Lightning - N. IL 08/07/07

My best effort from the evening. Shot in Plainfield, just NW of Joliet.

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THAT is friggin' sweet! Beautiful! Lightning trigger?

Nah, just luck...

I usually shoot lightning on bulb with a cheap knock-off cable release. I usually count 30 second exposures, then close shutter and open for the next one. When I get a bright bolt like this I close the shutter right away, even if it's only been a few seconds. A bright bolt is like a flash over the entire visible world, so no worries about exposure. Besides, it's the bolt you want exposed correctly, and leaving the shutter open doesn't expose something that's no longer there.

Anyway, that's what I've been doing. I've probably taken near a thousand shots for just a few keepers over the summer. Isn't digital GREAT?

A very impressive shot

Very NICE!!

beautifully done and thanks for the explanation stearmandriver...

Avi

Beautiful shot

Stearmandriver wrote in post #3717469
Nah, just luck...

I usually shoot lightning on bulb with a cheap knock-off cable release. I usually count 30 second exposures, then close shutter and open for the next one. When I get a bright bolt like this I close the shutter right away, even if it's only been a few seconds. A bright bolt is like a flash over the entire visible world, so no worries about exposure. Besides, it's the bolt you want exposed correctly, and leaving the shutter open doesn't expose something that's no longer there.

Anyway, that's what I've been doing. I've probably taken near a thousand shots for just a few keepers over the summer. Isn't digital GREAT?

Much better than my technique (shoot burst and hope for the best) I used for some lucky middle of the day lightning strikes last summer.

Lord_Malone wrote in post #3718694
Much better than my technique (shoot burst and hope for the best) I used for some lucky middle of the day lightning strikes last summer.

Ah, daytime is a whole different story. I've just been stopping way down and shooting around 4 second shots. Just stand there with the cable release in my hand and click click click. Burst is a good idea, but then you probably have something that bursts a little faster than an XT.

Very impressive lightning strike you caught there!

Very cool catch! Nice job.

Great pic. Wished it were mine.

Great picture. I've taken a few lightning pictures the past couple days.. Still learning how to do it properly

Outstanding. Will have to give it a try one of these days.

Great shot. What lens did you use; I can't see any Exif