing dpreview, pretty impressive:
http://www.pbase.com/snoyes/lightning_strikes

[Ballen Photo]

Originally Posted by Linuz

Here, my last photography and much of patience before this catch.

This is a respectable catch. Nice work.
I'm sure the ND filter would have helped, but I'm not sure I would've thought of it at the time either.
-Bruce

[juliajothika]

hai
I saw the photograph.It is realy wonderfull.to take this such photographs we should have much patient. The lightning will apear only a few second we should not miss that time.

[asolie]

Nice catch! That takes lots of patience, and its really hard. What's really nice is the size of the bolt. I usually catch smaller ones. Great job!

--Alyssa

[an33sh]

heheheh...nice work maaan...

you've got a big huge bolt there...
ive got a g2...
i sat for like a week...everynight...whole night...but in india, the lightning is always blurred by the huge cloud cover so nothing is sharp...

or maybe my timing was wrong...

[S Taylor]

Very nice catch.

I'm sure filters can help in some situations... but for this particular image, I don't agree with some of the comments. The foreground lights weren't even close to being blown out, so a simple reduction of exposure time or stopping down to f/8 would've been preferrable to a filter.

The only thing bugging me in your image is that dern tree! Otherwise splended capture, just reduce the brightness some.

[Gordeez]

That is a good shot. Someday, im going to try and catch some lightning.

[mepatri]

Cool pic. Check these out - PowerShot S1

[Linuz]

Good pictures too Mepatri.

What is your setup for the S1 camera ?