Lightning

Another one of my favorite & definitely a challenge to photograph is one of the unpredictable forces of nature & one of the greatest light shows to watch from a distance is lightning.
I say it is a challenge because it is a test of patience of not really knowing where the the next will strike.One of these days if there really is a lightning storm during the day out here in the high desert & I'm not working I would love to just sit and watch the storm and create memories of beauty & power.

I've been asked by a few people on how I take my lighting shots I'm glad to help people anyway, shape, or form.

Tips:

1. Manual: This is good for a lot of reason such as setting your shutter/aperture/focus. Using this you are able to pick a long shutter time and for aperture I would suggest a fairly wide unless you are including something in the foreground this will be no problem. Manual focus can be a bit tricky in the dark, but I found the best way is to manual focus on the sky & just leave it there or focus it around the cloud from where the storm is comeing from. That way you camera's focus doesn't go hunting for a focual point each shot.
2. A Tripod: A steady shot is important for lighting since most of the time storms happen at night
3. Long shutter speeds: Since lightning is unpredictable this can be very helpful. Have fun with trying different long shutter speeds any where from from 15second to bulb. Its helps to have a cable release, but if you don't have one I would be very careful when you push the button cause any movement will show up in the photo.
4. ISO: I would say around 100 to 200
5. Being Patient: Not only is the an everyday thing not just for photography. Don’t sweat it. There will always be some that you will miss since anyone can miss a strike in the blink of eye, but as I said before it really is the greatest light show to watch. So just sit back & enjoy.