City - Scottsdale State - AZ Country - United States
About
Class Project: Above Your Head
We had some severe lightning storms pass through here this past week and it was serendipitous that our class project was "Above You Head." Several classmates captured the incredible ground strikes that pounded Phoenix for a good 5 hours.
Personally, I have struggled A LOT with night photography. Partucularly with finding the balance of f/stop, shutter-speed and ISO that isn't so noisy. So, this time I didn't hold out much hope that I would get anything worthwhile either.
Basically, I used my intuition as to how long to keep the shutter open. We were getting strikes so close together that I could keep the shutter open for 3 or more strikes for one exposure. It seemed to be around 30 seconds or so but I know that some of my shots were much longer than this.
When I looked at the images on my computer, I was amazed at the beautiful serpentine monsters I had captured.
I still had to do a lot of post-processing for noise (A LOT). However, this experience has push the envelope for me by giving me the opportunity to do something I've always wanted to try. To capture lightning.
Hey Keith, another "Zonie" I see! I'm in Scottsdale and attend classes here through the city recreation. You should join! I just checked and there is 1 space left in the next course which starts Sept 21st. You can go here to sign-up if you're interested.
Thank you very much for the kind comment, Hakan! The hardest part was standing outside during this crazy storm with the threat of being struck very possible. A few times I actually went running away. Thanks again. ~ Warm regards, Rocky
0 
{K:15913} 7/30/2006