Severe Lightning Storm
I love a good storm, crackling thunder and exploding lightning. Although it’s not very fun playing with metal rods in the middle of a lightning storm, they sure make for some awesome photos!
The day started off perfect, with 80 degree weather and sunshine. I even took a hike in the mountains for some photos. But later, the sky grew dark and I could see lightning start to drop from the sky off in the distance. What a great chance to try some lightning photography!
I’ve tried photographing the electrically charged bolts before, but with little success. That was mainly due to the lack of proper equipment. But this time I was prepared.
There isn’t much you need in order to get some great lightning shots; tripod, shutter release, and a camera. That’s all I used. Oh, and it helps to have some patience as well!
I set my ISO to 200 to let a little more light in but not too much. The aperture was set to 22 to get as much in focus as possible, and I used manual focus at infinity. Your camera doesn’t like to auto focus in the dark!
I set up in the bathroom upstairs because the window in there has the best view. I double checked all my settings, set up the camera, and shut off the lights. Now it was just a waiting game.
Another setting I failed to mention earlier is the “Bulb” setting. This allows you to hold the shutter open as long as you need, thus the need for a shutter release. For these long exposures you don’t want to touch your camera to avoid any vibration or movement.
I then would press the shutter, wait a few seconds, and release. Sometimes I didn’t get anything, and other times I did. It’s really hit and miss with lightning. You can’t wait until you see the lightning before you hit the shutter. By the time you do, the lightning is long gone. So pressing the shutter until the lightning strikes and then releasing the shutter will guarantee you get something.
Another option would be to buy an adapter specifically for lightning photography. It mounts to the hot-shoe and is triggered when it senses light. I would like to get one some day, but they are quite expensive.
Here are the best shots, out of about 50. Please enjoy!
This is a compilation of some of the above images. Although it’s a “fake” it makes for one spectacular image!
Thanks for reading!