Your Best Lightning Shot to date...

[Zachary Biggs]

Its been said about a million times already, but it is deserving of saying again:
There are some INCREDIBLE images in here.
Dan Robinson's tower shots are especially incredible. I think I spent about an hour or so on his site once just looking at those.

Any way, I had a very hard time picking favorites.

The one at sunset is especially special to me since I had always wanted to get something like that.

 

[Olivier Staiger]

Amazing shots everyone!
This is my best lightning shot so far, it is from last summer. I can't wait until this summer though since I have finally upgraded my camera gear.

Kara, this is indeed a very nice shot, however the overall image is too bright as you certainly agree, the lightning bolt is lost in the background bright sky. If you just take the time to enhance the contrast, saturation, brightness, you can significantly improve it , what do you think of this edited version ?


a tip for lightning photos in daytime : do add some underexposure value to the automatic setting ( -1 or -2 ) , so that the sky really appears dark and the lightning bolt not overexposed. In automatic setting the lightning may be too bright and the sky also may not appear as dramatic as it actually was, especially since the darker ground makes the sky look brighter. And if possible, shoot RAW rather than JPG because you can do more editing on a RAW image that is too bright or too dark.

what camera did you use for that shot, with what lens, and what settings ? do you have the EXIF info ?

 

[Dan Robinson]

Thanks Zachary, I appreciate the comments. The thing I love about upward lightning is that you know exactly where (and roughly when) it will strike, which allows for getting close-up imagery and observations not possible with any other type of lightning. I have a page dedicated to it here with some info chasers can use to observe/capture it. It occurs mainly in trailing stratiform regions of MCSs and squall lines - even very weak storm complexes will produce it.

 

[Kara Jones]

Kara, this is indeed a very nice shot, however the overall image is too bright as you certainly agree, the lightning bolt is lost in the background bright sky. If you just take the time to enhance the contrast, saturation, brightness, you can significantly improve it , what do you think of this edited version ?
View attachment 5970

a tip for lightning photos in daytime : do add some underexposure value to the automatic setting ( -1 or -2 ) , so that the sky really appears dark and the lightning bolt not overexposed. In automatic setting the lightning may be too bright and the sky also may not appear as dramatic as it actually was, especially since the darker ground makes the sky look brighter. And if possible, shoot RAW rather than JPG because you can do more editing on a RAW image that is too bright or too dark.

what camera did you use for that shot, with what lens, and what settings ? do you have the EXIF info ?

Thank you so much Olivier. I agree that your edited version is much better. That was shot with a Canon Powershot S5IS. Although it had a few bells and whistles, there really wasn't much room to play around with the settings on it and unfortunately, it only shot in jpeg.
I have since upgraded to a Canon EOS 60D and can't wait until the summer storms.
I appreciate your advice so much though because I am still learning, and I will admit that editing intimidates me.

 

[Olivier Staiger]

I have since upgraded to a Canon EOS 60D and can't wait until the summer storms.
I appreciate your advice so much though because I am still learning, and I will admit that editing intimidates me.

Hi Kara,

so with the new 60D , if you are shooting lightning at night, the standard basic setting I recommend is :

RAW, or RAW + JPG if you want to have the convenience of immediate JPG
ISO 100
manual setting
picture mode : Landscape
aperture f/8
then shoot 30 seconds, and again, and again, and again, till you catch some.

if first bolts are too far, too faint, go from 100 to ISO 200, or f/8 to 5.6 , or both, and shoot, shoot , shoot.

Instead of all at 30 seconds you can also just hold the shutter till lightning happens and then go for the next image. Or , using a cable release ( or holding the shutter with minimal motion), shoot longer.

trying to catch lightning in daytime under an intense storm is difficult because your exposure times will be very short given the bright light of the sky, but if there is lots of active bolts one may give it a try : I would choose f/100, f/11 or 13 or 15, in aperture priority ( so the exposure time will be set depending on available light ), and also underexpose -2 bias ( so the sky looks dark and the lightning not too bright .

One day I accidentally caught a lightning bolt with an exposure time of only 1/350 of a second ! look here :

http://www.wetter-foto.de/images/upload/orig/012121.jpg

I was actually just shooting that lowering scud which showed signs of trying to become a wallcloud ( slight rotation, and inflow ), and the lightning just happened at the same time , by coincidence.


as for this one :
http://www.wetter-foto.de/images/upload/orig/fmho2c.jpg

on EOS 550D / T2i
lens EF 50mm = 80mm equiv.
ISO 400
aperture priority f/2.5
underexposure bias value -1.5
resulting in 1/125 second handheld exposure, and the lightning just happened by coincidence at the same time ( it was the only bolt on that shower/"storm", I was just shooting the cloud scene ).


But shooting lightning in full bright daytime is difficult, unless by luck, or if you have one of those gadgets that detect the lightning and shoot the camera automatically.


another example of daytime shooting :
http://www.klipsi.ch/blitze/IMG_2645.jpg
it was under a dark meso but still about an hour before sunset, so I had to use rather short exposure times, I was shooting handheld from inside the car for safety through open window as there was quite some wild lightning happening, and I shot about 200 images nonstop , setting was ISO 100, aperture priority f/8, -2 exposure bias value, resulting in 1/2 second exposure times, 50mm lens = 80mm equiv on T2i. Image resulted too bright but since I shot it in RAW I can edit with quite some good result. With 1/2 sec. exposure time handheld with no tripod the foreground landscape is slightly blurry but I actually like the contrast between blurry landscape and supersharp lightning bolt. I often shoot lightning at hand, without tripod, and with wide angle lens even for longer exposures. If the landscape is a bit blurry the lightning will still be very sharp, and that contrast I like .


so Kara, now you have a great camera, but remember, the lens is important, too. What lenses do you use ?

 

[Olivier Staiger]

I am still learning, and I will admit that editing intimidates me.

Kara, about editing images :

you have now a great camera, the 60D, and it came with a very good editing software, Canon's Digital Photo Profesionnal .

alternatively, I use even more frequently a great freeware , www.irfanview.com , for very quick editing, sharpening, resizing ( for web use ). Check it out.

 

[Jarrod Barnett]

Zachary I love that second shot! Wow!

 

[James Wilson]

Olivier --- All your advice is great but I'd add I use a remote for my night time lightning photos. I'd use that if possible or the cable release you stated over ever touching the camera during the shooting process.

 

[Kara Jones]

Hi Kara,

so with the new 60D , if you are shooting lightning at night, the standard basic setting I recommend is :

so Kara, now you have a great camera, but remember, the lens is important, too. What lenses do you use ?

Oh wow! Thank you so very much for the taking the time to explain all that to me. I am going to print that off and stick it in my camera bag for reference.
Right now for lenses I have the kit lens EF-S 18-135mm IS and an EF 50mm f/1.8 II. I am also getting an EF 24mm f/2.4 wide angle from a friend at the end of the month.

 

[Kara Jones]

Olivier --- All your advice is great but I'd add I use a remote for my night time lightning photos. I'd use that if possible or the cable release you stated over ever touching the camera during the shooting process.

Good point, thank you. I was planning on getting a remote already. I find that even with a tripod I am just not coordinated enough to not cause blur when touching the camera. Haha.

 

[Christopher E. Kincaid]

Oliver,

I have the fine Canon 15-85mm lens as well. I have trouble getting the lightning to be in focus when setting the focus to infinity. I use a cable release. I do not always remember to lock the mirrors however. I have much better luck with my Tokie 11-16 ultrawide, but sometimes I want closeups without cropping. Do you have any advice?

Thanks.

 

[Dan Robinson]

At night with my Canon XSi, I autofocus on a distant streetlight to set it at infinity, then switch to manual focus. I've never had to lock the mirror aside from the times I used the 1300mm telephoto. I always do a spot check on the LCD to check the focus with the first few shots. Every once in a great while the autofocus will be slightly off, better to find out early on than to shoot an entire storm with it off. Live view hasn't been a reliable way to focus in my experience.

 

[Jason Foster]

Olivier --- All your advice is great but I'd add I use a remote for my night time lightning photos. I'd use that if possible or the cable release you stated over ever touching the camera during the shooting process.

The remote release I want for the 7D (Link) is too expensive to buy pre-chase season, so the poor man's version is to use the delayed timer. It can suck if you only have the 10 second option (like on my Canon XT), but the 7D has a 2sec option...which I use a lot now...to help steady my shot after hitting the release button. It isn't as fast, but it does get your hand off the camera when the shutter is released, saving you some camera shake.

 

[Olivier Staiger]

Good point, thank you. I was planning on getting a remote already. I find that even with a tripod I am just not coordinated enough to not cause blur when touching the camera. Haha.

what you can do if you have no cable or remote release, to minimize camera shake, is simply to use the Self-Timer function. Either the normal, or even the 2-second self-timer is enough. On my 550D / T2i there is even a continuous self-timer setting where I can have up to 10 images shot one after the other. The 60D has that probably too.

 

[Olivier Staiger]

Oliver,
I have trouble getting the lightning to be in focus when setting the focus to infinity. I use a cable release. I do not always remember to lock the mirrors however. I have much better luck with my Tokie 11-16 ultrawide, but sometimes I want closeups without cropping. Do you have any advice?

Christopher,
When you say you set the focus on infinity, I understand you do the manual focus ?
I never focus manually, the autofocus is what I use always, in the center ( then reposition ), then switch-lock it to manual... like Dan... either on a distant streetlamp, or just on a tree on the horizon, anything that has enough contrast for the autofocus to work... even the Moon or a bright star or planet or airplane can work. Besides, I mostly shoot lightning with a rather wide angle lens (Canon EF-S 10-22mm or 15-85mm ) or with a fast prime lens that is good in low light autofocusing ( 50/1.4 ) , and with wide angle lenses there is a good depth-of-field, so when shooting at f/8 with autofocus it usually stays sharp.

taking this example again, http://www.klipsi.ch/blitze/IMG_2645.jpg , I used the 50/1.4 lens ( 80mm equiv. ) , autofocus on the horizon, shot about 200 continuous images in the area of frequent lightning... and caught 2 nice and sharp bolts. Yes, the horizon shows blurry but that is not because of bad autofocus but because I had it handheld through car window ( no tripod ) , but the bolt is still nice and sharp.
The other successful catch on that same storm was this one : http://www.klipsi.ch/blitze/IMG_2542.jpg , still with the 50mm lens, and as you can see I could use the distant horizon for autofocus as there was enough contrast for autofocus to work. Sometimes even some contrast within a cloud ( with dark/bright areas) can be enough for autofocus. Here again, because of handheld rather long exposure there is some blur in the horizon, but the bolt is sharp. It would have been better to get out and use a tripod... but it was raining and there was nothing around to get protection.