Who says you couldn’t capture lightning without a decent dSLR camera, top-end equipment/accessories and complete shutter-speed control? What you really need is a hell lot of patient (I was desperate, haha!) and a little bit of help from Lady Luck. Quick reflex doesn’t really help much because the moment you hit the shutter button, the lightning is already over.
A few weeks ago, the sky was completely inundated with fierce thunderstorm clouds - a perfect remedy for lightnings! I grabbed my point-and-shoot consumer-grade camera (it’s a Pentax Optio S55 camera, a pretty ancient model by current standards), rushed to mom’s bedroom and poised myself to get ready for a thunderstorm photoshoot. I took exactly 100 photos in total, all of them taken with burst mode (a.k.a. continuous shooting mode):
If you’ve spotted the unique one out of the hundred photos, you’re sharp!
The lightning was almost out of the frame, that’s why I was talking about the Lady Luck thing. If I’d aimed slightly towards the right, the lightning wouldn’t have been captured! So here’s the larger version (in case you have not located the photo, it’s the second photo from the right, on the third row):
I’m starting to wonder how could I get amazing lighting shots like these (well, compared to those, mine is bollocks), found on Flickr. Perhaps the desire to get those is pushing me towards a new camera (most probably, a dSLR!). Here are some, randomly selected from the search result:
Note: Photos are copyrighted by their respective owners, click on the thumbnails to access the photo’s Flickr page.
Birthday Wishes
Chankeet (29th April) - Happy belated birthday! I actually wanted to dedicate a section for you in the previous post but it was too long, and no body will probably read it. Haha!
Yuting (3rd May) - Happy birthday! Today is your day 
when I get back to Singapore next time, I’ll haunt you!
Yintung (4th May) - Happy early birthday! I hope you’re coping well with life and remember, have fun!!!
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Sorry I’ve been very, very lazy lately!
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That’s all for this post! 
:evil:
16 responses to One in a Hundred
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May 3rd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
oooh we never get lightning like that - ours is always just a flash. We never see a line of lightening. Well I dont but that could be because I always hide in thunderstorms! their scary!
Check out Han’s last blog post: Todays Bullets
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:08 pm
did u like risk ur life??? omg!! btw those lightning pics r so pretty!!!
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:50 pm
i saw lightning myself in outdoor before,
i really love that lightning…
Check out JWC’s last blog post: 2nd Drawing - Eeteuk
May 4th, 2008 at 6:41 am
Props for that picture. It’s definitely awesome.
I’ve actually shot a video on YouTube awhile back. It’s a small clip with a pretty impressive lightning bolt. Felt kind of big headed for capturing it. haha.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KApC9nGniw
We get storms here all the time, especially anywhere between June-October, they’re really rollin’ through. August is usually the hot month.
Check out Brandy’s last blog post: Goodbye Dell. Hello MacBook.
May 4th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
@Han: Lightnings come in a flash, that’s why I need a little bit help from dear Lady Luck to capture the flash. For those who use dSLRs, it’s a little easier because what you need to to is just aim at the right direction and make the shutter speed as long as 20+ seconds. I love thunderstorms that happen at night - I can tuck into my blankie and enjoy the sounds out there.
@Melissa: No I would never, haha. It’s not recommended for one to stand on top of a hill, under a tree or in the open, holding a carbon-fibre tripod (which conducts electricity) if you want to get lightning photos. The best is to stay at home. I took the photos in my parents’ bedroom.
@JWC: They’re scary, aren’t they? The closest encounter is that a lightning struck our classroom when I was in high school. The entire block went dark because the wire tripped.
@Brandy: Awww you’re so sweet! But if you compare it with those found on Flickr, mine is just bollocks. Thanks for plugging the video, it’s cool! Lighting right in front of your camera… the chances of catching it in the smack middle is very slim! You’re lucky that day. In a tropical country like mine, we get storm every other day
May 4th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Yup, actually, aside from aiming in the right direction, a small aperture value — f/8 to f/10 or so should give you amazing clarity. A longer exposure >1/10 depending on the night skies, and a tripod, should give you about a good, well-exposed/lit shot of the lightning.
If you have a really imba DSLR you can try exposing for a few seconds with a very very very small aperture. Longer exposures increase your chance of getting it. Not to mention wide-angle lenses.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:46 am
I have always been afraid of capturing lightning with my camera because I have this paranoia that I’ll get struck! Stupid, I know! Still, the shot looks amazing! I really like the 100 shots. It looks like a contact sheet. =)
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May 5th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Hey Teddy! Thanks the comment on my site- yeah I am back (well sort off…) hopefully I can take things easy in the upcoming weeks and have time to just blog and surf my favs (of which this site is included
)
I didn’t spot the one in a hundred photo- funny to think that if you’d aimed a bit more to the right you would have missed it! The picture looks so clear and sharp. I’m a bit afriad of lightening, I always think that I’ll get struck!
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May 6th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Dang… I wish I could take pictures like those as well. Unfortunately I don’t have nimble fingers to take them. I’m always a second too late. I think it has something to do with your shutter speed as well. Hopefully you’ll be able to learn how to capture pictures like that. I think you would have to just be ready with your finger on the trigger. Sometimes, you’re able to anticipate on when it would strike as well.
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May 6th, 2008 at 7:50 am
Teddy … U really pro …! REally can see the lighting sp clear in line …
Check out Eric’s last blog post: Still awake … !
May 6th, 2008 at 11:49 am
@Jasmine: Thanks for the tips - they’re going to be very useful when I get a dSLR camera in the future. I have yet to grasp what does aperture really means, but I’m aware of this inverse relationship (as a photographer’s rule of thumb) that exists between aperture value and shutter speed - i.e. if you’re shooting at f/8, you’ll need to have a shuuter speed of at least one eighth of a second. If I do get a dSLR next time, I will most probably rely on the long shutter speed to get a lightning. For my slow reflexes, shooting a lightning only when it appears will be too late, heh.
@Id: Oh I understand your fear. Last time when I was in Genting Highlands, there was this marvellous thunderstorm outside and I thought of shooting the lightnings, but since the air is too wet, I’m afraid of getting struck (I was standing outside the hotel lobby, so the risk is actually higher than if you’ve opted to stay indoor). I think if you’re in your car or at home, you’re almost completely shielded from lightning strikes. Lightning passes through a certain path in air with the least resistance - like your car’s external metal chasis and your house exterior. Even if lightning does hit you, it’s proven that more than 95% of the energy will be travelling outside you (or you’ll most probably explode due to overheating inside). But 5% is still enough to knock you unconscious or kill!
@Nel: You’re welcome, Nel! Welcome back to the blogosphere *hugs* take it easy, I know that you’re very busy, so don’t push yourself too hard! Your real life commitments take precedence over blogging stuff, and everyone understands that! It’s hard to spot the photo because I actually lowered the JPEG quality to make the photo collage load faster. I was just randomly aiming my camera, praying hard that Lady Luck is looking over my shoulder, heh.
@Destiny: Same here! I have really slow reflexes so I relied on the burst shooting mode to increase the chance of capturing a lightning. Since I use a P&S camera, I have no control over shutter speed and aperture. So for me the best time to shoot for lightning is at night with burst shooting mode, that’s when the darkness of the night will force the camera to use a longer shutter speed. Most of the lightning turned out to the false alarms because more than three-quarters of them occur between clouds (and are usually obscured by the heavy clouds), so you only get to see weak flahses of light.
@Eric: Not pro, but lucky
heheh.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:27 am
TEDDY! That looks so amazing! My camera would have died at the prospect of taking a regular old picture, rather than one of lightning. You’re very lucky and talented too! Persistence paid off as well. I would try this, but we haven’t had lighting in a while but summer is coming and hot, hot air means cute beach pictures..erm, I mean weather pictures! Haha! I’m as shallow as a puddle.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
@Melle:
no you’re not shallow at all! Don’t say that.
Thanks Melle! You made me curious - what model of camera are you using? When summer comes around over there, I’m confident that you’ll get plenty of lightnings! Haha cute beach pictures
May 7th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
it’s a Pentax Optio S55 camera << you’ve got to be kidding me? Your pictures never failed to impress me.
Anyway, once you’ve jumped into the dSLR bandwagon, you’d be great! Since you know what you want, and what to look for in photography.
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May 7th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
oh wow. congrats on the shot. wow. wow. wow.
I’m just so speechless.
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May 7th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
@Noktahhitam: Yeap. Nah the photo didn’t turn out to be that nice, haha! My model is known for notoriously churning out a lot of noise at shadows even at a high exposure - which is very bad. I think I’ll only make the jump when I have enough money, although I’m very thrifty now and desperately saving up for a dSLR.
@Aisyah: Thank you Aisyah