Distant Lightning

We have a really weird year out here. All storms during the day in my area. But they are dumping tons of rain. There was one at night but it was way off into the distance. So what to do. Set up the telephoto. This shot was taken 30 miles from the storm.

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I expect to see the "Mother Ship" slip out of that cloud momentarilly...

WOW...nice catch!

Wow, that's a neat shot!

Oh, very nice! I love thunderstorms

Very cool. You always see the lightning in these types of shots, but never the clouds above. Well done!

Love lightning shots. But never get any here, always has to much rain involved.

do you just take a chance with the photo? or how do you guess when the lightening is coming?

Wow Rick what a spectacular image. Very impressive. Are you going to submit it to any of the weather sites?

canonnoob wrote in post #6099796
do you just take a chance with the photo? or how do you guess when the lightening is coming?

No guessing, just keeping the shutter open (bulb setting) until it happens. As for composition and framing, that's where the chances are taken.

Excellent picture. I hear there's more moisture coming up from the south later this week, so you may have some more lightning coming you way.

So basically keep the shutter on bulb mode and then press the button until it happens or can you explain that alittle more?

Wow, awsome shot. I can't waite untill we have another thunderstorm out here so i can try to get a shot like this. Great Job!

Michille

excellent shot

canonnoob wrote in post #6101042
So basically keep the shutter on bulb mode and then press the button until it happens or can you explain that alittle more?

Yeah, that's about it. Basically, stick the camera in Manual mode, including manual focus. Set your aperture (this is debateable, but I usually go with a minimum of f5.6, maybe even f8 if the storm is close), taking your background also into account. Stick the camera on a tripod, compose the shot in the direction of the storm, focus, then shoot. Keep the shutter open until you get a bolt of lightning within your shot (or many bolts), then release. If you need to, check your shot and adjust f-stop as necessary. A remote shutter release is highly recommended, but not necessary.

Steve, No, I have not submitted to any weather sites. Although I'm part of the Skywarn network (Spotter CA-60). I'm not a real forum buff and I'm only a member of a few photo sites of which I tend to only post a photo here once in a blue moon (waiting for that one to shoot!) (Kudo's to POTN)

Thanks everyone for the compliments and since there were a few questions about how it is done here is my guidance for lightning photos.

Lightning less than 6-8 miles. Use a wide-angle lens. A sturdy tripod is required with “the heavier the better” the rule. This is due to gusty winds associated with storms. If the lightning is bright and or streaking I use ISO 100 and set the shutter to 10 - 15sec and the aperture between f/5.6 and f/8. If exceptionally bright I have gone down to f/13! If dim lightning or I want to catch clouds being illuminated with flash lightning then ISO 200 and aperture is between f/4 and f/5.6. Usually the question I get is “why not set to bulb?’ Two reasons. (1) Less chance of getting unwanted noise or hot pixels and (2) I don’t want to take the chance that a shot will be overexposed by another flash of lightning.

For distant lightning use a telephoto lens. The further away the storm is, the amount of lightning is less frequent so I set the shutter to 13-15 seconds and the aperture as wide as possible. In my case it is f/4. ISO is set to 200 or 400 depending on the distance.

Click as quickly as possible since Murphy’s Law will have the lightning strike in between shots. I do not use noise reduction but I enable mirror lock-up. As soon as the shot is over immediately start another exposure. Remember this is digital so you can delete. I shoot over 750 in a night and kept 4. Forget about trying to expose and adjust every shot. Be patient, and you will catch those few great ones! So base your exposure that way! Also if there is a particular subject like a cityscape or houses you can adjust your exposure for the foreground. Keep in mind it is the aperture and ISO that controls the lightning being exposed properly not your shutter speed. Some other extras that make it easier. Remote cable!. I can sit in my patio chair and kick back and if the lightning is really close I can remote from in the house. Remember safety!! My Wife will let me know when it’s time to take cover. As to staying dry… I have no tricks to avoid rain. All I do is shoot from under a porch and face the camera downwind until the rain stops.

I shoot strictly RAW so I can manipulate the exposure a little if needed and set a more accurate White Balance. I do play with the linear curve to increase contrast and to help setting the black point.

this is impressive... worth a print imho...