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lightning exposure?



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 28th 07, 02:51 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Dr. Joel M. Hoffman
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Posts: 151
Default lightning exposure?


With the linghtning storms expected this afternoon, I'm going to try
to take some daytime pictures of lightning. Does anyone have any
advice on exosure? The lightning is visible during the day, so my
guess is that no special expsure is necessary, but last night I tried
f/4.0 at ASA 500 and the lightning didn't even register....

Thanks for any advice.

-Joel


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Free Bible and Mishna printouts in Hebrew: http://liturgy.lashon.net/
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  #2  
Old June 28th 07, 03:09 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Draco
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Posts: 706
Default lightning exposure?

On Jun 28, 9:51 am, (Dr. Joel M. Hoffman) wrote:
With the linghtning storms expected this afternoon, I'm going to try
to take some daytime pictures of lightning. Does anyone have any
advice on exosure? The lightning is visible during the day, so my
guess is that no special expsure is necessary, but last night I tried
f/4.0 at ASA 500 and the lightning didn't even register....

Thanks for any advice.

-Joel

---------------------------------------------------------------------------*-
Free Bible and Mishna printouts in Hebrew: http://liturgy.lashon.net/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------*-


What was your shutter speed? If you take shots at night, you can leave
open the shutter and use a black card in front of the lens to block
light in between lighting blots. I try and have some thing in the fore
ground, like a corner of a house or tops of trees, to give the image
scale.
Shooting in daylight? Well that is even tougher. You may blow thirty
or so exposures with getting nothing. Then one gets it. Using a tripod
and framing where you think the next bolt will be is part of the way
to get it. Dumb luck is the rest.
You didn't say what type of camera you are using. Film? Digital?
Type and/or length of lens? This is some info we can help you get that
electric image you want.

Just don't stand on a hillside, gripping a metal tripod under a
tree.

Can you say quick Bar-BQ?

;-)


Draco


Getting even isn't good enough.

Doing better does.

  #3  
Old June 28th 07, 03:56 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Annika1980
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Posts: 4,898
Default lightning exposure?

On Jun 28, 10:09?am, Draco wrote:

Shooting in daylight? Well that is even tougher. You may blow thirty
or so exposures with getting nothing. Then one gets it. Using a tripod
and framing where you think the next bolt will be is part of the way
to get it. Dumb luck is the rest.



**** on luck! You just gotta be ready and have a quick trigger
finger.
http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/62735361

  #4  
Old June 28th 07, 04:16 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Greg Campbell
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Posts: 47
Default lightning exposure?

Dr. Joel M. Hoffman wrote:

With the linghtning storms expected this afternoon, I'm going to try
to take some daytime pictures of lightning. Does anyone have any
advice on exosure? The lightning is visible during the day, so my
guess is that no special expsure is necessary, but last night I tried
f/4.0 at ASA 500 and the lightning didn't even register....

Thanks for any advice.

-Joel


You must have missed it. F4/500 is almost too much for anyting but
distant lighting. F5.6 at 100 is about right for medium distance (a
mile or three) storms.

Daylight lightning is doable if it 'flickers' for a half a second and
you are fast enough to catch a return stroke. You do loose the
branching leaders that occur with the first discharge, and are left with
a rather anorexic 'pencil' bolt.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Free Bible and Mishna printouts in Hebrew: http://liturgy.lashon.net/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------


No thanks....
  #5  
Old June 28th 07, 04:38 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Draco
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Posts: 706
Default lightning exposure?

On Jun 28, 10:56 am, Annika1980 wrote:
On Jun 28, 10:09?am, Draco wrote:

Shooting in daylight? Well that is even tougher. You may blow thirty
or so exposures with getting nothing. Then one gets it. Using a tripod
and framing where you think the next bolt will be is part of the way
to get it. Dumb luck is the rest.


**** on luck! You just gotta be ready and have a quick trigger
finger.http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/62735361


Yeah and if you had been looking at the girl in the window you would
have missed it. Being ready and a quick trigger finger is the only way
to be ready for shots of nature. A great shot all the same.

Draco



  #6  
Old June 28th 07, 06:32 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Nicholas O. Lindan
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Posts: 1,227
Default lightning exposure?

Annika1980 wrote:

**** on luck! You just gotta be ready and have a quick trigger
finger.http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/62735361


Very Good, but as Draco mentioned, it's the upstroke
and the lightning path is direct and not so overwhelming.

I think all real daylight lightning shots are that way.

http://moblog.co.uk/blogs/2328/moblog_b04deeae846c3.jpg

It is the down stroke that looks the best, but the
shutter needs to be left open to catch it:

http://www.moonraker.com.au/techni/lightning.jpg

And if there is too much ambient is looks like the
dendrites merge into the sky:

http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/educat.../lightning.jpg

So, my guess is taking pictures of lightning
in daylight won't catch the dendrites: finger
is too slow; dendrites aren't bright enough.

And never, ever, **** on Lady Luck...

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters
http://www.darkroomautomation.com/index.htm
n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com


  #7  
Old June 28th 07, 08:14 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Draco
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Posts: 706
Default lightning exposure?

On Jun 28, 1:32 pm, "Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote:
Annika1980 wrote:
**** on luck! You just gotta be ready and have a quick trigger
finger.http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/62735361


Very Good, but as Draco mentioned, it's the upstroke
and the lightning path is direct and not so overwhelming.

I think all real daylight lightning shots are that way.

http://moblog.co.uk/blogs/2328/moblog_b04deeae846c3.jpg

It is the down stroke that looks the best, but the
shutter needs to be left open to catch it:

http://www.moonraker.com.au/techni/lightning.jpg

And if there is too much ambient is looks like the
dendrites merge into the sky:

http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/educat.../lightning.jpg

So, my guess is taking pictures of lightning
in daylight won't catch the dendrites: finger
is too slow; dendrites aren't bright enough.

And never, ever, **** on Lady Luck...

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Metershttp://www.darkroomautomation.com/index.htm
n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com


Thanks Nick for the acknowledgement of the quote. But it weren't me.
It was Greg C who made the comment of capturing the up-stroke bolt in
day-light.

Some wonderful shots you have found and posted here. Thanks.

Besides Brett has been getting Lady Luck PO'd for years. Just
check his golf game if you don't believe in pay backs.hehe


;-)

Draco


Getting even isn't good enough.


Doing better does.

  #8  
Old June 29th 07, 12:01 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
William Graham
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Posts: 4,361
Default lightning exposure?


"Dr. Joel M. Hoffman" wrote in message
...

With the linghtning storms expected this afternoon, I'm going to try
to take some daytime pictures of lightning. Does anyone have any
advice on exosure? The lightning is visible during the day, so my
guess is that no special expsure is necessary, but last night I tried
f/4.0 at ASA 500 and the lightning didn't even register....

Not surprising.....In daylight, your shutter time is so fast that the
probability that the lightening will occur at some other time is
overwhelming.....You need to trigger the shutter from the flash from the sky
somehow.....They have methods of recording the number of lightening flashes
that happen over a 24 hour period....I suggest that you contact the
meteorology department of a university, or the USGS, and find out what kind
of equipment they use for this....Perhaps you can configure it to trigger
your shutter......


  #9  
Old June 29th 07, 12:03 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
William Graham
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Posts: 4,361
Default lightning exposure?


"Annika1980" wrote in message

**** on luck! You just gotta be ready and have a quick trigger
finger.
http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/62735361

Faster than greased lightening?


  #10  
Old June 29th 07, 12:05 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Pudentame
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Posts: 1,139
Default lightning exposure?

Dr. Joel M. Hoffman wrote:
With the linghtning storms expected this afternoon, I'm going to try
to take some daytime pictures of lightning. Does anyone have any
advice on exosure? The lightning is visible during the day, so my
guess is that no special expsure is necessary, but last night I tried
f/4.0 at ASA 500 and the lightning didn't even register....

Thanks for any advice.

-Joel


The August 2007 Outdoor Photographer Landscape Annual edition has an
article about it.

Also:

http://www.weatherscapes.com/techniq...page=lightning

http://www.weatherpaparazzi.com/HowT...hLightning.asp

http://www.cimms.ou.edu/~doswell/ltgph.html

After dark, use time exposure to capture whatever flashes while the
shutter is open. It's kinda like photographing fireworks, but not as
predictable - fireworks all burst in the same section of sky.

Keys -
Car window mount for the camera
Something to keep the camera & lens dry
28 - 200 zoom
f/5.6 - f/8 & 1/8 to 1/4 sec exposure
30 sec rule, i.e. thunder 30sec or more after flash [safety]
distance greater than 6 miles is best [safety]

There's a device called a lightning trigger that detects lightning and
trips the shutter:

http://www.lightningtrigger.com/
 




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