Lightning!

I usually use a DSLR to capture lightning images, but this time I set up my Samsung Galaxy S III in the window at my office and caught a couple of strikes on video. I converted the MP4 video file to AVI and used VirtualDub to copy and paste the individual frames with lightning in them to Paint.NET to save them to files. The first strike was split up between a couple of frames, so I combined them using Startrails. Pretty cool for a phone, huh?

Look carefully where the bolt meets the ground and you can see the reflection of my hand in the window.

Lightning!

Lightning!

It's Spring in East Texas, and that means lots of thunderstorms!

Lightning!

Lightning, November 26, 2012

Lightning!

Lightning!

Texas has been experiencing its worst drought since the 1950s, so it is understandable that we get excited when a little rain comes our way. I get doubly excited because it gives me an opportunity to photograph lightning. A storm came through this evening, bringing some much needed rain and some Big Scary Lightning. I started off photographing from the back porch, but self-preservation kicked in after a few minutes and I moved inside and set up at a window. Here is the best shot of the evening:

The little smudges that dot the image are water drops falling from the roof. The odd device to the lower-right is a satellite dish.

I can not emphasize this enough: LIGHTNING IS DEADLY. If you can hear thunder then you are well within the danger zone for a lightning strike. I do not recommend that anyone attempt to photograph lightning; but, for those of you who have made up your minds that you are going to do it, here are some guidelines that I follow:

• Set the camera to Manual mode.
• Focus the camera on a distant object. I use autofocus if it is bright enough outside. Once focused, I turn off autofocus.
• Lightning images are best made at night.
• Pick an area of the sky that looks promising for lightning activity. This can be hit-or-miss, depending on the nature of the storm. Move the camera as the storm progresses to increase the chances of capturing lightning.
• Use a steady tripod and place the camera in a location where it will not get wet or blown over.
• Set the ISO to a low setting (I use ISO-100).
• Take 5-second exposures (shorter if the sky is bright) to help bring out the surrounding features. Also, longer exposures mean that the camera will spend less time processing the image and more time imaging the sky. Remember, lightning is fast!
• Use the lock on the remote control cable to take multiple exposures. 99.9% of the images will have nothing of interest in them, so expect to take a lot.
• Work from a safe location! Outdoors and near windows are not safe locations. Set up, lock the remote control, and get to safety!

Lightning!

Here are some shots of lightning taken from my back porch on May 25, 2011.

Lightning

A Big Scary Thunderstorm--complete with heavy rain, lightning and hail--passed over us this evening. Before the rain and hail started, though, I managed to get a few pictures of the lightning from the relative safety of my front door.

Lightning!

I've been trying to photograph lightning for quite a while.  It's pretty tough to get good shots.  It takes patience, and a good deal of luck.  So far my efforts have been mediocre at best.

This evening I got my best shots so far.  While our neighbors in Montgomery County were getting pounded by powerful thunderstorms, I was taking snapshots of all of the excitement from my front yard.  Below are the best two shots of the series.  They are 5-second exposures, taken at ISO-1600.