THE POWER AND THE PASSION
by
Mike O'Neill

SOME BASICS FIRST OF ALL

What may seem quite easy to photograph lightning it is often difficult to capture due to its unpredictability. If you have a thunderstorm that is active it's more of a case of point and shoot but not necessarily 'simple'. What you want to capture really depends on what image one is after. A distant storm when there is plenty of subjects in the foreground or background highlights the composition, but for me I'm after the lightning itself and everything else around it just gets included in the shot.

I learned a long time ago that exposure time and F numbers play a big role. Members with far more photographic experience than I would take this as a given anyway, but for those that have never done it, it becomes trial and error and inevitably losing really good captures due to wrong settings. You'll find that when photographing lightning you'll be constantly changing the settings to accommodate your strikes because if the storm is coming to you then the lightning is brighter!

Knowing a little about thunderstorms always helps because it can give you the advantage on what to look for and what type of lightning it produces. Not all storms will produce those big branching strikes from the side of the storm! Being in the right location is important because many times a storm will push out strikes on the opposite side to where you are and the window of opportunity will be missed simply due to the storm's life cycle so you may miss the opportunity to move locations in time. Every storm has its own type of lightning and character, knowing where to position yourself can get you 'that' shot or just 'a' shot and often luck plays a hand in it.

NIGHTTIME LIGHTING

Necessary equipment whether day or not would be a tripod and remote switch - either wireless or cable. There are options for daytime strikes which I'll add further on. Use the infinity marker on your lens if you have one, this will give you the depth of field so that everything from you out will be in focus. I don't have that luxury so I have to focus on something like a street light and get my clarity and then shoot.

DO NOT have the lens in auto focus! Set the lens to manual focus if you have it in auto the camera will be detecting and focusing on whatever comes into view first what has been illuminated by the lightning and you will find out very quickly that even though you got the strike - it's all out of focus! I focus on something in the background and get that nice and crisp because if the lightning is either behind or between that subject it will be focussed. Once you have set your lens don't bump it and regularly check it to make sure it has not moved inadvertently.

The frustrating test you must do is observe the storm and lightning first even before taking a shot. Yes, you're all saying what!? You have to decided whether the storm is dying or maturing, whether to move or stay and whether you're in danger or not. I do it all the time and you'll miss a couple of strikes, but if the storm is active by timing the number of strikes each 20 seconds, you've got ample time to take photos!

Lens' are a personal choice but I've always stuck with my 17-55mm because it gives me enough scope to add subjects around the storm or simply zoom in a little at the main strike areas and have used 125mm lens'. I don't know enough about lens' to give correct information, but having I guess a 'standard' view has worked for me over the years.

I keep on about distance because the exposure times and F numbers will have to be changed constantly if the lightning is close to you or gets closer or the storm is moving away. That's why I intercept the storm as it's coming to me and follow that storm in or find other maturing storms to photograph. Knowing how far the lightning is depends on the settings and what light is surrounding you - ie. street lights, city lights illuminating the cloud base, moonlight etc. To compensate for all of these AND set for the lightning is frustrating. You don't want to blow out one or the other and wreck the photo, that's why exposure time is critical.

Try and go no longer than 25 seconds if there is adequate lighting surrounding you and the strikes are say 20km away. F numbers I have found that work are between F5.6-9 with ISO 100/200. Lightning within 20km I use settings of F10-14 and adjust accordingly to suit the strikes and this way it gives me some balance and also a buffer if one strike is brighter than another. Lightning that is closer than 15km means F12-18, but experimentation is the key. Anything closer than 10km means you can see huge bolts in front of you, so I stick around F14 up and if the strikes are around me right up to the max F number, ISO100-200 . If all you get is a flash and an almighty crack then forget that shot! If you're in complete darkness then of course you can keep the exposure times up to whatever you like with ISO around 400-800 and F numbers around 14 for lightning that's within easy viewing.

An active storm will produce lightning every 20-30 seconds or sooner. So you will have to shoot more using the remote switch unless you want more than one strike in the frame, but remember to adjust the F number etc if you do this. Storms I've found up here that do not emit lightning regularly every 40 seconds are dying out, so I move.

Experimentation is the key here and most often the simplest settings work, just compensate for the brightness factor of lightning because each strike is different in intensity.

DAYTIME LIGHTING

This much harder to capture because you don't now when it will come. But using higher (lower) F numbers and shorter exposures can work when waiting. I sometimes use multiple shots - as in 4 shots per second as soon as i see the strike because the lightning can pulse two or three times so you may land one of pulses. A lightning detector can be bought and attached to the camera also. They cost around US$300 and are great. it detects changes in light in a fraction of a second and is 80% successful in getting the strike. I've only captured 3 daytime shots using the multiple shot method, luck plays a big role here.

MOST ACTIVE LIGHTING AREAS IN A STORM

Within the main rain shaft is probably the most active area for lightning because that's where the 'mixing' of rain drops is occurring. That's why you see so many ground to cloud strikes in the middle of the storm, latent heat is the key and the drops are being bounced off each other repeatedly in the updraft and downdraft areas. Lightning will come from anywhere within the storm and with experience you can pick where the best areas to point and shoot will be on most occasions. Try and locate yourself on the side of the storm as it moves away from you so that you don't get caught in heavy showers. You can do this by watching radar images and seeing which direction they are steering and try and position yourself on the opposite side, behind or in front *with enough time to relocate if need be.

In some instances the storm is right in front of you and it enables you to get those great shots and personal preferences prevail here. A little knowledge about meteorology and storm structure goes a long way to achieve some brilliant captures because you're able to pick out what is about to happen, when it will happen and if it will happen. It took me a long time to understand how storms work but once you know a little about them you can read them like a book - they're predictable but uncooperative and it takes patience, observation and timing.

I hope this helps and there's really so much to explain it's hard to condense it without filling 8 pages, but these are some of the guidelines I use anyway. I get close to the storms simply to portray their power but I don't endanger myself to the extent of being struck - well, that's the plan - safety always comes first and I've been close to being struck four times. The risk has been worth it because you capture something that is a one-off and no-one will ever get the same strike again - that's the lure. The catch is the photograph nobody else has.

All Images remain the copyright of Mike O'Neill

Visit Mike's website at
http://stormscapesdarwin.com