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Summer Storm over Canberra
Lens: Sigma 8-16 f4.5-5.6 DC Camera: K3 Photo Location: Canberra, Australia 
Posted By: RobG, 01-23-2018, 05:07 AM

Not sure which version I like more...


Summer Lightning Over Canberra
by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Summer Lightning Over Canberra - Take2
by RobGeraghty, on Flickr

The second one shows the anatomy of the lightning better, but of course the first is more realistic.
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01-23-2018, 06:51 AM   #2
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Perfect timing, Rob. These pics truly captured the awesome energy of a first-rate storm.

Jer
01-23-2018, 08:22 AM   #3
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The first. The mystery and mod are excellent.
01-23-2018, 04:29 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sailor Quote
Perfect timing, Rob. These pics truly captured the awesome energy of a first-rate storm.
Thanks Jer - actually I took the brute force approach of taking multiple 6 second exposures and an 8mm focal length.

QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
The first. The mystery and mod are excellent.
Thanks! The second one is more for a surreal effect, while the first is more like reality. The cool thing is the features the eye doesn't see like the multiple branches and the wandering path. The eye would just see one primary flash.

01-24-2018, 06:52 AM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by RobG Quote
Not sure which version I like more...


Summer Lightning Over Canberra
by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Summer Lightning Over Canberra - Take2
by RobGeraghty, on Flickr

The second one shows the anatomy of the lightning better, but of course the first is more realistic.
I like the second one. Lightning is a bit mysterious and magical, and we human like things that are a little mysterious and magical, so that's why!
01-24-2018, 10:14 AM   #6
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Very dramatic image RobG...8mm covers a lot of sky with that lens.
01-24-2018, 07:07 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Jeff Quote
I like the second one. Lightning is a bit mysterious and magical, and we human like things that are a little mysterious and magical, so that's why!
Thanks Jeff! I agree, it does have a magical feel to it.

QuoteOriginally posted by photomax7 Quote
Very dramatic image RobG...8mm covers a lot of sky with that lens.
It sure does, which is why I used the Sigma - to maximise my chance of getting a lightning bolt in the frame. This strike was better positioned than most!
Unfortunately with the bulbous glass I ended up with a drop of rain on it, but c'est la vie.

01-25-2018, 05:43 PM   #8
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Great shots...........When I read the title I thought it Was Turnbull & Shorten having a Barney!
01-25-2018, 07:07 PM   #9
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Love shots like this, I would love to try and do it but but have no idea how it's done, It's on the list of things to learn.

I like the first one better also.
01-25-2018, 08:29 PM   #10
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First one looks natural and rather... striking..

Second one, to me, looks like special effects from Ghostbusters (don't cross the streams! hehe). It is way overcooked.


You can do this, Kilo! The real issue (I have) is standing outside during a lightning storm with a camera on a tripod. If you can hear the thunder you can be struck. I've never been shocked but I know someone that indirectly has (traveled through landline) and watching them experience that was terrifying and potentially (thank God it wasn't) deadly. Still gives me shivers thinking about it.. so yeah please be careful.

Anyways if the sky is dark (night time) you can just dial in a longer shutter speed, say 3-15 seconds, then point the camera to the area the strikes are occurring (or just shoot super wide), click the shutter button and see if you get one within the window that the shutter is open. Other thing is to prefocus the lens and disable autofocus. If you've ever photographed fireworks, the camera setup is roughly the same.

Of course if you have money you can get a lightning trigger though to actuate the shutter when a flash/crash occurs... but what is the fun in that?
01-25-2018, 08:30 PM   #11
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Beautiful!
01-27-2018, 03:30 PM   #12
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I shoot rockets as another hobby. I once was caught in a heavy thunderstorm on a mile diameter open field. I was safe inside my vehicle but several Darwin wanna be award winners stayed on the grass as the rain fell. The rain pooled up about an inch deep it was falling so fast. One guy was outside trying to hold his aluminum and cloth shade canopy standing in that water in flip flops. Another was sitting in a metal chair. Lightning hit the field about 3/4 of a mile away from our area. Both men received potent but non life threatening shocks. It scared them silly. Me I was cozy inside my van working on my next flight prepping a parachute.
01-27-2018, 06:15 PM   #13
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The first is great.
01-28-2018, 06:16 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by eaglem Quote
Great shots...........When I read the title I thought it Was Turnbull & Shorten having a Barney!
Thanks! No, I'll try to stay away from the heat in that part of Canberra!

QuoteOriginally posted by KiloHotelphoto Quote
Love shots like this, I would love to try and do it but but have no idea how it's done, It's on the list of things to learn. I like the first one better also.
The best way would be with a tripod, which I didn't do, and the shot should have been better. I used distant lights for AF then switched to manual focus. Then I set the camera to manual on f5.6 and 6 seconds, then kept taking shots until I was lucky. Actually f8 would have been better for this lightning strike but I honestly wasn't expecting it - all the others had been distant or in the clouds.

QuoteOriginally posted by mee Quote
First one looks natural and rather... striking.. Second one, to me, looks like special effects from Ghostbusters (don't cross the streams! hehe). It is way overcooked.
The Ghostbusters effect is exactly why I like it. I discovered it by accident while adjusting the curves and my hand slipped. So I tried deliberately overcooking it.

QuoteQuote:
You can do this, Kilo! The real issue (I have) is standing outside during a lightning storm with a camera on a tripod. If you can hear the thunder you can be struck. I've never been shocked but I know someone that indirectly has (traveled through landline) and watching them experience that was terrifying and potentially (thank God it wasn't) deadly. Still gives me shivers thinking about it.. so yeah please be careful. Anyways if the sky is dark (night time) you can just dial in a longer shutter speed, say 3-15 seconds, then point the camera to the area the strikes are occurring (or just shoot super wide), click the shutter button and see if you get one within the window that the shutter is open. Other thing is to prefocus the lens and disable autofocus. If you've ever photographed fireworks, the camera setup is roughly the same. Of course if you have money you can get a lightning trigger though to actuate the shutter when a flash/crash occurs... but what is the fun in that?
Yep, that's pretty much what I did. Fortunately I was on a balcony and lots of other things would be struck before me - like Mount Taylor (the hill in the distance) for example.

QuoteOriginally posted by jawats Quote
Beautiful!
Thank you!

QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
I shoot rockets as another hobby. I once was caught in a heavy thunderstorm on a mile diameter open field. I was safe inside my vehicle but several Darwin wanna be award winners stayed on the grass as the rain fell. The rain pooled up about an inch deep it was falling so fast. One guy was outside trying to hold his aluminum and cloth shade canopy standing in that water in flip flops. Another was sitting in a metal chair. Lightning hit the field about 3/4 of a mile away from our area. Both men received potent but non life threatening shocks. It scared them silly. Me I was cozy inside my van working on my next flight prepping a parachute.
Yikes - you do know that lightning will follow the particle trail of a rocket? Glad you were ok and sensible!

QuoteOriginally posted by Ex Finn. Quote
The first is great.
Thank you!
01-28-2018, 07:35 AM   #15
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Lol. We weren't shooting them DURING the storm. Organized events like this use safe stand off distances and electronic ignition of the rockets. The large ones can be 1000-1500' feet away when launched.
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