Lightning Summer 2017
This strike was from a final storm in the 2017 monsoon season. It got a lot of hits here locally. I got home fast as I could to catch some strikes before the ...
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This strike was from a final storm in the 2017 monsoon season. It got a lot of hits here locally. I got home fast as I could to catch some strikes before the storm got away. I have another I'll post soon. Can't wait for the next season!
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Apr, 2018Views
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Awards
Zenith Award
Community Choice Award
Peer Choice Award
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo from the south side of Vegas. I lived in a condo for a short time that provided a great view of the Strip.Time
It was early night back in Sep2017. The storm had started close to sunset. It slowly moved northeast. I was able to get home just in time after an event to grab a few strikes. I'm glad I did as it was the last storm of the season.Lighting
Getting this shot was so exciting. Strikes were hitting about every 10 seconds. When I saw the strike JUST after I opened the shutter, I knew I had a good one. I shook my fist in a 'hell yea' fashion calmly- the shutter hadn't closed yet haha. I have been wanting one in the center of an image for a while. Super happy I got out there to grab the last of the storm.Equipment
For this shot I used a Canon 6D on a tripod. Lens is Canon's 70-200mm 2.8 II at 200mm. 5 sec exposure.Inspiration
Since I started doing landscape work, I created an IG specifically for that. I follow plenty of amazing photographers that do Milky Way, lightning, etc. Growing up in FL I would always see some awesome lightning but it never hit me to do photography, even though I did play with small cameras. Monsoon season here provides an amazing light show. Now I get to capture those moments.Editing
I almost always start out in LR. I have LR6 (no cloud). I also use Affinity Photo.In my camera bag
Now my main camera is a 5DIV. I love that it processes long exposure almost instantly. I keep the 6D as a backup. My new wide for landscape is now the 16-35 f4 IS. The 70-200 is one of the best/consistent/sharpest lenses I've used to date and that one will be with me as well.Feedback
Safety first. Study up on safety for lightning photography. Also exposure times can vary. Do your research as I did. I got myself a lightning trigger to help for next season but if you have to go manual like I did, patience is your friend. Go out there and enjoy the show. The excitement of getting the good strikes is worth the time being out there.
