Lightning in a fast-approaching thunderstorm over English Bay, Vancouver

I think I got lucky with this one. I had the shutter open for only ~50 seconds or so when this strike hit, and I decided to close it after that. I've been told that you can leave the shutter open for much longer periods (up to an hour) while trying this technique.

 

I'd love to learn more about lightning photography; any tips?

Hi, Michael. I think lightening shots are largely hit & miss. I've gotten some really incredible images of lightening when I lived in Winnipeg (I'm in Edmonton now) but I lost most of them in a flood. I've found that there is usually a brief glow in the clouds just prior to a lightening strike such as the great one you've captured. I set my camera to f22 and BULB and trip the shutter as soon as I see that glow I mentioned. I use f22 because I'm usually trying to shoot lightening in an urban area which has the street lights, etc. At f22, I don't run as much risk of overexposing the city lights. The lightening is usually bright enough to light up most of the field of view. Of course, there are other factors to consider such as film speed, etc. I used ASA 100. Hope this helps...

Can't give you any tips. I think you got it. I like your photo better than mine. Thank you for comment on my lightning. Great shot here!

Great use of the BW medium! The tree on the right and the building lights on the left add depth and dimension, Water is cold and scary, while sky is electric and dynamic! Bravo!

The tilt is a bit distracting... just fill it in with the rubber stamp? other than that, it's stunning... well actually even with that it's stunning. Just a thought ;)

cool- would be nice to see the print in the flesh since its difficult to see if you have handled the negative space appropriately when printed.

Thanks for the comments, all. I wasn't really expecting such as response to this wobbly shot.

 

Paul;

I'll keep your words in mind, but don't know when I'll get the chance to do this again; I've only seen three lightning storms in the last year, and two of them were over the horizon (across the Georgia Straight).

 

Ellery;

I never make prints. I have the shop develop my negs and run those through the scanner. I'm not really sure what you mean?