Posted by Pam Colander on June 19, 2011 at 11:31 PM
Just got back from a quick trip to Canyonlands, Dead Horse SP, Arches and Shiprock. We went to Arches one evening and I had some fun shooting some lightning. In this one I got at least 4 separate bolts by covering the lens between them with the cap. I had a full moon at my back during this 68 second exposure and that's yours truely in the lower right corner. Took this in the Windows section of the park. So cool to be there after dark! Got a few keepers that I'll have to work up later. Hope you enjoy this one
Posted by Russ Shugart on June 20, 2011 at 12:05 AM
Pam, this is awesome! Those bolts look really powerful. Not to sound like a mother hen, but hope you were being safe. I'd be too chicken to try!
Posted by Jack Garrett on June 20, 2011 at 10:11 AM
Love it Pam. Great sharpness throughout...and great drama!!
Posted by Bill Brennan on June 20, 2011 at 10:20 AM
Pam, thanks for sharing your image and technique. Consider zooming in a little bit more for an even more dramatic image and composition.
Bill Brennan
Posted by Todd Caudle on June 20, 2011 at 10:46 AM
WHOA! That is amazing, Pam! Just out of curiosity, why'd you put the lens cap on instead of just leaving the shutter open? Too much full moonlight? Did you use a high iso? If so, you could capture the lightning at f8-f11 at 100 iso and just leave the shutter open. You might get a little less noise that way, although it's still a problem with the long exposure.
A very dramatic scene Pam. I would consider cropping in to remove your shadow and making this a pano. I think it will also put more emphasis on the nice scene in the back.
Koveh cropping idea is good. Love the shot...Back in the old film days I had a black piece of cardboard I would hold over lens with shutter open to quell too much ambient light..
Joe Rogers
Posted by Rod Chandler on June 20, 2011 at 12:37 PM
Pam, Neat idea and a great shot. I agree with the suggestion to crop but only from the bottom. Those clouds to the right are really dramatic.
Wowzers - nice capture! I think a pano to eliminate your shadow and focus on the action works pretty well, too. I'm curious about the cap as well - how did you decide when to remove it?
Posted by Anne K. Rusk on June 20, 2011 at 10:28 PM
Totally awesome, Pam! Great job catching all of these and a self-portrait! I really like this!!!
Posted by Pam Colander on June 20, 2011 at 11:36 PM
Thanks so much for the comments! We had a blast that night. I never knew you could be in some of the Utah parks ALL DAY LONG...thanks to Bret Edge for that bit of valueable info. Yeah, I normally shoot lightning at 100 ISO and f8-9. Even though it was a bright full moon behind me I decided to try and brighten the landscape by using 400. I think this one was f9. I didn't run this though any sort of noise software...just a quick and dirty processing job. If I were to print this I would definitely remove me After catching several single & double bolts I decided to try the "fireworks method" and blocked the lens with the cap between strikes...just to see what would result. I was too lazy to walk back to the car for my black card. The bolts occurred with great regularity so to be honest I guessed when to pull the cap away. Karma was with me nearly every time! This was taken about midway between the parking lot and the N & S Window Arches. It's funny...when the lightning first began it was over the formation to the right and out of this frame. We were standing in the parking lot watching bats flit around (very cool!) and the light show started. I had to pee pretty bad but set up my camera facing that formation (used ISO 100 for that one), hit the remote release and was giving Rick instructions how to shut off the remote if he saw a flash while I was heeding natures call. As I was explaining we got a bolt so I said "yeah, shut it off now!" Very cooperative lightning that night!
What a dramatic shot! Love how you caught those dramatic clouds at the same time, as well as the environment you were in.
Got your note about Shiprock...so glad you were able to get up close and personal with it!
Posted by Kurt Bowman on June 22, 2011 at 12:39 PM
I think the lighting is supper cool i this shot Pam...but the clouds make it even better! Awesome!
Those are some seriously awesome lightning bolts, Pam! Love the photo, even the shadows in the FG. Looks like maybe I missed a good storm while we were away in Oregon. :-)
Discussion
20 repliesRuss
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Bill Brennan
Joe Rogers
Got your note about Shiprock...so glad you were able to get up close and personal with it!