04-10-2009, 04:42 AM
Beautiful pics - from both of you!
Yes, you just have to be lucky to get a decent (or even a good) photograph of a lightning bolt. Forget to press the shutter as soon as you see a lightning - you're way too slow!
If your camera has a shutter which can be opened for x seconds (by a cable) just mount it on a tripod, point to the part of the sky where most lightnings appear and open it. This way the next lightning will photograph itself! After the flash, close the shutter. The problem is the setting of the aperture of the camera. If it is too wide, the bolt will appear washed out, and if it is too small, the bolt only looks like a hair-fine line. And, of course, most of the lightnings are coming down (up?) just outside of the sky section you are pointing at - another application of Murphy's law!
Therefore it is still very improbable to get a good shot at the first few tries. I did some lighning photography a long time ago (about 40 years) on color slide film - and I remember that I got one good and two mediocre pictures from 15 rolls of film! After that I stopped lightning photography for good! This just became way too edxpensive!
Of course today it is MUCH cheaper doing the same with the digital cameras. But even then - it's still difficult to get good pics. Therefore: Congratulations, Ed and TrainNut
Ron
Yes, you just have to be lucky to get a decent (or even a good) photograph of a lightning bolt. Forget to press the shutter as soon as you see a lightning - you're way too slow!
If your camera has a shutter which can be opened for x seconds (by a cable) just mount it on a tripod, point to the part of the sky where most lightnings appear and open it. This way the next lightning will photograph itself! After the flash, close the shutter. The problem is the setting of the aperture of the camera. If it is too wide, the bolt will appear washed out, and if it is too small, the bolt only looks like a hair-fine line. And, of course, most of the lightnings are coming down (up?) just outside of the sky section you are pointing at - another application of Murphy's law!
Therefore it is still very improbable to get a good shot at the first few tries. I did some lighning photography a long time ago (about 40 years) on color slide film - and I remember that I got one good and two mediocre pictures from 15 rolls of film! After that I stopped lightning photography for good! This just became way too edxpensive!
Of course today it is MUCH cheaper doing the same with the digital cameras. But even then - it's still difficult to get good pics. Therefore: Congratulations, Ed and TrainNut
Ron
Boss of the Trim Creek & Western RR (H0 & H0n3)
Running through the hard-shell mountains, not around them!
Running through the hard-shell mountains, not around them!