crazy lightning tonight!

[Jer]

Cool shot & thanks for the tips. I dozed through the storm myself, glad someone caught it for later enjoyment.

[CS]

Sweet pics man. I've been telling myself all summer I need to get out and get some lightning shots, but it seems everytime a good cell comes through I'm either without my camera or otherwise occupied. Same thing happened the other night when the lightning was going off. Good stuff mang. Not easy to capture such vivid strikes.

[truth]

what are the techincal considerations for taking lightening shots with a digital camera?

how long exposure?
plus or minus anything on the exposure?
tripod - of course

anything else?

I tend to use 2 second exposures (due to the vast amount of ambient light here in the city) and lock the "cable" release so it just keeps firing. I adjust the ISO and aperture depending on results. Daytime strikes are far trickier than nightime.



EXIF

[midget]

I tend to use 2 second exposures (due to the vast amount of ambient light here in the city) and lock the "cable" release so it just keeps firing. I adjust the ISO and aperture depending on results. Daytime strikes are far trickier than nightime.
EXIF

Yes, and not a bad way to go about it. Just let it keep firing....

[truth]

Yes, and not a bad way to go about it. Just let it keep firing....

It's impossible to time it. I just let it run until I get a few strike then check the images and make adjustments. With the long exposures the buffer szie never comes into play so you can really let it fire off until the memory card is full. I can't even imagine the cost of trying to shoot lightning with film.

[backpack]

I'd never gotten any lightning either, but a couple of weeks ago when a storm was rolling in I put the camera on a tripod and did a bunch of 25-30 second exposures to see what happened. It worked out ok, I guess.

[truth]

Nice shots BP. I love how you cna see the strikes way off in the distance. I wish I had that type of view to work with here.

[midget]

ha, you shit looks way better than mine.

[uglymoney]

Great shots. Like the mountain, city, lightning combo. The fingers death.

[Bawheed]

....I can't even imagine the cost of trying to shoot lightning with film.

Nah, it's no more expensive than shooting anything else on film. All you need is a cable release and decent reflexes. No need to fill up a card in the vain hope of capturing "something". Just hit the cable release when the lightning strikes, and leave the shutter open for 30 seconds or so. Easy

[Xover]

very, very nice ES!!!
heard all that in a deep slumber, bear fart wake up .... way to get outta the warm comforter to snap those ... pure dedication; pure

[P_McPoser]

Nice shots all!
Midg: Every 30 seconds? Weak!
I pretty much miss only the Thunderstorms from my 10 years in the desert SW.
Tucson gets such intense, beautiful storms.

http://www.menzelphoto.com

Tucson Lighning Shot Checklist:
1. City Lights CHECK
2. Lightning CHECK
3. Foreground Saguaro Cactus CHECK
4. Mountains? DOH!