dont ya just love a good storm

[smokey]

was talking bout it in chat i had to post these

[baisez le monde.]

storms make me feel cozy.

[Puff Piff]

that would scare the hell out of me if i was in a paranoid mind-state.
i like smoking sometimes when it rains though..whata ya know, it's raining right now..:rasta:

[MaryJaneScott]

WoW! Smokey! what wonderful pictures!!
thank you!


sharing is loving
love IS

[SpiritLevel]

can't get enough of them, i don't chase tho... how dya time that? u got a direct line to nature or just keep pressing the button?

[SweetLou311]

Check out my lightning pics. I was well into 3 bowls when I shot these. I was sure I was going to get struck...
http://louwisely.com/sky

[Sig]

^ Put your shutter speed to "BULB" mode. it means you can hold the shutter open by holding the shutter release button down. After the lighting hits.. just release the shutter button. If you try and take the picture right when the lightning hits, you might get it, but most likely not. If anything, you'll just get the return stroke.. You can tell whether or not you got the initial stroke by the picture.. those two you see that were posted are of an initial lightning strike, otherwise you wouldn't see all those "feelers" on coming off the bolt. secondary or return strikes don't have feelers.

It helps a lot if you have a remote shuter release so you're not shaking the camera. Just take the pics with a dark background so you can hold that shutter open for a long time without over exposing the film.

[maryjanehaze]

haha feelers....:smokin:

[SpiritLevel]

is my canon a510 compatible with BULB mode, i don't know... i need to read the manual and find some lightening

[Sig]

is my canon a510 compatible with BULB mode, i don't know... i need to read the manual and find some lightening

That camera doesn't have a BULB mode. You can however manualy adjust the shutter speed to 15 seconds. Set it up on a tripod pointed at an active (lotsa lightning) part of the sky.

1. Turn the camera to shooting mode

2. Turn the dial to "M" or manual mode

3. Use the "SET" button to select "aperture" (you'll see whether you have it selected or not by looking on the bottom of the LCD screen. The aperture number will look something like F4.0 and if selected it will have a little arrow pointing towards it like this >F4.0)

4. Use the < and > buttons to select the highest aperture value possible.

5. Use the "SET" button to select "shutter speed" (you'll see whether you have it selected or not by looking on the bottom of the LCD screen. The shutter number will look like this "15" or like this "1/2000" It could have a bunch of different values. but it will be to the left of where the aperture value is displayed. It will have an arrow pointing to it when it is selected. >15)

6. Use the < and > buttons to select the longest shutter speed, which should be 15 seconds. It will look like this 15".

7. Press the shutter release button all the down being careful not to shake the camera.

8. It may take a while for the the camera to process such a picture, so be patient.

It's frustrating to take pics of lightning. I've gone through whole rolls of film without getting one good shot. You just have to keep trying. empty your memory card onto your computer so you can take as many pics as possible. don't try to anticipate it. Just keep pushing that button gently and hoping lighting will strike. It will enentually and you'll get some great pics. It's gonna be rough with that 15 second shutter limit, but it's not impossible. Pay attention to where most of the lightning is coming from. Don't take pics while you're in the middle of the storm. wait until it has passed, that way you know where the lightning is gonna be. Or do it before it gets to you. The best is a supercell because you can get along side of it and take shots.

[Sig]

I'm sure I fogot something, but that ought to get you started.

[crudemood]

those pics are awesome, did you take them?

[bigsmokedawg]

weve been having some crazy weather in my neck of the woods. those pix are cool.

[dopesmoker]

i love storms. They are amazing, and fun to just chill out and watch

[SpiritLevel]

Gee, I wish I read Sig's response earlier!! We had a awsome electrical storm wednesday 23rd august. I don't think we will get another like it this year :(. Does any one do astro-photography (can't think of a better name for it) photographing comets etc?

[Fengzi]

Nice pics smokey. I love big storms with thunder and lightning. When I lived in Florida we'd have them pretty much every day in the summer. Out here in California we almost never have any electrical storms. We don't even get any rain from about April to November. Funny, but I really miss those big storms.

[AquariumRescueUnit]

I had a pretty sick Thunderstorm here the other day. I had to smoke a bowl and watch. It ruled. Heres a pic.