Beyond the Frame 16/
How to photograph lightning and how to process photos of lightning in Lightroom Classic.
Lightning
“Thunder is good, thunder is impressive, but it is lightning that does the work.” — Mark Twain
Benjamin Franklin catching lightning in a bottle
In 1752, as an electrical storm built overhead, Benjamin Franklin performed a daring experiment. He tied a large house key to a string of wet hemp, attached the other end of the strong to a kite, gave the kite string to his son and, as lightning bolts crackled in the sky above, directed his son to stand a safe distance away.
“He charged phials, and from the electric fire thus obtained, he kindled spirits, and performed all other electrical experiments.”
No mention is made of the fate of Franklin’s son and he does not appear in West’s heroic painting — unless, as I suspect, the inevitable happened and he became one of those angelic cherubs!
Franklin’s experiment is where the phrase, “To catch lightning in a bottle” originates.
I am not going to suggest that you attempt to catch lightning in a bottle — and please do not fly a kite in a storm — but I will share some of my golden tips for catching lightning in a lens (see what I did there?)
Working in Nepal, I had the good fortune to stay in a hotel room with a view of the magnificent Bouddha Stupa. A storm built overhead but the flashes of lightning were frustratingly infrequent. I made dozens of frames but caught only two flashes of lightning. One was too far away to be of interest but the other single frame captured the moment when lightning shot through the sky above the stupa.
Had I set out with the intention of photographing lightning, I would have been better prepared and chosen a more appealing view. But that wasn’t my assignment. I didn’t have a tripod, the storm came and went in less than 45 minutes… But I think it’s a reasonable example of what can be achieved with the right camera settings.
Camera Settings
Although it’s obviously impossible to predict a flash of lightning, we can give ourselves the best chance of catching one by keeping the camera’s shutter open for as long as possible.
That’s the principle. Whilst the camera’s shutter is open, it’s always watching, waiting for the light.
You’ll potentially end up with dozens and dozens of very dark, underexposed images where lightning is entirely absent. But when lightning does strike, your camera will already be recording an image.
The camera should not be making any automatic adjustments. Avoid Auto-Focus, Aperture-Priority and Shutter-Priority.
I switch to manual exposure, dial in a loooong shutter speed (30 seconds is ideal), set a narrow aperture (>f/11), set a low ISO (50–200), manually focus to near infinity and wait.
The ambient light will influence these settings. Aim to significantly underexpose the scene because the extra illumination of the lightning will increase the exposure levels dramatically.
Ideally, the camera should be very stable, making a succession of long exposures.
Be safe. Follow the Met Office’s advice for staying safe in a storm (Asking your offspring to fly a kite with a wet hemp string is discouraged).
Use a tripod. The camera must be stable.
If a tripod isn’t available, set the camera on a solid base and use a remote shutter release. Try to avoid having to touch the camera to activate the shutter.
If you don’t have a remote release, set the camera on a solid base and use the delayed shutter release. Most cameras have a 2 second delay option.
If available, use an electronic shutter rather than a mechanical shutter to avoid camera shake from the shutter mechanism.
Set the shutter for continuous, repeated actuations.
I took a gamble for this image of lightning above a building in Bangkok. I could see that the lightning often appeared around the top of skyscraper so switched to a telephoto lens and framed the building with space above it.
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