To start off this new category, I thought I would share a bit of Lightning Photography technique with the forum. First, I should mention that it helps to live in an area that has plentiful lightning so that one doesn't have to seek it out. Even in good locations, there are usually not more than 20 days per year that produce shootable lightning. Some storms are just too dangerous to shoot or the bolts are too far apart in time to catch on film. FILM- You don't need high speed film to shoot this subject. I use Velvia or Provia. Velvia does have more of a tendancy to go green than Provia so be forewarned. F-STOPS- If you use slow film, it is best to use f/8 or f/5.6 to get details in the bolts. If you try f/16, 22 etc, you will need 400 speed film to pick up the detail. EXPOSURE- Bulb setting is perfect for lightning. With Velvia, use 45- 90 seconds at f/8 for a good exposure. This is for night shooting of course so when shooting at sunset, use your meter to determine exposure. Just make sure you don't have too short of an exposure and miss the bolts. Sunsets with lightning make for the best lightning shots because there is that extra factor of color involved. If you are using bulb and have several bolts already in the frame, and decide to close the shutter early, you will have a very black background which is not as appealing as if you had left the shutter open longer and burned in the background. TIMING- It is not a good idea to just open the shutter at random and hope for lightning. You will waste lots of film. It is best to lock up the mirror and stand ready at the cable release. Start your exposure at the first bolt and let it run 'til your predetermined time setting. LENSES- The biggest mistake you can make(besides getting hit by a bolt)is to use too short a lens. Fill the frame with the subject. Use the 400mm Takumar or even the 600 if necessary to bring in the subject. Lenses I've used for this subect range from 45mm to 600mm. Lastly-------Be Careful!

-- Steve Rasmussen (srasmuss@flash.net), August 20, 2001

Answers

A good rule of thumb for lightning photography, besides going to confession a day beforehand if you're Catholic, is to set the lens aperture at the film speed of the film you are using. Velvia would be between f4 and 5.6, Provia around f11. Twilight is an ideal time for storms too because exposure times are in the 8 to 30 second range at these lens apertures. You'll get rich blue, or creepy yellowish- orange skies and the strike will look great. A few years ago, I saw an aproaching thunderstorm at twilight and set up a Nikon with a 24mm on the front porch, I wanted to frame the sky in with the tall pines that were at the edge of the yard . I had K64 in the camera so I set the lens at between 5.6 and 8. As the storm got closer this eerie calm came, no wind just closer strikes and dark clouds. I opened the shutter on B after spot metering the sky (30 sec at f8, then zap---booooom! I got one... next frame ka-boom ten seconds into the exposure, and on and on for 6 or so more. Then I said this is too darn close. I folded the Gitzo 410, went in. The processed film showed huge spiders of electrical energy filling the frame, much more than the strikes looked like at the time. To conclude; a normal or slightly wide lens is safer. And safety is a major consideration!

-- Charles Shoffner (chasmn@aol.com), August 24, 2001.