Someone might have to correct me cuz I'm a noob, but don't most people just point the camera on a tripod in the direction of the storm and use bulb exposure?

thank you chantal! umm it was spur of the moment but I'll see when our next storm is and I may drive out to the middle of nowhere for some shots it was very fun but very frustrating! after every exposure I had to wait a bit for my camera to catch up and then I would miss an awesome bolt..

getting a better / faster memory card will help reduce the waiting time a little

great shots for your 1st attempt, how long was your exposure? i think you could increase it
the bright lights also mess with the shots, would suggest shooting to the right so you eliminate them

That's understandable, I still think they turned out pretty good for your first try! It'll get addicting and every time you go out you will learn something new Lightning is amazing, I love all of it. I missed a lot of good bolts too, it's only natural. I feel sometimes I wish I had 2 cameras set up,



I am curious on the memory card ... how much faster would it really be? Mine works like this: I take a 30 second exposure shot, it takes 30 seconds to record. How would someone go about finding the most appropriate memory card for a shot like this?

basically the higher the transfer rate the better (obviously also depends on your camera and the format/quality you shoot at)
i have not used it for this, but hav noticed a huge difference in high fps sports photography

actually the exposure wasn't very long at all to be honest. I think like 1.5 seconds? maybe 2? if I went much more than that the city lights would've severely overwpowered everything... ahh the disadvantage to living in a big city lol

I'll definintely have to look into a better memory card.

well I guess when I think about it it was every few exposures because they were pretty short. and thanks for that I'm glad to have approval from someone else that also shoots lightning. I'm thinking that once my finances stable out and I start having extra money I should buy myself a remote and a good tripod.. I think that would help a lot instead of having to improvise all the time like this time with the barbed wire fence lol.. not to mention I remember eek once mentioned how much sharper your images come out if you use one even for faster shutter speeds. I'll have to test that

lower your iso and close down the aperture, to get a better exposure time,

A tripod is always a good idea. I got one for Christmas from my family, it isn't anything spectacular by any means, but it works. I wish I had a better one, with a ball head, but I just can't seem to get myself to buy one - lol. It was one of the first things I would have bought if I didn't get it for Christmas

didnt read this thread but since my last post was a flame ill give u good advice.

shooting lighting requires patience and luck. fire off ur expouser over and over and over. try to frame the shots so they have good composition WITHOUT the lightning, then when you finaly catch the perfect bolt ur photo is gonna go up to 10/10

why didn't I think of this lol I'm going to try harder next time with more preparation thank you!

the only thing that stops me from getting a cheap tripod is that the tripod will be holding my camera and would I really trust my camera on something that isn't good quality? but yes maybe one day



I did just this except I wasn't sure what to frame because I wasn't completely sure where the lightning would come next! I was lucky I caught these 2 one right after the other and in the same general area lol thanks for the advice though it is greatly appreciated