Lightning at LBI

pcasciola · 8th of August 2005 (Mon)

I spent last week down in Long Beach Island, NJ, and they had some incredible thunderstorms one afternoon and the following night. 500 shots later, I ended up with about 10 decent ones. Here are a few of them.

dewmuw · 8th of August 2005 (Mon)

I simply love #3 - looks like the lightning is hitting straight into the sea.

AjP · 8th of August 2005 (Mon)

beautiful shots!!!!!!!!!!! especially #3

RiverCottage · 8th of August 2005 (Mon)

I agree 3 is fantastic! theres something about number 2 i like aswell...cant quite put my finger on it, but it just appeals, almost looks like a tear in the actual photo

River Cottage

Richard51 · 9th of August 2005 (Tue)

#3 is an awesome shot. I've not yet had the privilege or good fortune to shoot lightening.But, my time is coming!!!

RockOne · 9th of August 2005 (Tue)

Great work Phil.

niewold · 9th of August 2005 (Tue)

Great shots!! What were the settings if you don't mind! I would love to get a good lightening shot someday soon!
thanks,
greg

pcasciola · 9th of August 2005 (Tue)

Thanks for the comments everyone.

I've been dying to shoot lightning, and I got real lucky with this storm. During the day, I was shooting 1/8 second exposures at f/16, and the best shots I got at night were 1/2 second exposures at f/22, ISO 400. This caused a little bit of noise, but I was able to pick up a lot more detail in the strikes.

kingsown · 10th of August 2005 (Wed)

awsem its not easy lightning thanks for the details

lxmcc · 10th of August 2005 (Wed)

#3 is a classic lightning shot. Great job!
I was wondering though as I would love to try and get some lightning shots. Is it best to wait and use your reactions to shoot when you see a strike and hope it lasts long enough? or do you continually shoot so you will capture it with at least a couple shots (might be a completely idiotic question but I've never really been sure)

digitaltourist · 11th of August 2005 (Thu)

Quote:

Originally Posted by lxmcc

#3 is a classic lightning shot. Great job!
I was wondering though as I would love to try and get some lightning shots. Is it best to wait and use your reactions to shoot when you see a strike and hope it lasts long enough? or do you continually shoot so you will capture it with at least a couple shots (might be a completely idiotic question but I've never really been sure)

Try shooting at ISO 100-200, I like apertures of f/4 to f/5.6. Set the camera on bulb then it is just a guessing game. Shutter speeds should be anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute or more depending on ambient light and the frequency and duration of the strikes. If you get lucky you should be able to get the foreground exposed properly as well as the lighting like this :

http://www.pbase.com/garage_logician/image/46039735

I have a gallery of pics using this technique.

http://www.pbase.com/garage_logician/lightning

digitaltourist · 11th of August 2005 (Thu)

Quote:

Originally Posted by pcasciola

I spent last week down in Long Beach Island, NJ, and they had some incredible thunderstorms one afternoon and the following night. 500 shots later, I ended up with about 10 decent ones. Here are a few of them.

Nice shots, I like number three the best.

fortinaa · 11th of August 2005 (Thu)

Wow, #3 is just plain powerful! 1 and 2 show a little need for sensor cleaning

foxbat · 11th of August 2005 (Thu)

Love the third one, very atmospheric. it's great the way the lightning almost lights the sea but not quite enough. Too many distractions in the other shots that make me not look at the lightning.

Pat H · 11th of August 2005 (Thu)

Aside from the slight bit of noise #3 is great, can't say I've ever had any luck with weather shots.

8th of August 2005 (Mon)	#1
pcasciola POTN SHOPKEEPER Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Millstone Township, NJ Posts: 3,124 IMAGE EDITING OK	Lightning at LBI I spent last week down in Long Beach Island, NJ, and they had some incredible thunderstorms one afternoon and the following night. 500 shots later, I ended up with about 10 decent ones. Here are a few of them. __________________ Philip Casciola Pro Camera Gear - POTN Shop Canon 20D w/BG-E2 grip, 1D Mark I, 1D Mk III (Waiting List) EF 50/1.8, EF 85/1.8, EF 300/4L IS, Sigma 500/4.5 EF-S 10-22, EF-S 18-55, Tamron 28-75/2.8, EF 70-200/2.8L IS Sigma 1.4x & 2x, Tamron 1.4x, Gitzo 2220 Explorer, 322RC2 grip

8th of August 2005 (Mon)	#2
dewmuw Cream of the Crop Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wirral, UK Posts: 6,021 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Lightning at LBI I simply love #3 - looks like the lightning is hitting straight into the sea. __________________ Damian, 30D & G3 and stuff I've no idea how to use (so C&C always welcome) My Gallery My pBase POTN Fantasy Football League Latest League Table

8th of August 2005 (Mon)	#4
RiverCottage Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lancashire UK Posts: 360	Re: Lightning at LBI I agree 3 is fantastic! theres something about number 2 i like aswell...cant quite put my finger on it, but it just appeals, almost looks like a tear in the actual photo River Cottage __________________ Man in the rain

9th of August 2005 (Tue)	#5
Richard51 Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Near Buffalo Natl. River in Arkansas Posts: 488	Re: Lightning at LBI #3 is an awesome shot. I've not yet had the privilege or good fortune to shoot lightening.But, my time is coming!!! __________________ Richard (The second the shutter clicks, your pictures are "HISTORY") Canon 20D, 18-55 kit lens, 75-300 Canon lens Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Cheap (relatively speaking) 420-800mm lens Canon 70-300 IS. Phoenix D92-BZS wireless slave flash. Long list of "wants"!!

9th of August 2005 (Tue)	#6
RockOne Goldmember Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New South Wales,Australia Posts: 2,842	Re: Lightning at LBI Great work Phil. __________________ Steve EOS300D / EOS30Dx2 / 100-400 L / EF-S 17-55IS /A75 / 75-300mmII / 18-55mm / 28-80mm / 50mm 1.8II / 50-500mm / FinePix S9500.

8th of August 2005 (Mon)	#3
AjP Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: DFW, US Posts: 813	Re: Lightning at LBI beautiful shots!!!!!!!!!!! especially #3 __________________ "Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still." AjP Photography \| SportsShooter \| WPJA Member

9th of August 2005 (Tue)	#7
niewold Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Illiniois Posts: 87	Re: Lightning at LBI Great shots!! What were the settings if you don't mind! I would love to get a good lightening shot someday soon! thanks, greg

9th of August 2005 (Tue)	#8
pcasciola POTN SHOPKEEPER Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Millstone Township, NJ Posts: 3,124 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Lightning at LBI Thanks for the comments everyone. I've been dying to shoot lightning, and I got real lucky with this storm. During the day, I was shooting 1/8 second exposures at f/16, and the best shots I got at night were 1/2 second exposures at f/22, ISO 400. This caused a little bit of noise, but I was able to pick up a lot more detail in the strikes. __________________ Philip Casciola Pro Camera Gear - POTN Shop Canon 20D w/BG-E2 grip, 1D Mark I, 1D Mk III (Waiting List) EF 50/1.8, EF 85/1.8, EF 300/4L IS, Sigma 500/4.5 EF-S 10-22, EF-S 18-55, Tamron 28-75/2.8, EF 70-200/2.8L IS Sigma 1.4x & 2x, Tamron 1.4x, Gitzo 2220 Explorer, 322RC2 grip

10th of August 2005 (Wed)	#9
kingsown Goldmember Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: barrow-in-furness Posts: 2,217	Re: Lightning at LBI awsem its not easy lightning thanks for the details

10th of August 2005 (Wed)	#10
lxmcc Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 115	Re: Lightning at LBI #3 is a classic lightning shot. Great job! I was wondering though as I would love to try and get some lightning shots. Is it best to wait and use your reactions to shoot when you see a strike and hope it lasts long enough? or do you continually shoot so you will capture it with at least a couple shots (might be a completely idiotic question but I've never really been sure) __________________ http://lxmcc.deviantart.com/ Rebel XT (...Kit lens...50mm f/1.8...70-200mm f/4L USM...)

11th of August 2005 (Thu)	#13
fortinaa Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Detroit, MI (suburbs) Posts: 707 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Lightning at LBI Wow, #3 is just plain powerful! 1 and 2 show a little need for sensor cleaning __________________ Aaron Gear List

11th of August 2005 (Thu)	#14
foxbat Goldmember Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Essex, UK. Posts: 2,425	Re: Lightning at LBI Love the third one, very atmospheric. it's great the way the lightning almost lights the sea but not quite enough. Too many distractions in the other shots that make me not look at the lightning. __________________ Andy Brown; South-east England. Canon, Sigma, Leica, Zeiss all on Canon DSLRs. My Gallery. Gear here.

11th of August 2005 (Thu)	#15
Pat H Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 158 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Lightning at LBI Aside from the slight bit of noise #3 is great, can't say I've ever had any luck with weather shots. __________________ Canon T2i with grip \| 24-105 f/4L IS \| 70-200 f/4L \| Canon 430EX Speedlite \| Manfrotto 055Xprob w/ 488RC2 Mac Pro \| PS CS3

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