Sunset and lightning

This is a very dramatic image, nice framing and light. The lighning really puts it over the top.. good timing!

Wow. Very cool.

- Dan.

ZAP! Awesome capture.

Great shot Bill, im hearing and or seeing alot of images with this lightning trigger. What type of camera do you shoot with? Does the trigger work with digitals?

Thanks,
robert.......

Very cool! Hard to believe anything can work that fast! (The lightning trigger I mean.) We've been talking about getting one and I think we need to talk some more.

Lillian

Bill,

This is outstanding! Great light, nice layers. Overall great mood. The lighting bolt takes this well into the stratoshpere. I like it a lot!


Anders

Terrific shot, especially with the light beams passing through the storm clouds! I've never heard of a lightning trigger and would like to know more also.

Thanks for the compliments.

As much as mother nature would allow I actually planned the shot. I saw the storm approaching and knew the sun would be droping below the upper layer of clouds. Then I just kept my fingers crossed hoping for a strike in that area of the frame.

Robert, I use an EOS3; however the trigger does work with digitals. Go here and click on the camera compatibility link: http://www.lightningtrigger.com.

Digital is the way to go as the trigger really burns film when there is a lot of lightning within the cloud.

Bill

Bill, this is just about the best lightening shot I've seen in a very, very long time...a strong candidate for landscape picture of the week, I think.

Outstanding atmospheric shot

Great image even without the lightning. But outstanding with it.

The light beams and the lightning is a stunning combination! Awesome!

What drama! The combination of the sun rays and the lightning bolt really creates an energy that is amazing! I like the way the frame is divided into thirds with the star of the show perfectly placed in the the middle third. Very nice! I'll have to check out those lightning triggers...never heard of that before this post.

Incredible combination of elements. Wow!

Bill,

Great shot, love the layers and the light. The lightning is a plus.

Bill,

An exquisite image, I have nothing more to add to the deserved accolades in the previous posts. However, I do have a question, how do you like the lightning trigger (seems like a dumb question given this image), but as someone who has considered getting one I am curious to get a reaction from someone who uses it?

Regards, Simon

Simon,

I bought the trigger about 2 years ago. The summer of 2002 was very dry here in the Denver area and we only had a couple of thunderstorms. For a while, the trigger was a rather expensive dust catcher! Fortunately, this summer some of the monsoon flow returned and produced more thunderstorms.

Here is what I like about the trigger:

1) This is fairly obvious: the trigger really opens up the possibility of creating unique landscape shots. I have started looking at potential landscapes in a 'different light'.

2) That said, successfully using the device takes planning. Based on the outstanding quality of the images I see here in this forum, I’m preaching to the choir: it is extremely challenging to create an exceptional landscape shot. When you start to factor in chasing storms, getting a good composition AND staying safe, things get really interesting, exciting and fun!

3) Because of the planning, I have increased my knowledge of weather and weather forecasting enormously. Still, about half the time I went out this summer I did not get any shots. Either the storms fizzled or I was positioned in the wrong area and the storm came straight at me.

4) I also enjoy photographing wildlife. Wildlife photography is about observation, learning about the environment, the rhythm of the subject and tuning into that rhythm.

Using this device requires the same disciplines. Weather systems, thunderstorms and lightning have a character and natural rhythm that is magnificent to watch. Thunderstorms build, dissipate and start the process all over again. If you see lightning strike a spot on a ridge and the storm is moving slow, lightning will probably strike again in the same area. That was occurring at the time I took this photo. Also, it reinforces the fact that you should not believe the adage that lightning does not striking twice!

Here are some things to consider:

1) You will need slow film such as Velvia, along with polarizers or neutral density filters to keep the shutter speeds between 1/4th and 1/8th of a second.

2) The trigger detects the infra-red flash of lightning from a sensor inside the case: it does not look thru the camera lens. The IR flash of cloud-to-cloud lightning, or cloud to ground lightning outside the field of view of the lens will trip the shutter. You will go thru film, or bits if you are digital!

3) Overall the device is reliable and quite sensitive. The only problem I have with the design is it would be nice to have two LEDs on the case: one would function as a power-on/battery condition indicator; and one would flash when the shutter is tripped.


Bill