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Photo

A shot in the dark!

lightning beach tampa florida weather d3200

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18 replies to this topic

#1
Bill

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Shot with D3200 in full manual 30 sec exposure.

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#2
Mark Win

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fantastic, not only did you capture the main lightening bolt but you also got the sky bolts on the left.. Love it



#3
Bill

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Thanks Mark I appreciate your kind words. I was lucky to get this one the storm was pushing out over the Gulf of Mexico and this was one of the last good strikes!

#4
GregM1

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excellent timing on your shot. i was recently shooting lightning at night. not an easy task. very well done.



#5
jrzayas

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Nice work, I really need to try this! Any advise???



#6
Bill

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Thanks Greg. Yeah lightning is very tricky for sure.

#7
Jan

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Wonderful shot! On my bucket list!



#8
Rontography

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Nice work, I really need to try this! Any advise???

 

Patience. And it helps if you can find a decent storm!!

 

I've been trying for years and still haven't been able to get anything great. I'm either too slow, or the lightning never appears or it's way too close and you have to abandon the idea.

 

Long shutter speeds are key to capturing as much as possible.



#9
Bill

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Nice work, I really need to try this! Any advise???


Best advice is to shoot in manual mode, use extended exposure but try to keep under 30 seconds. Use ISO of 100-200, shoot in RAW so you can do post processing if need be. If you have a remote shutter release it's preferred, always use a tripod. But above all be safe! Try to shoot storms that are many miles away.
These are the settings I used for this photo hope this helps.

Manual mode
f5.6
ISO 100
15 seconds exposure
18mm focal length (Nikon kit lens 18-55mm)

#10
jrzayas

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Patience. And it helps if you can find a decent storm!!

 

I've been trying for years and still haven't been able to get anything great. I'm either too slow, or the lightning never appears or it's way too close and you have to abandon the idea.

 

Long shutter speeds are key to capturing as much as possible.

 

 

Best advice is to shoot in manual mode, use extended exposure but try to keep under 30 seconds. Use ISO of 100-200, shoot in RAW so you can do post processing if need be. If you have a remote shutter release it's preferred, always use a tripod. But above all be safe! Try to shoot storms that are many miles away.
These are the settings I used for this photo hope this helps.

Manual mode
f5.6
ISO 100
15 seconds exposure
18mm focal length (Nikon kit lens 18-55mm)

Thanks for the tips! When I get a chance and a decent storm I'll definitely try this!



#11
PreservedLightPhoto

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Excellent composition. Patience and rubber boots is about all you can do to increase your chances at capturing lightning.



#12
PrettyCranium

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Wow, awesome shot, nice colours!

#13
GregM1

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Best advice is to shoot in manual mode, use extended exposure but try to keep under 30 seconds. Use ISO of 100-200, shoot in RAW so you can do post processing if need be. If you have a remote shutter release it's preferred, always use a tripod. But above all be safe! Try to shoot storms that are many miles away.
These are the settings I used for this photo hope this helps.

Manual mode
f5.6
ISO 100
15 seconds exposure
18mm focal length (Nikon kit lens 18-55mm)

 

ill have to try that next time. when i captured the best shot i have of lightning, i was using iso 1600 @ f3.5 with -1 on compensation at 18mm on my 18 - 200 at the rate of 5fps. it was not an easy capture. i had to hold the camera in position until i saw the sky begin to lighten up before the strikes.



#14
Cliff Hairston

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Beautiful shot! I'd love to have the chance to take some lightning pics but it is so rare it happens here.

#15
PhotoMom

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Excellent.

Plus, so much great information.

I will start filling up a notebook with the knowledge shared on this forum!

Thank you!



#16
Stas

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Nice work, I really need to try this! Any advise???

You should know that there is approximately equal intervals betwen the flashes. So you can count when will be the next flash and use shorter exposure.



#17
DCB

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Very cool picture.

 

I have tried to capture lightening before...tricky for sure.

 

Peace 



#18
Logic 7

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Nice capture.



#19
TBonz

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Very nice...







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