Monday, April 27, 2009



Standing in a big open field taking pictures of lightning. (No, that's not me silhouetted looking at the camera.)
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9 comments:

Ron a.k.a. Danudin said...

I have tried that with nowhere near your success, I chicken out early, May make me a coward but good chance I;ll still be here when you turn to ash in a flash, shame about the camera. Great shot I am still trying.

April 28, 2009 at 1:17 AM
Chesney said...

Wow, what a catch! I have been trying that forever, but it seems like the lightning is gone the minute I press the shutter! Have to get a little faster! this turned out awesome!!

April 28, 2009 at 8:26 AM
Anonymous said...

Wow! Amazing capture. Everyone safe, I assume?

April 28, 2009 at 11:25 AM
terricreates said...

Great shot, what lens did you use to catch it a 1.8? Well they say you are more likely to get struck by lightening than hitting the lottery: so let's weigh those options. Lottery winnings buy new camera and lens, opporunity to get struck by lightening but still getting the perfect shot? I think I will take the shot every time.

April 28, 2009 at 4:39 PM
MevetS said...

@ Danudin: No fool I, we were so far from the storm we only rarely heard the thunder.

@ Chesney: This was a 30 second exposure. It was taken at night at a dark sky site (Tuckahoe State Park in Maryland at the Delmarva Stargaze star party). Thus leaving the shutter open is not a problem as there is very little ambient light. Long exposures also allow you to get multiple strikes in the same image.

@ Julie: Everyone is safe. While setting up a camera on a tripod in an open field is not the smartest of moves, as I mentioned above the storm was far enough away as not to be an issue. And the two gentlemen in the image are trained weather spotters with NOAA's SkyWarn program. (That doesn't explain where I was to get this shot though.)

@ top5cats: I used a Canon 24-105 mm L lens at 50 mm at f/10. I selected f/10 because I wanted a relatively large depth of field, as focusing was somewhat problematic and I wanted the trees and the bolts in focus. The two guys taking pictures was just a bonus.

@ Everyone: Thanks for the comments.

April 28, 2009 at 6:55 PM
KimR. said...

Risky, yes, but a fantastic shot. WOW!

April 28, 2009 at 6:56 PM
Anonymous said...

Ahh...I knew it was a star party as soon as i saw the lightning!! i never attended a star party that it didn't rain at least once. really great capture.

April 28, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Kerri said...

Very, very nice, and another shot to add to my list for when I finally breakdown and get a tripod! ;)

April 28, 2009 at 8:17 PM
BobbieCoughlin said...

Spectacular! The clouds, the lightning, the upward glow in the sky--it's just amazing that you were able to capture lightning this way.

April 28, 2009 at 10:34 PM

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