Comments on: Lightning Photography

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:14:55 +0000

Those are great Alex! I have CHDK on one of my cameras — you can write scripts in Basic that control most camera functions. There’s a few Nikon/Arduino controllers out there.

By: Alex W

Alex W — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 04:54:05 +0000

Wow, thanks everyone for the awesome information and feedback. I’ll have to play with full manual mode and make sure I know how to work everything for next time. I had read some of this stuff in the manual before, but when it came time to perform, well…

Looks like there’s some new products for me to pick up (wireless trigger and an ND filter), and a couple DIY things to try out (black cardboard screen and light sensor).

@DW I’m totally amazed at some of the stuff the CHDK guys are managing to pull off. A motion sensor? That’s awesome!

By: Jeff S.

Jeff S. — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:53:31 +0000

Yup, your camera was definitely working against you. Your shutter speed was fine, but the camera was adjusting the aperture to compensate, thus the washed out images. Next time, use the same 3+ second shutter speed (even bulb mode!) and set the aperture to f11 or so.

Another trick you can use is to hold a piece of black cardboard in front of the lens, with the camera on a tripod. Set the shutter to 30 seconds, and only remove the cardboard when a strike happens. You can capture multiple strikes in a single frame this way.

Finally, you could make a lightning-trigger for the camera. I remember seeing plans for on in Popular Electronics years ago, and I’m sure there are some floating around the web.

Oh! You can use these tricks for great fireworks pictures, too.

By: DW

DW — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:13:14 +0000

Good shots and great write-up, Alex.

Something I’ve been experimenting with for photographing lightning is CHDK and the motion_detect functionality from scripts running on the camera. The lighting appears as “motion” to a suitably-outfitted Canon PowerShot and can trip the shutter. This software-only solution seems a bit cleaner than wiring up some external light-detecting hardware to trip the shutter.

By: jb

jb — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:50:31 +0000

Awesome photos!

For the D40, the M on the dial is Manual mode. Shutter speed is set with the control dial; Aperture is set with the control dial while holding the EV+/- button. Be sure to turn off Auto ISO.

If you want even longer shutter speeds, you may need to use a neutral density (ND) filter.

You can also get a remote for $3 from DealExtreme:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ml-l3-wireless-ir-remote-control-for-nikon-d90-d80-d70-more-45428

By: J.R.

J.R. — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:05:46 +0000

You should be able to put the D40 into a full manual mode, which would give you the kind of granular control you’re looking for.

Something to consider, especially you had the right idea with a tripod – activate the shutter remotely. If the storm is right on top of you with lightning that fills the sky, you can up the aperture and set your shutter to bulb mode. That’ll let you open and close it manually.

You won’t want to do that with the shutter button since it’ll shake the camera and blur all of your nice shots, but the D40 does support Nikon’s IR remote control, which is quite cheap:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/207373-USA/Nikon_4730.html