Storm Photos

[RaeB]

We currently have a humdinger of an electrical storm going on around us, no rain yet but some fantastic and frequent lightening.

What is the best way to get a photo of the lightening? I have a Canon 300D with a small range of lenses 18-55, 55-200 and 90-300. I thought long exposure on a timer but other half reckons I'll just over expose it. Or is it just a case of taking loads of shots and hoping a couple coincide with the lightening?

[RobDickinson]

F8, ISO 100, tripod and cable/timed. If at night this will be fine for 20-40 second exposures etc. Whichever lens has the FOV you want to get the lightning in.

You wont over expose the background and the lightning will just expose itself.

If its a 'keeper' (i.e. you got a shot) let the exposure time run over to the long exposure noise reduction (if in 30seconds usualy), this will double the shot time but make a cleaner image).

[CVP]

Absolutely, tripod cable release, have a shutter speed measured in the range of a number of seconds. Click away and hope you have a frame where the lightning just happens to appear. You can help your chances by trying to predict the path of the storm and where the ligthning is moving.

Quick pic from one of our recent summer storms (get quite a few here due to humidity). I reckon to get this one I took 30 or so frames and only 2 had lightning strikes in.

Chris

[Simpo Two]

Or if it's very dark, set the shutter to B, open it, wait for a flash and then close it - let the lightning make the exposure.

[smiller]

Simpo Two said:

Or if it's very dark, set the shutter to B, open it, wait for a flash and then close it - let the lightning make the exposure.

Does that apply to luddite SLR's, or DSLR's also?

[flat-planedCrank]

smiller said:

Simpo Two said:

Or if it's very dark, set the shutter to B, open it, wait for a flash and then close it - let the lightning make the exposure.

Does that apply to luddite SLR's, or DSLR's also?

B is Bulb mode Should work for DSLR's as well...

If you are using Canon - set the shutter to longer than 30s, it'll read 'bulb'.
You'd normally need a remote release to stop the the camera shaking when you press the shutter-button. Might not matter as much if your using the lightning to expose the scene, i've never tried it


Cheers.

Edited by flat-planedCrank on Wednesday 6th August 23:55

[Slinky]

Something like this will help for next time..

[RobDickinson]

Remember to stick the rubber cover over the viewfinder too.

I dont like the wireles remotes, built my own cable release for a few quid with a long cable on it.

[Simpo Two]

smiller said:

Simpo Two said:

Or if it's very dark, set the shutter to B, open it, wait for a flash and then close it - let the lightning make the exposure.

Does that apply to luddite SLR's, or DSLR's also?

It's the simplest way to take a photograph. You open the shutter, wait a bit, then close it - just like they did before mechanisms to time it automatically were invented in 18-something. So the concept goes all the way back to Fox Talbot

[Gonad]

Some great pictures from last night here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/e...

[CVP]

Some great shots there

[smiller]

Simpo Two said:

smiller said:

Simpo Two said:

Or if it's very dark, set the shutter to B, open it, wait for a flash and then close it - let the lightning make the exposure.

Does that apply to luddite SLR's, or DSLR's also?

It's the simplest way to take a photograph. You open the shutter, wait a bit, then close it - just like they did before mechanisms to time it automatically were invented in 18-something. So the concept goes all the way back to Fox Talbot

Ta for that. There is a B setting on my Pentax SLR, but was unsure as to whether a DSLR came with the same feature.

[Gillet]

Managed to get some pics of the storm the other night on my Canon G9, very new to photography, so was just playing around with settings, and as i don't have a tripod i had the camera setup on a load of old boxes

quite happy with some of them:

[LukeBird]

Very impressive!

[CVP]

Lovely one with the Thames barrier, well done

Chris