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By DAN ROBINSON
Storm Highway Editor/Cameraman |
If you're looking for an exciting and rewarding hobby, taking pictures of thunderstorms just might fit the bill.
 The photography aspect of catching lightning on film is extremely simple, and in most cases requires no skill or experience with a camera. But if you're interested in capturing a wide variety of lightning shots with different locations and subjects, photography is the least of the challenges.
Thunderstorms are an elusive phenomenon that rarely cooperate with a photographer. Not only that, but most storms won't come to you - you'll have to go to them. And so lightning photography, as a pasttime, will require a bit of storm chasing - an adventurous hobby in itself that involves forecasting, tracking, and driving to active thunderstorms, among other things. Due to this challenging pursuit, both storm chasing and lightning photography, for those who are so inclined, will likely become a lifelong hobby that will provide years of enjoyment.
 Left: Lightning photography on a stormy night.
 It is worth mentioning the obvious that since lightning photography involves being outdoors in and around thunderstorms, it's an activity that can be dangerous if sensible safety considerations are not taken. But the participant who excercises common sense in the hobby will be just as safe as he or she would be collecting stamps.
This page will cover mainly the photographic aspects of catching lightning. A tutorial on storm chasing can get fairly deep, but we'll discuss some of the basics that will help you get started at the end of this article.
  The Camera: In order to take photographs of lightning, you'll need to have a camera with a 'bulb' (time exposure) setting. Older model 35mm SLR (Single Lens Reflex) cameras with all-manual settings, such as the Pentax K1000 or Minolta SRT201, are relatively inexpensive (look on eBay) and work very well. These cameras are also more rugged and more resistant to the inevitable splashes of rain than expensive computerized cameras. Also, since your camera settings stay pretty much the same for every lightning photo session, all of the fancy automatic stuff isn't really neccessary.
Cameras used in any type of storm chasing will have to endure harsh conditions and lots of abuse (especially moisture), so you need to think twice before using your $2,000 camera to shoot lightning. Unless you've got a waterproof camera or proper protective gear, you're better off spending the $150-$200 on Ebay on a used manual SLR and lens that can take the heat, and won't be a big loss if it gets ruined. My old Pentax SLR has been dropped, rain-soaked, stressed, dirtied, shaken, baked in summer heat, frozen in winter cold, and taken years of abuse - but still catches lightning. All of the non-digital lightning photos on this site were taken with either the all-manual Pentax K1000 or the similar Minolta SRT201. Once again - your cameras will eventually get drenched a few times if you do this long enough - so plan accordingly.
Again, the Internet is one of the best places to find good deals on used, rugged camera equipment. I bought my Pentax K1000 body, a 28mm wide-angle lens, and a 75mm-205mm zoom lens on Ebay for under $200 total.
If your shutter is powered, bring extra batteries- long time exposures will drain the batteries quickly.
NOTE: Discussed later in this article is a method that you can employ to take lightning shots with any camera, even a disposable or 'instamatic'.
 The Lens: The lens you use is entirely up to you, but can vary depending on your location. I personally like to use a wide-angle 28mm lens, because it gives me more sky coverage without much distortion. A telephoto lens can be useful for distant thunderstorms in areas with high visibilities (such as the desert Southwest and the central Plains regions in the USA). In the Appalachian and east coast areas of the US, terrain and trees tend to obscure distant lightning on the horizon, meaning that lightning channels won't be visible until they are close - in which case you'll want to use the wide-angle configuration. Keep your telephoto lens on standby in case you get a photogenic distant storm.
Tripod: To avoid blurring of your photos, you'll need a tripod to hold your camera steady during time exposures. I use inexpensive ($20) tripods from Wal-Mart, because my tripods take a beating in being out all summer - from being yanked inside the car as heavy rain hits, to being set up frantically in front of a fast-approaching storm. Because it's cheap, I can leave my tripod fully extended in the bed of my truck all year, so it's ready to go at all times - and if someone swipes it, it's not a big loss.
 You might also want to consider a small tripod that you can set up inside of your car, enabling you to photograph out of the window (see photo at right).
Cable Release: A cable release is a small, flexible device that screws into a camera's shutter trigger (visible on the camera in the photo at right). A cable release allows you to open and close the shutter without jarring the camera. Most cable releases have a locking device that lets you hold the shutter open for long periods of time hands-free.
The Film: The general consensus among most lightning photographers is 100 speed slide film, such as FujiChrome Sensia or Provia. All types of film will catch lightning, but slide film yields the finest detail and the highest picture quality. For years I used standard 100 speed print film because of its low cost, but recently switched to slide film for its remarkable quality. Lightning bolts appear clearer, crisper, brighter and more detailed on a slide. Slides also tend to pick up more cloud detail and show deeper and more appealing colors.
The examples below demonstrate the difference between slide and print film for two similar cloud-to-ground lightning flashes. The first photo was taken on Kodak 100 ASA print film, the second on FujiChrome Sensia 100 (Click on each photo to enlarge). The differences are very apparent:
 
Slide film is generally about four times more expensive than print film, but well worth the extra cost. A good photo of lightning will be valuable to you, so you'll want it to be on the best quality film possible.
As a rule, the slower the film speed, the longer you can leave your shutter open in areas with more ambient light (such as cities). Faster film speeds will work, but the images will be grainier.
Have extra film ready. Set aside a few rolls just in case a unexpected storm catches you off guard. You'll likely use two or three rolls quickly during a storm, and nothing is more frustrating than running out of film during a spectacular lightning show. I usually keep 4 rolls with me in a cooler at all times, just to be ready.
Camera and Exposure Settings: It's hard to go wrong with an exposure of lightning. Aim the camera, hold open the shutter, and wait. If lightning strikes where you aimed, you got it! Usually you will go through 10 or 15 frames on the roll of film before actually catching a bolt, meaning that you won't actually have lightning in every picture on the roll (unless you're having a very good night). You might want to experiment with exposure settings for different scenes, but as a general rule, use the following:
 Rural Areas at Night: Focus at infinity, F-stop of F5.6. When lightning gets very close (within 1 mile, less than 5 seconds between flash-thunder), use an F-stop of F8. You'll also want to use F8 if you want to expose multiple bolts over a long period of time (see note below). In rural areas with little or no ambient light, you can leave your shutter open indefinitely until a lightning bolt flashes in your frame.
 Urban Areas at Night: Focus at infinity, F-stop of F5.6 for a maximum exposure time of 15 seconds or so. Or, F-stop of F8 for 20 to 35 seconds. For best results, expose the scene as you would without lightning, and the lightning will take care of its own exposure when it flashes in the background.
 Daytime Time-Exposure: Focus at Infinity, F-stop of F8. Use three-second exposure intervals. This uses film up very fast, and generally has a low rate of return. You should only attempt this with the most intense lightning storms containing frequent strikes. Also, a bolt caught using daytime time exposures will only show up well if it is very close (at right).
 Daytime or Nighttime Reflex Exposure: This method can be used with any type of camera, not just an SLR. Aim your camera at the scene, keeping your finger on the shutter button. As soon as you see a flash, hit the shutter immediately. Most lightning discharges are made up of multiple, repeated return strokes. While your reflex action will miss the first (and the only branched) stroke, you have a good chance of capturing one of the subsequent strokes. Furthermore, it is common for several separate cloud-to-ground strikes to occur in rapid succession, each triggered by the one before (see this video clip). If you react to the first one, you may very well catch one of the subsequent ones.
The advantage of this 'reflex' method is the short exposure time, allowing you to shoot lightning in bright daylight situations. While this works with any type of camera, an SLR certainly helps. Tripod your camera and use up to 1/4-second exposures triggered by your reaction to a flash. As with nighttime scenes, expose the scene as you would without lightning, and the lightning will take care of itself on the film. For instance, for a typical afternoon storm, use F8 with a shutter speed from 1/250 (bright sky) to 1/60 (very dark clouds).
A Word on Aperture: Since the brightness of lightning, for all intents and purposes, is the same in any situation (day, night, urban, or rural), you will always want to keep your aperture between F5.6 and F11, regardless of any ambient light levels. Closing the aperture beyond F11 will allow for longer exposure times, but you will also be restricting the amount of light exposed by the lightning itself, which will result in thinner, underexposed bolts. Opening the aperture beyond F5.6 in most cases will overexpose or 'white out' the lightning channels (and even the clouds), resulting in wide, bright white columns of light enshrouding the bolts. You will find that some bolts are more intense than others - meaning that a strike may still overexpose at F8 or underexpose at F5.6. It is nearly impossible, however, to accurately predict how bright each strike will be, so just keep to the known averages. Not every bolt will come out perfectly.
 Multiple Bolts: At night, you can leave the shutter open for long periods of time to get numerous lightning strikes on the same frame (see photo at right). In this case, use an aperture of F8 to limit cloud overexposure.
 However, most cloud-to-ground lightning discharges involve clusters of two or more separate bolts (see photo at right) that occur almost simultaneously in extremely rapid succession, so you don't really need to do long exposures to get multiple bolts in your picture. In fact, with most storms, a solo cloud-to-ground bolt is somewhat rare.
Location: Often, the most difficult, frustrating, and time-consuming part of lightning photography is simply finding a good place to take pictures. You will usually need to 'scout out' and make notes of good places to shoot - preferrably during the day before the storms arrive. Ideally, a good setup location needs:
 - An unbroken view of the sky. Unsightly power lines and tree branches across your photo usually will detract from the drama of the image (see photo at right). It's true that some photographers have incorporated power lines into their photos on purpose with very good results. But as a general rule, it's best to avoid any wires across your frame. Keep in mind that power lines are hard to see at night, and usually won't show up in your picture until you get your film developed. In most parts of the country, vantage points free of these obstructions are very hard to find.
 - Low ambient light levels close to the camera. Streetlights and car headlights will force you to either cut your exposures short or accept strong glares on your image (see photo at right). Keep this in mind when choosing a location. (This rule can be broken for special situations where you want to be creative).
 - Protection from the elements. Rain and lightning should be a concern when considering a setup location. Lightning is an obvious threat to your safety, while raindrops on your camera lens will reflect/refract light and ruin a good photo (see image at right). Parking garages, highway underpasses, and large buildings can keep you and your camera safe from both. Setting up inside your car may be an option (see photo illustration above), but is one that provides less shelter from rain. Heavy rain or wind will end a lightning photo session, even at the best locations, due to fine mist and spray that forms as a result of rain splashing onto the ground. If your dedication levels are high, you can carry a rag out with you to wipe the lens dry every 15 seconds or so.
- Safe Parking - The best view in town is no good if there's nowhere to park legally and safely. At rural roadside locations, consider using an inexpensive amber beacon (available for $20 at any auto parts store) to make you more visible to passing motorists.
 Breaking the Rules
These suggestions are only general guidelines for lightning photos. When the time and place is right, you might want to 'break the rules'. For instance, in some cases, there will be an object across the sky that will add to a photo rather than detract from it, such as a building or a bridge (see photo at right).
 You might want to get creative and shoot a predominant object in the foreground with lightning secondarily in the background. Rather than always avoiding car headlights, there are places that you can incorprate them (at right). Use your imagination - the sky is the limit, literally!
 Composition: In your lightning shot, you'll always want to include the horizon and part of the ground in your photo, rather than just pointing your camera up at the sky. Aside from lightning in urban scenes, use of the 'rule or thirds' is not always desireable, since the ground will usually be totally black in the exposure. You'll want more of a 4/5ths or 5/6ths sky, 1/6th ground configuration to give you more of a 'canvas' for the lightning to pose on (see photo at right).
 For closer lightning, you might want to include a little more of the ground in the event that a bolt strikes nearby - allowing the lightning's contact point with the ground to be captured (see photo at right).
Penny Pinching: Most of the time, you'll shoot a roll or two of film, but only catch a lightning bolt on three or four frames. If you're using standard print film for your lightning shots, you stand to save a substantial sum when you get the roll developed. Don't just drop the film off as you would normally - give instructions to the lab to make prints for only the negative frames that contain lightning. If you don't, you'll have to pay for all of the printed frames on the roll that are just the same scene without the lightning. Most photo labs charge about $2 for negative processing and 25 cents for each print. So, if you have a 24 exposure roll of film with one lightning photo on it, you only need to pay for the processing and the one print- saving, in many cases, up to $10.
If you shoot slide film, this trick isn't applicable, since most labs don't include prints when processing a roll of slides.
Finding Storms: Storm chasing can be very simple or highly involved, depending on your level of interest. You don't need a meteorology degree and a lot of fancy equipment. Here are some tips that will help you get on the road and catch a storm:
- Watch the weather forecasts and use available data, such as radar: Keeping an eye on the forecasts will allow you to plan a night of chasing ahead of time, as opposed to jumping in the car as soon as you see a storm approaching. In most cases, if you can hear thunder, you only have about 5 to 15 minutes to set your camera up before the photogenic lightning arrives. If you monitor weather data and radar on a potentially stormy night, you will have more time to position yourself in front of an active storm. An abundance of this type of weather information is available on the internet, you can use this page to get started.
- If storms look like they may pass you by, and if you feel adventurous, do a little storm chasing. Simply put, when storms approach, watch the latest radar animations ('loops'), pick the best-looking cell, get a bearing on where your storm is heading, and drive to it! Try to pick an intercept location that you know has a safe and photogenic spot to set up your cameras. As we mentioned above, this is easier if you've done some scouting and have some spots picked out in advance. Usually the best photo opportunities are just outside of a cell rather than deep inside it, so you don't want to just drive straight into your storm. Remember, the less rain, the better. If you're approaching the storm and it starts giving you some good lightning, stop right then and take your shots as quickly as you can. Storms tend to not give you many good opportunities, so take what you can get if it's putting on a show for you.
- Use NOAA Weather Radio: Keep a scanner or weather radio in your vehicle. The National Weather Service will provide periodic short-term updates, watches and warnings on developing situations in your area, which can be helpful after you're on the road.
- Consider using a nowcaster: If you can't afford a mobile Internet connection, a nowcaster may be your next option. A nowcaster is simply someone (usually a friend or family member) who is monitoring weather data for you at their home computer, and can pass this information to you via telephone while you're on the road. For seasoned chasers, this is invaluable, as conditions can change rapidly by the minute. Having someone describe the current radar images to you in real-time over the phone often means the difference between catching a storm and going home empty-handed.
- Use your AM Radio: Lightning produces radio waves called sferics that are audible on any AM radio. Tune to an unused channel, and listen for sudden pops and crackles that indicate lightning is occuring in your area.
- Drive slow: Especially in rain. Highway slickness is deceptive.
- Storm chasing gear: Carry the following items with you any time you go out on a storm-shooting expedition:
- Flashlight
- Insect Repellent
- At least $20 cash for emergencies
- Cell Phone
- Dry Clothes (you will almost always get drenched)
- Snacks and beverages (for long waits)
And Finally:- Plan ahead and be patient! Always be ready for a storm- most of them will come up unexpectedly. Have your camera ready and film loaded. Figure out ahead of time where you can safely set up your camera. There is no guarantee you will get a good picture every time. But, if you are persistent you will be successful.
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