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Photos of Light in Darkness

By Michael Leonard
Contributing Writer/Photojournalist
for aroundmaine.com
Aug. 29th, 1998(updated June 29, 2005)

If you are thinking about shooting lightning here are some considerations before striking out...

Technically the hardware list would include the following:

camera with 'Bulb" setting for long exposures and ability to manually set lens f/stop.

tripod or other platform on which to easily mount and securely position your camera.

shutter release cable - so you don't have to hold your finger on the shutter release button.

film - ASA 100 or 200 is all that is needed - lightning IS a source of light and a higher ASA film won't be useful.

a means to keep the camera and yourself dry should it be raining.

weather radio and or scanner to tune to weather nets to hear real-time storm activity.

Hints and tricks to consider when shooting Lightning

Know the path of the storm! Do not venture out at all if you do not have a total comfort level for chasing a thunder storm. I check the Doppler radar as seen on the Weather Channel and listen to first hand reports from people observing the storm via amateur radio to get a good sense of where the bulk of the storm is, how fast it is moving, and where it is going. From this information I will choose to take a path that will allow me to watch the storm effectively pass 'by' me instead of 'over' me.

This requires knowing the local roads quite well and locations of roads with overpasses can be a great help if hail accompanies the storm.

To get a rough idea of how far away a storm is, count the time between a stroke of lightning and the clap of thunder - every 5 seconds equals roughly 1 mile. If the time between strokes and claps gets shorter you can rule the storm is coming toward you, if they get longer then the storm is moving away from you. I try to keep at least a 2 to 3 mile distance with the storm moving AWAY. Again it takes more than just this information to judge the relative position, speed and direction of a storm.

Ambient light from the city can be a problem when using long exposures. You can fog the frame quite easily - so as well as looking for a safe venue to set up to take that photo, make sure it is a dark place without street lights and is shielded from lights from cars, airplanes, etc.

A tripod is a must! And so is a manual shutter release cable. Being able to lock the shutter open means that you will not have to constantly hold your finger on the shutter release button on your camera which could mean more movement for the camera and result in a blurred picture.

Keep the equipment (and yourself) dry! Dry bags and underwater housings work great for keeping the camera dry. Some underwater bags have a special port that couples with your lens to shoot through.

Try setting your lens f/stop to f/5.6 with ASA 200 film as a starting point. As the storm travels away from you open to a wider f/4.0 to let more light in. Depending upon the darkness of the sky you might be able to leave the shutter open for several bolts of lightning but if the storm frequently lights up the entire sky then you could end up with a fogged frame. Since no two storms are a like a bit of experimentation is in order.

Since lightning is a 'source' of light as opposed to being 'reflected' light a lower ASA film such as 100 - 200 is recommended. In a pinch ASA 400 and above can be used but care must be taken to not allow the film to get fogged by those bolts that just light up the sky. A neutral density filter can help with this. Slide film can be used also with great results - apply the same ASA rules.

When taking the roll of film to the lab for developing clearly state that you have shots of lightning. So that they won't just think the shots are dark and not print them at all, or lighten them until the whole frame is totally washed out. Requesting the prints be done a bit dark may actually improve the look of your work. Asking for the negatives NOT to be cut may be helpful especially if the machine mistakes the proper cutting point and slices the images right in half. When doing slides, make sure the lab is aware of where to slice the film before mounting - again a note included with the film to explain the content and to request special care be taken with the cutting and mounting is advisable.

I will conclude with the fact that thunder storms are dangerous. These general guidelines are what I have gone by and in the past 20 or so years I have had a good deal of success taking pictures of lightning. But there is no excuse for not applying common sense to the equation. While these rules have worked for me, I do not at all endorse or recommend anyone to venture outdoors during a lightning storm if you don't feel totally comfortable with the situation.

There have been many excellent documentaries that have been produced by Discovery Channel, TBS, the Weather Channel, and PBS, about lightning storms, severe weather and people who chase storms as both a hobby and as a profession. While these programs aren't designed to give you all the knowledge you need to get started in storm chasing, they do provide some good supplemental information that can be applied locally to your own efforts.

Mike Leonard is the Production Facility Engineer for Time Warner Cable in Maine in Portland. When he isn't 'making' TV he is active behind the lens of a camera 'making pictures.' Among the subjects Mike likes to shoot are Lighthouses, night time scenes and severe weather including lightning storms. Mike couples his hobby of amateur radio with that of photography to gather storm information from observers and then to chase and photograph storms. He has been doing this for more than 20years and most notably is credited for the video of the hail storm that pounded Little Sebago lake in 1985, provided live reports to the Weather Channel from Squirrel Island, off of Boothbay Harbor, during Hurricane Bob in 1991 and his work is seen at various web sites including Maine.gov.