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Nov, 2014Views
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ronronco
November 11, 2014
My first lightning pic. Low tech. If interested in doing it yourself, ask me how.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo evokes an emotional response from me, as it was my first ever photo of lightning. It was taken about 100 ft from my home looking across Fort Carson Army Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Time
This photo was shot at about ten o'clock on a warm summer night. A heavy rain had just passed over and suddenly stopped. All that remained was the flash and boom of the receding storm. I ran down to the end of the cul-de-sac and started shooting. I was so giddy at the spectacular scene before me that I could hardly set up my equipment.Lighting
The hardest part in my opinion is setting the focus properly and centering the shot on the greatest concentration of action.Equipment
You don't need a lot of equipment to get this shot. At the time, my camera was a Canon Rebel T2i and my tripod was as cheep as they come. No lightning trigger or anything special.Inspiration
I was new into digital photography as was jealous of all the great work from exotic places. This was a moment where I first thought 'I have access to some really great stuff right here. This was the first picture that people (besides friends and family) considered 'good work'.Editing
Not much. I didn't have access to the programs that I do now, and have never really bothered to mess with it.In my camera bag
I am still growing and so is my equipment list. My current camera body is a Canon 5D MIII and my 'go to' lens is a 24-105 L IS. I also carry a 70-300, 17-40 L and 100 L IS macro. I have a prime 50, but it doesn't usually make the cut for space. I always have my Manfrotto aluminum tripod unless I am backpacking.Feedback
You want this shot? Easy. Given you have a strorm (mid to last summer is best here), you need little else. Manual control for exposure is critical, as is tripod. Everything else is gravy. Turn autofocus and stability off. Set your exposure to capture 8-10 seconds If you can set your camera to take multiple frames, that can make it easier. I set mine to 10 frames of 8 seconds each . This essentially captures over a full minute of action, thus increasing your chances of catching the strike. The extra time in the exposure gives the light that fills the rest of the image. This is why I prefer the long exposure over the lightning trigger. At the end of the night you may have 400 trash images - so what. If you get five you love, it was a success. Good luck hunting the right storm!
