In April of 2016 I purchased my first digital camera, the Nikon D7200. Moving from film to digital was quite the change. With film you had to pay for the film, each and every print you had printed, even if they were just a black image. So taking photos of lightning could get pretty expensive with little chance of getting the shot you were after.
Enter the digital camera. With digital you are just storing images on a memory card that can be deleted and the space regained. No cost for the failed shots. Also with digital you gain instant gratification by being able to view your images right on the camera. The digital camera also came with a few perks like an infrared remote, long exposure noise reduction and variable ISO.
On Labor Day weekend 2016 I found myself in a truck stop along I-10 in New Mexico. I noticed a storm rolling in from the south and there wasn’t any rain where I was. So I got out my tripod and camera and decided I would attempt to capture the lightning. I Set up at the edge of the parking lot and started to try catching the lightning. Now if you have ever tried to snap an image of lighting, trying to predict when it will happen you know its about impossible. So how did I capture this image?
There few offerings out there for remote triggers that sense the lightning and will trigger the camera to take the shot. But I didn’t have one of those. So this is how I did it.
I added a Neutral Density filter to the lens. A Neutral Density filter reduces the amount of light that is entering the lens, thus to keep the exposure correct the shutter speed needs to be much slower/longer. This made the shutter speed around 20 seconds, so if lightning occurred in that 20 second span it would be captured. Here is where the remote comes in handy. Just grab a seat and every time the exposure ends just click the remote again and the processes starts over.
Now I should mention that at night with an ND filter on you can’t see a thing and neither can the camera auto focus. Before you begin, turn off auto focus and manually focus as far in the distance as you can before you put on the ND filter. You may need a flashlight to help light your view. Keep in mind also that lightning is very dangerous and you should consider the risks before attempting to photograph it.
Now you know the story behind the photo