Finally... a lightning shot

[Jonesy]

A new job and no net access. wow am I missing some great stuff!!

I know its not perfect.... but Its my first real Lightning shot! so I'm happy (and it impressed the guys at work!) We dont get many storms here hence me being out till 2am trying to capture something. This is the Centenary Tower that over looks the city of Mount Gambier (right next to the blue lake)

bit bigger here http://imagesbyjonesy.smugmug.com/photos/53221892-L.jpg
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 50mm (75mm 35mm)
Exposure Time: 10s (10/1)
the conversion is not the best - todays job will be to sit down for more than a minute and play!

I only have the 50mm 1.8 and the 70-200 sigma 2.8 at the moment. (left the sigma at home dont know if it would have helped?)

I was in shutter priority. should i have been in manual so i could go for a wider aperture?

cheers
Jonesy

[Killakoala]

Mate, that is an extraordinary bolt of lightning.

[ozimax]

Wonderful capture Jonesy, lightning is a really hard thing to photograph and you've done exceptionally well.

Max

[Gordon]

Nice crawler! When doing lightning photography I would recommend staying away from any automatic settings! Use manual and use ISO200 rather than the noisy higher ISO settings.
For slow moving storms where you have a reasonable idea of where all the action is a 50mm lens is fine. However when there is lightning all over the place, a wide angle (or fisheye!) can be useful. It does get a bit scary when its that close though, so be very careful and have some cover handy - inside a car is a safe place.
Generally I find that if you need more than 100mm focal length, the storm is a bit far away for really good lightning shots. My favourite for lightning is 85mm, but I have taken plenty of good ones with 24 and even 16mm fisheye.

Gordon

[Jonesy]

Thanks every one, esp you Gordon. I wasn't going to go out but then then just grabedd Camera and went didn't even think about what I would take!

Thanks for the tips, I was unsure of which way to go in terms of settings. Not long after this shot I changed to manual, stayed with the 10sec shutter but went to f/22. once again not real sure but couldn't hurt to try, of course after that there wasn't much else happening!

Thanks again

[Gordon]

...10sec shutter but went to f/22.

Try using 30 sec @ f/8 or 11. If there is a lot of lightning inside the clouds you might want to stop down a bit more, otherwise you end up with a washed out image when trying to capture lightning bolts.
If there isnt much in the way of bolts to be seen, try a short 5 or 10 sec exposure (or at least long enough to capture one or 2 flashes within the clouds) with the lens wide open- you can get some nice cloud images at night this way- looks like a brain sometimes

Gordon
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~loomberah

[Alpha_7]

Great stuff Jonesy! A very impressive bolt of lighting, would be keen to see your revised shot when you've had more tiem to play!

[avkomp]

this is a nice lightning shot! well done

steve

[Glen]

Jonesy, I think that is just great.

[BBJ]

Hey Marcus, not shot mate and good to see someone up late enough to hit the hill, everytime i go there is nothing going on. Anyhow why bother i can look at yours. Ok have fun mate.
Cheers
John

[antman]

Nice capture. Well done.

[marcotrov]

Well timed Jonesy. Terrific capture with a difference.
cheers
marco

[mudder]

Wow, the late night was obviously weel worth it matey, I'd be rapt if I captured that! Well done... Never tried lightning stuff before but looks great... love the way it follows the landscape contour and the lit tower (or what-ever it is) adds interest in what would otherwise be a bleak foreground... Good stuff...

[SteveGriffin]

Really nice capture. Really illusive stuff.

Steve

[big pix]

Very nice capture........

[Mal]

Wow definitely worth being out till 2am. Very nicely captured.

[neroli]

Great capture Jonesy, looks really neat.

I went out a couple of weeks ago and got my first lightning pics - had a great time, lots of trial and error.

Careful though - I reckon this could get addictive

Cheers
Judy

[Jonesy]

Thanks everey one... really appreciate the comments. I always wanted a "lightning shot". I really love them, but Judy is right.... it's addictive!.
going to turn it inot a panorama style and blow it up to 10x30 inch for my wall!

looks like another storm could be brewing... might go charge the camera.

Cheers

Jonesy

[birddog114]

Jonesy,
2:00am with this superb shot! I think it paid off your effort.
Great works from you at last.

[LostDingo]

Wow! You can feel the energy in the air! Good work.