20110909 JBP Lightning 3296

I had another chance to do some more lightning shots at the Juno

Beach, FL Pier, lightning has produced a bumper crop this year. This is

a single image of about 40 seconds. I closed the shutter immediately

after the bolt snaked across the sky but the previous 39 seconds had

sufficiently back lit the scene with behind the clouds lightning. The

result was good definition in the clouds. I am developing a system that

works for me with f8 to f11 and bulb exposure. I close the shutter after

a big bolt or 2 minutes whichever comes first and then start over again.

I only shoot at night obviousIy and would like to know how others shoot

lightning. I also would like to hear from someone who uses a lightning

trigger and whether it is worth the expense. I guess it is an essential

item for daytime lightning. Thanks for your time

Nice capture and colors. FS

This is a fine image!

You've done really well to catch this.

Cheers

Rob

Nice setup.  I love the foreground beach area with the dock and the violent storm approching.  It's very nice.

Richard, I have always preferred lightning shots like this that have something in the foreground to give the photo scale. I live in Wellington, FL and I was shooting the same storm last Friday night from my backyard. I got some pretty cool shots but haven't uploaded them yet. The only recommendation I have for you is to set the camera to manual, for example at asa 250, 30 seconds, f8, lock the shutter with a cable release so it's taking photos continuously and then get back in your car or a building. It's just not worth get blasted with a 100 million volts!

Best Regards, John.