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Lightning · 09:12 PM

I haven't had too many opportunities to photograph lightning this year. But two opportunities presented themselves in the past month and a half. I shot these on Nov. 16, 2015. Carthage High School is home of the Tigers, hence the water tower that says Tigers.

fotograffiti · 11-19-2015, 09:23 PM

Pretty awesome pictures. Last time I shot lightning I did it with a non-WR camera. I'm hoping the next time I'm shooting in the rain it will be with a water resistant Pentax. Did you just open the shutter and wait for the lightning to come? That's what I did. Opened the shutter for 8 seconds and hoped for the best. It worked.

jhacker · 11-19-2015, 09:27 PM

Originally posted by fotograffiti

Pretty awesome pictures. Last time I shot lightning I did it with a non-WR camera. I'm hoping the next time I'm shooting in the rain it will be with a water resistant Pentax. Did you just open the shutter and wait for the lightning to come? That's what I did. Opened the shutter for 8 seconds and hoped for the best. It worked.

Yes, I was limited to shorter exposures because of the ambient light on the water tower. I didn't want to blow out the scene, so I went with low ISO 200 and a narrower aperture, F9 to F10, than I normally go with. I was still limited to six seconds before I started blowing out the water tower. If I'm out in a rural area where I don't have these lights, I'll open the shutter for 20 seconds or more depending on the frequency of the lightning.

forensicscientist · 11-20-2015, 05:52 AM

Nice capture.....thanks for posting.

**TER-OR** · 11-20-2015, 06:34 AM

Nicely done!

fotograffiti · 11-20-2015, 10:24 AM

Originally posted by jhacker

Yes, I was limited to shorter exposures because of the ambient light on the water tower. I didn't want to blow out the scene, so I went with low ISO 200 and a narrower aperture, F9 to F10, than I normally go with. I was still limited to six seconds before I started blowing out the water tower. If I'm out in a rural area where I don't have these lights, I'll open the shutter for 20 seconds or more depending on the frequency of the lightning.

You did a good job of balancing both.

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11-19-2015, 09:23 PM	#2
fotograffiti Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Golden, Colorado Photos: Albums Posts: 189	Pretty awesome pictures. Last time I shot lightning I did it with a non-WR camera. I'm hoping the next time I'm shooting in the rain it will be with a water resistant Pentax. Did you just open the shutter and wait for the lightning to come? That's what I did. Opened the shutter for 8 seconds and hoped for the best. It worked.

11-19-2015, 09:27 PM	#3
jhacker New Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Carthage Missouri Posts: 23 Original Poster	Originally posted by fotograffiti Pretty awesome pictures. Last time I shot lightning I did it with a non-WR camera. I'm hoping the next time I'm shooting in the rain it will be with a water resistant Pentax. Did you just open the shutter and wait for the lightning to come? That's what I did. Opened the shutter for 8 seconds and hoped for the best. It worked. Yes, I was limited to shorter exposures because of the ambient light on the water tower. I didn't want to blow out the scene, so I went with low ISO 200 and a narrower aperture, F9 to F10, than I normally go with. I was still limited to six seconds before I started blowing out the water tower. If I'm out in a rural area where I don't have these lights, I'll open the shutter for 20 seconds or more depending on the frequency of the lightning.

11-20-2015, 05:52 AM	#4
forensicscientist Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: DFW Texas and Michigan - I commute :) Posts: 1,012	Nice capture.....thanks for posting.

11-20-2015, 06:34 AM	#5
TER-OR Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Dundee, IL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,699	Nicely done!

11-20-2015, 10:24 AM	#6
fotograffiti Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Golden, Colorado Photos: Albums Posts: 189	Originally posted by jhacker Yes, I was limited to shorter exposures because of the ambient light on the water tower. I didn't want to blow out the scene, so I went with low ISO 200 and a narrower aperture, F9 to F10, than I normally go with. I was still limited to six seconds before I started blowing out the water tower. If I'm out in a rural area where I don't have these lights, I'll open the shutter for 20 seconds or more depending on the frequency of the lightning. You did a good job of balancing both.

Nature Lightning

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