# A little lightning, anyone?



## Phranquey (Mar 4, 2008)

With all of these storms around, I decided to take advantage, and do a little chasing. I took a load of pics, and did get a lot of strikes, but I believe these were the better of the bunch. Any C&C welcome. I downsized them for upload-ability. They look a bit better at full size.
#1 is a bit on the grainy side...I was shooting at a higher ISO earlier, and didn't remember to turn it back down before I left...

























I don't recommend you try this at home....


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## Ajay (Mar 4, 2008)

Cool shots!  I can't decide which one I like the most.  I love how the strikes go off very spindly like a scratch in the sky on the second one.  And I can't believe how many actually touched ground in the third!  And the first one is very dramatic.  I like em.


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## Kod3y (Mar 4, 2008)

Wow, veary nice. how do you take thous? do you have like a sensor? or is it just your super human reflexes ^^


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## kevinblahh (Mar 5, 2008)

good shots


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## errant_star (Mar 5, 2008)

These are fantastic! My favourite is the 2nd for the colours and the composition! :thumbsup:


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## rezzy (Mar 5, 2008)

its those type of pictures that makes you realize how powerful and beautiful mother nature really is.


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## Black & White (Mar 5, 2008)

Cool.


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## Trenton Romulox (Mar 5, 2008)

The second one has the best composition. The third one has the best lightning. But, I'm gonna have to go with the second one as my favorite.


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## doenoe (Mar 5, 2008)

very nice. Im going for #3, i just love multiple strikes in a shot. Good stuff


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## John_Olexa (Mar 5, 2008)

:thumbup: Nice work! I like # 3


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## Renair (Mar 5, 2008)

Pretty amazing and terrifying at the same time.  I watched a BBC documentry once, WILD WEATHER and they show that lightning actually shoots from the ground up and not the other way round.... pretty mad!


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## MarcusM (Mar 5, 2008)

Nice, #3 is my favorite. Looks like War of the Worlds or something!


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## Trenton Romulox (Mar 5, 2008)

The more I think about it, I think I'm gonna have to say the third one is my favorite instead of the second. 

What were your settings for these shots? Not that it matters really, we NEVER get lightning like that in Maine. And besides, if we ever did, there'd be too many damn trees in the way. Stupid Maine. Oh well.


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## Tuner571 (Mar 5, 2008)

Nice shots man, I really like #3. Nice work!


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## Phranquey (Mar 5, 2008)

From a noob to the site, thank you for all of the comments. Greatly appreciated.




> do you have like a sensor? or is it just your super human reflexes ^^


 
I _wish _I had reflexes that fast, you could call them "lightning quick"...:greenpbl:




> What were your settings for these shots?


 

First, and foremost...
Seriously, this can be dangerous, so if you are going to try it, be very, _very _careful. Make sure you are not on top of a hill, or the highest point in a given area. Take every precaution you can, and even then, make no mistake, you are placing yourself in harm's way.


Now, how I do it.

First, what I do is set up about 2 to 4 miles in front of an incoming storm. (In pic #2, you can see blue sky on the right, with the storm rolling in on the left.) I will mount the camera (with wide angle lens to get the best coverage) on either a tripod or a Kirk window mount, and start clicking away. As the storm moves over me, and it starts raining, I will quickly pack up and try to get ahead of the storm again, and do the same thing over. 

At night, I set the camera on manual, run at about f/8, and hold the shutter open for 10 to 20 seconds, depending on any ambient light. While the shutter is open, you are just hoping a bolt hits in the area your lens is pointing. If you get nothing, the scene will be very underexposed, as the bolts become your "fill", as you see in the foreground of pic #3.
Click...wait, wait, wait...Click...wait, wait, wait....

During day shots, I will mount an ND8, set the camera to Aperture Priority, and run it all the way down to f/22. This gives you the maximum open time with the shutter (usually 2 to 6 seconds), and still get a properly exposed scenery...Pic #2. Even if the bolt didn't hit, the picture would have looked the same. Very important during daylight shooting is the use of a remote. Since the shutter is open for an extended period, you do not want residual vibration by having to manually press the release.
Click...wait....Click...wait...Click...wait

AGAIN, please be careful if you are going to try this. With picture #3, those 4 very powerful bolts all hit within about 15 seconds of exposure time. The last two I actually _felt_ the concussion as much as I heard thunder, which means I overstepped my bounds on how close I actually was.


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## MarcusM (Mar 5, 2008)

Wouldn't it work during the night shots if you set it to Bulb, with the other settings the same, then you click the remote, and you can stop the exposure any time after you see some lightning hit. I've never done this, but it seems like it would work and cut down on the # of exposures?


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## Phranquey (Mar 6, 2008)

> Wouldn't it work during the night shots if you set it to Bulb, with the other settings the same, then you click the remote, and you can stop the exposure any time after you see some lightning hit. I've never done this, but it seems like it would work and cut down on the # of exposures?


 
Yes, you can do this, but if left open too long, I find that the exposure starts to build excessive noise at an almost compounding rate (especially around background lights like #'s 1 & 3). You can use noise reduction, etc, But if you are shooting digital, what's the worry about the number of exposures??? I would rather delete a bunch of dark pictures than to try to have to save a noisy one, that COULD have been fantastic, because the bolt came at the end of a two or three minute exposure.


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## John_Olexa (Mar 6, 2008)

Phranquey offers good advice. I have been shooting lightning for 6 years now and average about one close call every 2 seasons.


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## BoblyBill (Mar 6, 2008)

Nice shots... I wish I had the storms to do this. We did on Sunday but I was busy with the family. You a storm chaser by anychance?


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## Phranquey (Mar 6, 2008)

> You a storm chaser by anychance?


 
Not in any "official" capacity.  I do it just as a part of my photo hobby.


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## Ann75 (Mar 6, 2008)

Wow, great shots! Great light, colors, details and perfect timing.  I have a slight preference for the last photo!  Excellent work!   

Greetings,
Ann :sillysmi:


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## jbylake (Sep 9, 2009)

Phranquey said:


> > You a storm chaser by anychance?
> 
> 
> 
> Not in any "official" capacity. I do it just as a part of my photo hobby.


Although this is an old thread, for any just now viewing it can benefit from your advice.  I just wanted to say that your advice for safety cannot be over emphasised. My lifestyle has brought me dangerously close to strikes, to the point that I've actually been struck by "glowing" embers from a tree that (and I know better) was hit. Your camera and tripod make a perfect target.

J.:mrgreen:


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## SlySniper (Sep 9, 2009)

WOW!  #3 is just something else.  That's just amazing!  Great shots!! :thumbsup:


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