How Many of You Have Tried Lightning Photography?

[DonSmith]

As a native Californian I need to do a bit of traveling to find good lightning opportunities. Grand Canyon National Park is one of those great locations that during the monsoon season (mid-June - mid September) can offer a lot of opportunities for lightning.

I captured this frame with my Sony a7RIV + The Lightning Trigger IV (best trigger I have used).

The key is to track the cells and most importantly, stay safe. It helps to have a polarizer on your lens (I used the Sony 24-70mm GM) and frame an area where you see rain curtains.

I dropped my ISO to 50 and set my aperture at f/16 to allow a 1/4th sec shutter.

Sonys' are awesome as they have some of the fastest shutter lag times of any camera on the market.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[CarolineJensen]

What are your tips for staying safe? I really want to do this, but out on the prairie, there is very little shelter. Do you stay have the camera outside and then trigger from shelter? 

[DonSmith]

I don't Caroline. First off I use a lightning app to see where the lightning is firing. Lightning can jump up to 5 miles so I try to be sure I am far away and not right in an approaching cell. If I was out on a prairie, I would set the camera on a tripod outside the car with the trigger then get back inside. I would not be out in the open 🙂

[tonygale]

I shot some lighting out a plane window last week. Captured 4k video with my Xperia 5II and then did frame grabs.

Xperia 5 II 

[DonSmith]

That is a great way to do it and seemingly getting more and more practical Tony. PMR is doing it with sports!