Lightning

[gus]

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[dugmar]

Yep...im still a lightning fan.

I shot this from my balcony about 2 weeks ago ...nothing like closing that aperture down a bit to make the lights sparkle. I cropped it & enlarged it & despeckled it & sharpened it & ....


Make:OLYMPUS OPTICAL CO.,LTDModel: C5050Z Size: 2560x1920 Bytes: 1101540 Aperture: f/5.6 ISO: 64 Focal Length: 21.3mm Exposure Time: 16s (1600/100)JPEG Quality:normalFlash:16Exposure Program:ManualExposure Bias:0ExposureMode:1DigitalZoomRatio:0/100ColorSpace:sRGB

Wow, is that purple the natural color or had it been modified?

Doug

[gus]

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[ehughes]

Very Cool, I have yet to be able to capture lightning.

[lynnma]

Very Cool, I have yet to be able to capture lightning.Great shot Humy.. I like the uncropped version best :clap

[DoctorIt]

you guys must get some amazing storms down there. you'd have about as much chance of winning the lottery as capturing lightning around here, so sparse in all but the most freakish storms - you'd need a bout 6 cameras setup in all directions with wide lenses to catch something.

[gus]

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[ginger_55]

Love the lightening photo! Actually, I like the horizontal best.

And I am really glad to know that someone is out there to get my power back up DURING the storm. I can't imagine.......the thunder so many secs away. They clear beaches if there is any lightening anywhere in the state......slight exageration, but I really didn't think anyone was working when the storm was still "on".

We call the power company right away.

ginger

I do like that photo. Nice to know someone else shoots in the dark without a tripod. I won't tell anyone.

[Baldy]

Introducing... The Humungus smilie:

:humungus

[pathfinder]

Introducing... The Humungus smilie:

:humungus

I keep waiting for lightning to strike it or something :D :D

[wxwax]

Introducing... The Humungus smilie:

:humungus
:rofl :rofl

Great shot, humungus, I reckon you could sell it if you wanted to. I don't know how many urban lightning shot stock photography outfits already have on hand.

[Michiel de Brieder]

That is one darn good lightning picture!!! :bow in awe :D
Thanks for sharing!

[gus]

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[wxwax]

Mate i have a friend (whom i havnt seen in a while) that sits in the thick of the stuff with it crashing all around him & he has a Mamiya medium format.

You should see his stuff !!

I will have to round him up & show you his work but it looks like you could walk up the bolt its so large & sharp.
I'd love to see it. Dangerous but beautiful, eh?

[gus]

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[Stan]

A quick look at the site, you can only shoot what you see and what you got was very good just not so spectacular, I have never seen lightning as ferocious as on the site nice strike

[Wolfdrms]

I think its a terffific shot!!


Shell

[gus]

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[gus]

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[wxwax]

Thanks all ..knowing some of the local work, i feel mine has a long way to go.

Have a look at this blokes stuff...he is in Western Australia. Always good to have a benchmark this far out. He is without doubt..my favorite Aussie photographer. Have a go at his other stuff...


http://www.genesisfineart.com.au/html/gallery.html#GALLERY

Have a look at the SE Queensland on the left of this blokes site. That beach is 40 minutes from me. Wild super cell.

http://www.electricskies.com.au/index.html?contents.html&banner.html&Misc/Links.htm

and a story about how things can easily go wrong

http://www.ozthunder.com/chase/chase45.htm
Fantastic photos, thanks for the link. That SE Queensland series is simply amazing, and utterly beautiful.

[wxwax]

Thanks stan & wolf.

Any others out there shoot the stuff ?

I need some help here from anyone with more experience than me. I read heaps about photographing lightning on the net & i see a lot of different approaches. Anyone know what is the best with a digital ?

I tend to use 50 ISO (for low grain) & as high f stop (for depth) as i can with a long exposure...

Does this seem right to the experienced on the board for this type of photo ?
Yes, it does. It seems that the key is a long exposure that doesn't overexpose the surroundings. I reckon the lightning will show up no matter what your settings - it's quite bright, after all!

[S.Whalen]

Here is one of the lightning shots that i got last summer. Only thing i did to alter it was tweak brightness and contrast a little.
Scott

[pathfinder]

Yes, it does. It seems that the key is a long exposure that doesn't overexpose the surroundings. I reckon the lightning will show up no matter what your settings - it's quite bright, after all!

Could you use a 2 or 3 stop neutral density filter to allow longer shutter openings withut degrading the lightning bolt image itself?

The other technique is to use an electronic lightning sensing device to electrically trigger you camera's shutter. There is a good article here by Steve Kossack http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lightning.shtml

But when I try to go the the website listed as a vendor for the lightning trigger it does not seem to be active any longer.
Here is a web page describing how to build a lightning trigger. You might like this 'gus.
http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~kbagschi/blitze.shtml

Here is another site describing how to build a lightning trigger
http://www.solorb.com/elect/lightning/


Photographing lightning can be fun, but also very deadly dangerous. If you have any doubts about safety with lightning. Some information about lightning safety can be found here and here
http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/lst.html
http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/overview.htm

[wxwax]

PF, Lightning Boy's (http://www.lightningboy.com/howto.htm) how-to on his web site is where I learned what little I know about shooting lightning.

This guy shoots the stuff for a hobby and for a living. He makes his money shooting, and having other shooters capture, weather video. I trust that he knows what he's talking about.

I also trust that he's a little crazy for taking the risks that he apparently does. As you say, shooting lightning is very dangerous - you expose yourself to a completely unpredictable and highly dangerous phenomenon. I don't recommend it. Lighting has been known to strike as far as ten miles away from the last bolt - not exactly a comforting thought.

[Angelo]

http://humongous.smugmug.com/photos/10692017-M.jpg
very cool shot. I love that, thanks to the light flares in the windows, it appears as if the lightning is "charging" the buildings.

congrats on the new smilie!

[Khaos]

Very nice. I love lightning shots, always have.

[gus]

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