Took this pic of a shelf cloud last weekend in Garden City, SC.

[DopplerWx]

 

clicked to take the pic and lightning happened to strike at the exact same time.  best weather pic i have ever taken.

[Cold Rain]

Good one!  Right place, right time.

[Hvward]

Nice man. Caught a couple of streaks two weeks ago while I was in Pawleys Island with my lightning trigger. Rain will dampen lightning vibrance and that was the case with mine. Love the shot though man.. I wish we had more lightning chasers on the board.

[NEGa]

great pics!  do do you have the most amazing patience or is there a trick? i have gotten a few lightning pics this summer, but only by standing out with an app on my iphone that takes a ton of pics fast.  tried my digital cam and thought i got a couple, but the light blared out the lense and the pic didnt turn out

[Hvward]

great pics!  do do you have the most amazing patience or is there a trick? i have gotten a few lightning pics this summer, but only by standing out with an app on my iphone that takes a ton of pics fast.  tried my digital cam and thought i got a couple, but the light blared out the lense and the pic didnt turn out

 

With a cell phone or digital camera it is really patience's and luck.  Daytime lightning, imo is the most illusive streak to catch because the camera is competing with more light sources compared to at night where the flash of lightning is dominate.  One first needs a DSLR camera to take lightning photos with efficiency.  Next you will need a sturdy tripod and a wired shutter release remote .  For daytime lightning, you almost always need a lightning trigger to release the shutter right as lightning strikes and it also maximizes the camera power at night. I use this one:

 

 

For daytime: Focus the camera to infinity and tune your iso sensor to 100-200 with a cloudy or vibrant white balance.  You want your aperture dialed in to around f9 or so, but if the lightning is closer then it will need to be lowered.  Counter the brightness or darkness with your shutter speed after a test photo.  A longer shutter speed will allow you to pick up extended strokes but it depends on how close and what type of lightning you are taking photos of.  The aperture refers to your field of depth within the camera (amount of blur behind focal point).  If the lightning is very close you may have to really minimize your shutter speed and lower your aperture to f4 or lower.

 

For Nighttime: Focus the camera to infinity and tune your iso sensor to 1600 or 3200 with a vibrant white balance.  I have also used Hi-1 on my Nikon and got some awesome pictures.  Aperture again should average f9 but will need to be increased if the lightning is 15 or more miles off and lowered if it is closer.  With the lightning trigger, a shutter speed of 1/4 secs will give you a nice puff effect on the clouds along with allowing you to catch the full stroke.  If the lightning strikes are very close you can even drop your iso to 200-400, allowing you to catch more definition and reducing the amount of grain in the photo.  If you do not have a lightning trigger, the method becomes a tad more risky.  The shutter speed must be set to bulb and you will need an iso of 1600 or 3200(better for city shots).  Aperture can be closer to f11.  After your camera is set like this, begin holding the shutter release down for 15 or so seconds.  This will allow a lot of light enter the camera's shutter so you may have to vary your f-stop depending on if it is too bright or too dark.  Once you have the camera dialed in to take a nice night shot of whatever you want in the background, begin to hold the shutter down in 10-15 sec intervals.  If the streaks are not occurring more then once a minute, release the shutter as soon as the lighting strikes.  If you are trying to capture more then one streak, continue to do the 10-15 sec intervals but you do run the risk of blowing out the dynamics of the photo.  Letting the lightning be the flash of your photo is imo the best shot if you don't have a lightning trigger. 

 

Sorry to be long winded, just though some would like to know how to catch a nice shot and I would love to see more of them on the board!

 

Shutter Release Technique:

 

 

 

 Lightning trigger technique:

 

 

 



[NEGa]

thanks Hvward!  i didnt know there was a lightning trigger thing.  i need to check into that.  i have a great view for storms and have tried for years and years.  finally got some this year with the fast camera app on my iphone

 

these are not nearly as good as yalls, but i have gotten a couple this year:

 

 

[Hvward]

No problem, those are really good too!  That last one is very vibrant.  Haven't be able to catch one of those yet but I have only had my DSLR camera for 7-8 months, but those are the best streaks to catch!  I think I have heard them called plasma streaks?  Anyways, looks like you have the know how, now you just need the equipment lol.