Filmwasters
Which Board? => Main Forum => : astrobeck August 29, 2011, 10:28:40 PM
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When I'm not shooting astro pictures at night, it's usually because the moon is too bright, which makes astro-photography with the telescope difficult.... or because it's raining small animals and/or lightning.
Last night lightning was the culprit.
I've often taken advantage of good lightning storms and taken the camera out on the tripod and photographed lightning. It's exciting and pretty darn cool when you capture it on film.
Also, lightning does indeed strike in the same place twice, so don't believe that old wives tale.
Here are two shots from last night's thunderstorm. All taken with the Nikon F2 and a standard lens.
Ektar 100 because that's what I had left in the camera and slow film is best for lightning shots anyway since the shutter is left open for so long.
The Ektar does seem to have a certain red/magenta shift to it with long exposures. I only cropped out the tops of the frames but did not alter the color or contrast so you could see it "au natural"
These two were shot at f/8 anywhere between two to three minutes. I just wait for the lightning to show up and then trip the shutter and wait for it to strike before closing the shutter. In a good storm you can easily catch half a dozen or so strikes on a 36 exposure roll, more if you practice a lot like I do. I usually don't leave the shutter open for longer than 4 minutes so it won't be so blown out or messy looking.
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Gorgeous photos, Becky. And thanks for the lightning-shot tips. I always wondered how one would do that.
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you continue to amaze me with your incredible work!
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Lightning can strike more than once at the same spot... just ask this guy who's been hit 6 times!
Somehow, I wouldn't want to be his friend (but would love to be his insurance agent)
http://thedailywh.at/2011/07/01/lightning-never-strikes-seven-times-of-the-day/ (http://thedailywh.at/2011/07/01/lightning-never-strikes-seven-times-of-the-day/)
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thanks guys! Lightning is a lot of fun to shoot, just be careful.
Standing out in an open field with a metal tripod is not for the squeamish. My husband doesn't really approve of my obsession with it, but tolerates it better when I show him the photos! :)
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These are awesome
Francois Becky!
I have the privilege of having a wonderful view of the whole London skyline from my living room here in Crystal Palace, it's a shame we rarely get thunderstorms around here to try this...
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Beautiful Becky, everybody is attracted to lightning's primal unleashed force and no wonder why..
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being a tropical country. lightning and thunderstorms are common. have tried shooting before using digital and would like to try out astrobeck's tips for shooting lightning on film.
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these are great Becky. Love the colour shift too. One tip I heard about taking lightning shots is to leave the shutter open, but block the light with some black card held in hand. When the time is right, just take the card away rather than faffing around with shutters etc. That way, several strikes can be recorded on one frame.
I;ve never done it though I've always wanted to.
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Yeah, Leon, the "hat trick" works well.
I use that for some astro photos, mostly to keep airplane trails out of shots.
It's quite a rush to do, so I highly recommend lightning photography!
Hope to see some others try it and share their pix. :)
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I like 'em just the way they are, Becky. Great stuff.
Jeff
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Thanks Jeff!
You should give it a try!
:)