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Taking Photographs

(8 - The Evolution - lightening)or Back to Table of Contents

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:

I've wanted to do some lightening photography for some time now but have lived in all the wrong places. When I lived in Alaska for over eight years I saw lightening maybe twice. The climate has a great deal to do with how often you see lightening in your area. I recently moved to more of the south part of the southwest and lightening is incredibly common to the point of being dangerous more times than not. Location is your first variable taking lightening images.

VANTAGE POINT:

An unobstructed view of the storm should be next on your list of desirable conditions. The neighborhood where I live is surrounded by tall houses. In any dazzling thunderstorm my images would mostly be of houses and maybe only a small amount of lightening.

I considered going to a park or somewhere with a better view in town. The idea of finding a recreational park with a picnic overhang so my equipment didn't get wet had crossed my mind. I had also hoped on getting a view from a hill of some sort. The thoughts of getting struck by lightening or ruining my equipment delayed me running out to try this just for fun. In the end my recent vacation suite had a balcony with an amazing view of a storm that never hit our area. In this way it was both dry and safe. Location is again important in taking lightening shots.

You will like digital for taking lightening images. You will be able to alter your setting and experiment right there while the storm is happening. Some of my images were so compelling that I checked them out right after they shot. Once you get to the best vantage point you may want to just observe the storm without taking photographs. Usually lightening seems to come from a specific place in the storm more than other places. Once you know the approximate location of all the activity you can begin to point your camera in the right direction.

lightening capture in Playa del Carmen Mexico during my vacation

On my Canon there is an entire mode where the flash is never used. For hopefully obvious reasons you will want to make sure the flash is off on your camera as well. The average flash goes about 13 feet to your target. Leaving it on during lightening shots will hamper your shots and run down your battery.

The scene above shows the buildings and gives a sense of spatial awareness. In other words they show you scale of the storm. If the image had been just the sky it might be a bit boring. When lightening is against a background or lights something up it can be more dramatic.

MANUAL FOCUS:

The camera is going to fight you when trying to take lightening shots. The more your camera allows you to take control of its functions the better. If you simply push the shutter button or use the timer button the auto focus will sit there dazed. Then your camera will zoom in and out confused. Set the camera lens to infinity and turn the auto-focus to off. The other idea as in the example above is to focus on something in the foreground and then turn the auto-focus off. Now you may be thinking if I focus on the buildings my lightening will be out of focus. Here is a helpful clue. lightening is a blur of light and can only get so focused. There is not a great deal of detail inside a beam of light. Other than setting your lens to infinity you'll never know the exact distance that lightening is going to strike in front of your camera. Nearby or other objects in focus are best.

MANUAL SHUTTER:

Time value, shutter control, or whatever your camera calls it is the next variable. Since you also don't know when lightening is going to strike your best bet is to leave the shutter open for long periods of time. If you happen to be taking day-time shots then you'll need another strategy. I changed my camera's settings to hold the shutter open for 8 full seconds. The moment the camera stopped and displayed the image became its resting period. Immediately afterward I would click the shutter button again. If you have a wired remote your images will be clearer. In this way you won't shake the camera when you push the shutter button. You can however use your self-timer. When the timer goes off it then holds the shutter open for your set duration. The problem with this of course is that while your ten second time is counting down you might miss some of the coolest lightening ever. The storm I photographed had lightening coming in about every 15 to 20 seconds. After a while there was a rhythm to the storm.

For lightening shots you'll probably end up with a really long exposure. This means that while the camera waits for all the lightening to finish you can't be touching it or causing it to shake. Personally I don't take a tripod on vacation. When I found out there was an opportunity to take lightening then I knew the flat wall on the balcony could provide stability. I didn't want to have an exactly horizontal shot taken. What I wanted was the camera to tilt up a bit like the viewer was looking into the sky. I used the strap on the camera and gently folded it. I then placed the folded-up portion of the strap underneath the lens of the camera.

Hand-held lightening capture through a tinted office window in Colorado Springs, Colorado

In the day time shot above I used the "sports" mode amidst a multitude of lightening. I took many consecutive burst shots with the hope of a good capture. Sure you end up deleting many images without lightening but that is fine. Now good luck with your lightening shots and write me any feedback that comes to your mind. If you get fried by lightening remember that crispy and extra-crispy are an entirely different tutorial given by KFC. Whatever you do keep safe.

Video of lightning in slow motion

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Written Sept08 and updated Sept08 by - Tracy Lee Rose