another Lightning strike for cc

[Silverdreamer3]

I took this while on a trip to Italy this summer. I used the bulb setting open for 2 seconds F4 ISO 320. It was one of my first shots and I had played with the different settings. I forgot to change the ISO though, oops. I normally only shoot horse shows so this is all new to me. Also the 70-200 lens is not the easiest lightning lens haha. It was also hand held as my tripod was left at home.
Tell me what you think, it is a different strike from what I normally see.

I love this shot from the other side of the house when the storm was rolling in

this is the problem I had with most of the shots using this lens, also the neighbors house was in the way

thank you

 

[benlonghair]

You need to be up on the roof of the house that's in the way. Although that might not be the safest thing to do during a thunderstorm.

 

[Silverdreamer3]

lol, I would have loved to have been on the roof as the lightning was far enough away but I don't think the neighbors would appreciate me climbing up on their 3 story high steep tile roof. I stayed up til 2 something in the morning waiting for the storm to pass over and get far enough away to get the picture.

 

[spanner89]

How do you catch lightning? A long iso then sit back and wait?

 

[CW Jones]

A long iso? you mean a long shutter speed? and yes I believe the trick is a small F/stop like F22 and then a 30 second shutter speed

 

[PastTheFuture]

A lone iso? you mean a long shutter speed? and yes I believe the trick is a small F/stop like F22 and then a 30 second shutter speed

Not necessarily. I got some decent lightning shots with an f/shot of f/3.5 and shutter speed of 3 seconds and 100 ISO. As the OP said, he shot his with a 2 second shutter speed, f/4 and 320 ISO, handheld too.

 

[CW Jones]

Well there is no such thing as a long ISO lol its a long shutter speed

and depending on lighting conditions outside and time of day and stuff, yes I agree 100% that you dont NEED a small F/stop however I was only trying to give a general example. Long shutter speed and a smaller F/stop will get the job done. I use the longest shutter I can so I dont miss! haha Its hard to miss with a 30 second shutter vs. a 2 second one

 

[PastTheFuture]

Well there is no such thing as a long ISO lol its a long shutter speed

and depending on lighting conditions outside and time of day and stuff, yes I agree 100% that you dont NEED a small F/stop however I was only trying to give a general example. Long shutter speed and a smaller F/stop will get the job done. I use the longest shutter I can so I dont miss! haha Its hard to miss with a 30 second shutter vs. a 2 second one

True, but if you're like me then you hit the shutter release button as soon as the 2 or 3 seconds is up

 

[spanner89]

Ok thanks I will give that a try next time we have a storm.

Sorry, i did mean shutter speed but was thinking about ISO at the same time :s

 

[benlonghair]

It's a question of capturing the lightning. I'm finding that a small aperture, long shutter, low ISO works best. This is because the lightning acts like your flash. Leave the aperature open too far you end up with a lot of ambient light. And the brightness of lightning means you don't need much of an aperture to catch the light.

EDIT: These are all captured with 30 sec exposures. I'm going to try with F/22 next time.

 

[PastTheFuture]

It's a question of capturing the lightning. I'm finding that a small aperture, long shutter, low ISO works best. This is because the lightning acts like your flash. Leave the aperature open too far you end up with a lot of ambient light. And the brightness of lightning means you don't need much of an aperture to catch the light.

EDIT: These are all captured with 30 sec exposures. I'm going to try with F/22 next time.

Next time we have a thunderstorm (and I'm actually awake) I'm going to grab my 35mm and have a go at f/22 myself.

 

[benlonghair]

Next time we have a thunderstorm (and I'm actually awake) I'm going to grab my 35mm and have a go at f/22 myself.

Thinking about it further, I think it would be best to be between f/8 and f/16 so you don't have to worry about defraction. Plus many lenses are sharpest around f/8.