NikonGear'23
Images => Themes, Portfolio Series, PaW, or PaM => Topic started by: Akira on August 22, 2020, 12:51:44
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Please share your lightning shots here!
These were shot on Aug. 22, 2020 in Tokyo.
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Very nice set for starting a new theme! Brilliant 8)
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Literally brilliant :)...
Especially like how the lightening lights the clouds...
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Lightning is a fascinating Nature Show. It can also be extremely dangerous.
Many years ago, in the film(!) era, I witnessed a spectacular thunderstorm arriving on the southern coast of Norway. Despite the pelting rain I went out on a small hill to get a perfect vantage point for my F2T with 25-50 Nikkor, and fired away. What I didn't notice as I was occupied looking into the finder was the storm front split up and one section made landfall outside my main viewing angle. All of a sudden the lightning bolt struck and splintered the pine tree (left side of photo) just 2-3 m away. This was such a momentary overload of my senses that I simply went blind and deaf. I slithered prone on the ground towards the summer cabin and left the camera on its tripod. All efforts were directed towards getting out of the danger zone. My eyesight returned during the next day, but I was deaf on one ear for months and still these many years later haven't fully recovered normal hearing.
I dried out the camera and the lens, and removed the film which still was dry. Afterwards it turned out that the blast of light had been so intense as to overexpose the film inside the camera to make it just a clear backing, except for the first 2-3 frames (I had shot about 35 frames at the time the lightning struck). So here it is.
Of course I paid for my carelessness in standing on the highest point ... thus no more shooting of lightning unless I'm indoors. A lesson to be remembered.
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Very nice set for starting a new theme! Brilliant 8)
Erik, thank you for the encouragement!
Literally brilliant :)...
Especially like how the lightening lights the clouds...
Thank you, Ashlandish! Glad you like it.
Lightning is a fascinating Nature Show. It can also be extremely dangerous.
Many years ago, in the film(!) era, I witnessed a spectacular thunderstorm arriving on the southern coast of Norway. Despite the pelting rain I went out on a small hill to get a perfect vantage point for my F2T with 25-50 Nikkor, and fired away. What I didn't notice as I was occupied looking into the finder was the storm front split up and one section made landfall outside my main viewing angle. All of a sudden the lightning bolt struck and splintered the pine tree (left side of photo) just 2-3 m away. This was such a momentary overload of my senses that I simply went blind and deaf. I slithered prone on the ground towards the summer cabin and left the camera on its tripod. All efforts were directed towards getting out of the danger zone. My eyesight returned during the next day, but I was deaf on one ear for months and still these many years later haven't fully recovered normal hearing.
I dried out the camera and the lens, and removed the film which still was dry. Afterwards it turned out that the blast of light had been so intense as to overexpose the film inside the camera to make it just a clear backing, except for the first 2-3 frames (I had shot about 35 frames at the time the lightning struck). So here it is.
Of course I paid for my carelessness in standing on the highest point ... thus no more shooting of lightning unless I'm indoors. A lesson to be remembered.
Birna, maybe I remember you mentioned your scary experience a couple of times here, but this should be the first time you've shared the image from it. Ironically, the lightning image seems to be the most impressive when the experience is the most scary...
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These additional images were posted here in the past, but now that I've started this dedicated thread, I hope I'm allowed to post them here.
These were shot in August 2018 using my D750. At that time, I shot an HD video at 30fps in order to capture the lightnings flashing randomly. So, the resolution of these images are anly 2MP.
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These were shot in September 2019 using Fuji X-E3. This was the first time I applied the method I had used to shoot fireworks: 20-30 second exposures with ISO set to the minimum (100 in this case). The lens (Zeiss Touit 32mm/f1.8 ) was stopped down at f5.6. So, the image quality was significantly better than the extracted JPEG frames from an HD video shot at ISO 6400.
During the shooting, the cumulonimbus was tens of kilometers away, so there was no danger.
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These are the most recent ones shot with Sigma fp with the kit lens 45mm/f2.8.
The first two images were shot in May 2020, and the last one, in July. The lightning of the last image was so bright that the original RAW file looked as if it was hopelessly overexposed. However, thanks to the Color Mode "OFF" setting that yields the straight-out-of-sensor data, I could recover the image very easily.
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Lots of impressive lightenings here!
Here is one with midnight sun, luckily cloud to cloud this time. The purple in the foreground is fireweeds following from lightening strikes and wildfires in the area a year or two before.
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Great thread Akira. Kudos to yourself, Birna, and Øivind.
Anyone from Singapore here? Their light shows are most impressive.
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Spectacular views!
Akira: the Sigma FP seems like a very capable camera.
Birna: that must have been terrifying. Nature can be beautiful (as your photo shows) but also very dangerous. I am glad you survived.
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---. I am glad you survived.
That makes two of us :)
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Lightning is a fascinating Nature Show. It can also be extremely dangerous.
Many years ago, in the film(!) era, I witnessed a spectacular thunderstorm arriving on the southern coast of Norway. Despite the pelting rain I went out on a small hill to get a perfect vantage point for my F2T with 25-50 Nikkor, and fired away. What I didn't notice as I was occupied looking into the finder was the storm front split up and one section made landfall outside my main viewing angle. All of a sudden the lightning bolt struck and splintered the pine tree (left side of photo) just 2-3 m away. This was such a momentary overload of my senses that I simply went blind and deaf. I slithered prone on the ground towards the summer cabin and left the camera on its tripod. All efforts were directed towards getting out of the danger zone. My eyesight returned during the next day, but I was deaf on one ear for months and still these many years later haven't fully recovered normal hearing.
I dried out the camera and the lens, and removed the film which still was dry. Afterwards it turned out that the blast of light had been so intense as to overexpose the film inside the camera to make it just a clear backing, except for the first 2-3 frames (I had shot about 35 frames at the time the lightning struck). So here it is.
Of course I paid for my carelessness in standing on the highest point ... thus no more shooting of lightning unless I'm indoors. A lesson to be remembered.
Shocking!
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Lots of impressive lightenings here!
Here is one with midnight sun, luckily cloud to cloud this time. The purple in the foreground is fireweeds following from lightening strikes and wildfires in the area a year or two before.
This is a very dramatic image! Thank you for sharing, Øivind!
Great thread Akira. Kudos to yourself, Birna, and Øivind.
Anyone from Singapore here? Their light shows are most impressive.
Thank you, Hugh!
Spectacular views!
Akira: the Sigma FP seems like a very capable camera.
Thank you, Peter! Unlike the mainstream types of the cameras of other manufacturers, the fp is not an all-rounder. But it serves me my shooting style very well. It lacks a subtraction long-exposure noise reduction, but I haven't experienced any stuck pixel issue caused by the heat and I don't need to wait for the processing and keep shooting at the shutter speed set to 30 sec.
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This is from 3 yrs ago in Puerto Vallarta, shot from indoors I think we were on the 10th floor, at one of the nicest airbnb I've ever been
Composite of 3 images
Impressive story Birna !
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This is from 3 yrs ago in Puerto Vallarta, shot from indoors I think we were on the 10th floor, at one of the nicest airbnb I've ever been
Composite of 3 images
Impressive story Birna !
Great thread and stories!
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This is from 3 yrs ago in Puerto Vallarta, shot from indoors I think we were on the 10th floor, at one of the nicest airbnb I've ever been
Composite of 3 images
Thank you, Armando, for sharing your take! This looks spectacular. The composite looks interesting, and I may want to try it myself, too!
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Today's lightning roughly 150km away from my place.
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My latest capture.
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My very modest contribution, beginning August.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52266969833_cd9286f7f5_b.jpg)
(https://www.flickr.com/gp/110731726@N07/4VP0SG5REJ)_8529360.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/110731726@N07/4VP0SG5REJ)
Nikon D850 + vintage UD Nikkor 20mm f/3.5
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My very modest contribution, beginning August.
Nikon D850 + vintage UD Nikkor 20mm f/3.5
It is very tiring just to capture the lightning simply in a frame. How often do you have thunder roar and lighting in Switzerland?
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I am deeply impressed by all the images in this theme. Hats off to all the contributors!
My best images of lightning are seared into my brain. Maybe 40 years ago, drifting somewhere on the Zaire river in a dugout canoe. A panoramic vista of storms and lightning. No thought given to the danger of my situation - but also the reality that there was no possible way out :-)
Some of these images bring back that feeling of awe, so keep ‘em coming!
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I am deeply impressed by all the images in this theme. Hats off to all the contributors!
My best images of lightning are seared into my brain. Maybe 40 years ago, drifting somewhere on the Zaire river in a dugout canoe. A panoramic vista of storms and lightning. No thought given to the danger of my situation - but also the reality that there was no possible way out :-)
Some of these images bring back that feeling of awe, so keep ‘em coming!
Thank you for the compliment and encouragement. The view you witnessed on the Zaire river should be spectacular.
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It is very tiring just to capture the lightning simply in a frame. How often do you have thunder roar and lighting in Switzerland?
Quite (more) often: I’m living between a big lake and reasonable high mountains. But I’m an absolute beginner. Taken benefit of the summer recess in the racing car competition season. Just 60 minutes spray and pray in the hope to catch one (1) lightning i.e. it was daylight so to lengthen the maximum exposure time: ISO 32; f/22; polarizer used as ND filter; 3s exposure; and putting interval timer at 4s for an hour.
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Quite (more) often: I’m living between a big lake and reasonable high mountains. But I’m an absolute beginner. Taken benefit of the summer recess in the racing car competition season. Just 60 minutes spray and pray in the hope to catch one (1) lightning i.e. it was daylight so to lengthen the maximum exposure time: ISO 32; f/22; polarizer used as ND filter; 3s exposure; and putting interval timer at 4s for an hour.
Thank you for the details of your natural environment and technical data. So, you seem to have quite a few opportunities to shoot lightnings, so long as you can spare time for that. I haven't thought about the use of the interval timer. :o A good idea and point! I typically set the camera to expose for 30 sec. and the lens to f11. I recently bought an ND64 filter for the shooting lightnings during the daytime.
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Hi Akira. My “ inventiveness” comes from the fact that I don’t possess ND filters >:( I also looked up the average duration of a lightning which appears to be around 0.2s with the longest noted at 7.74s.
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Hi Akira. My “ inventiveness” comes from the fact that I don’t possess ND filters >:( I also looked up the average duration of a lightning which appears to be around 0.2s with the longest noted at 7.74s.
Christian, yes, I understood your trick. :)
What do you mean by "duration"? Do you mean the interval between the flash of the lightning and the thunder roar you hear?
By the way, there is an interesting camera accessory that help capturing lightnings:
http://mkcontrols.com/lightningbug/
The explanation of the way it works is interesting.
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Christian, yes, I understood your trick. :)
What do you mean by "duration"? Do you mean the interval between the flash of the lightning and the thunder roar you hear?
By the way, there is an interesting camera accessory that help capturing lightnings:
http://mkcontrols.com/lightningbug/
The explanation of the way it works is interesting.
Duration: the time the lightning lasts.
Interesting. Will read through. But for the time being, I will use my (cheap) method, which is not too volume consuming too ie 20 images per minute (every 3 seconds by reducing the interval too zero) or 1200 images to cover one (1) hour.
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Duration: the time the lightning lasts.
Interesting. Will read through. But for the time being, I will use my (cheap) method, which is not too volume consuming too ie 20 images per minute (every 3 seconds by reducing the interval too zero) or 1200 images to cover one (1) hour.
The lightning lasting as long as 7.74sec is unbelievable, as the lightning observed in here in Tokyo only flash sporadically. Hence 30sec. exposure for each frame.
I just have been dreaming of the accessory, simply because Sigma fp I'm using now doesn't have any hotshoe to mount it. LOL Also, the 30sec. exposure method works quite satisfactorily to me.
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Apparently this record of 7.74s (France, 30 August 2021) has been surpassed by one in the north of Argentina (4 March 2019) of 16.73s !
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This evening thunderstorm (Wallis, CH).
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52341309239_306a8e9834_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nKdTGc)
_8529565.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2nKdTGc)
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Nice shot, the mountain storm reminds me of Mordor!
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Nice shot, the mountain storm reminds me of Mordor!
But which Mordor? It’s become a controversial point these days.
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But which Mordor? It’s become a controversial point these days.
I'm stumped, I thought there was only one. I must add it's been a while since I've delved into my Tolkien troves.
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I'm stumped, I thought there was only one. I must add it's been a while since I've delved into my Tolkien troves.
Amazon Prime … very controversial!
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Nice shot, the mountain storm reminds me of Mordor!
Thx Tom :). I was lucky: I programmed the camera for 1 hour of 5s shots (1200 shots), but I got this one, only after a dozen of clicks. Taken with the D850 and my antiquated Nikkor UD 20mm f/3.5.
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I live in a quite good area (blue cercle) for encountering light strikes (mountains, Geneva lake, water); the best area being in the south (Ticino) where you have the Swiss-Italian lakes.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52331827462_12a07bba5d.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nJoi6h)
Lightning strikes Switzerland (https://flic.kr/p/2nJoi6h)
Number of lightning strikes air to ground, per annum, per square kilometer. You have to multiply this figure by x3 to take into account the air-to-air strikes. Source: MeteoSwiss
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This evening thunderstorm (Wallis, CH).
Sorry for my belated reply. This is truly spectacular image! Thank you for sharing.
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This was shot about 25 minutes after the sunset.
This is my first lightning image I've ever shot while the clouds were still reflecting fair amount of sunlight. It was very challenging.
Shot with Sigma fp @ISO100 with Ai Micro Nikkor 55/3.5 @f16 with an ND64 filter.
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Nice image Akira -reward for effort. ;D
This was shot about 25 minutes after the sunset.
This is my first lightning image I've ever shot while the clouds were still reflecting fair amount of sunlight. It was very challenging.
Shot with Sigma fp @ISO100 with Ai Micro Nikkor 55/3.5 @f16 with an ND64 filter.
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Nice image Akira -reward for effort. ;D
Thank you, Hugh!
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Sorry for my belated reply. This is truly spectacular image! Thank you for sharing.
Thx Akira-san :)
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This is not a picture post, but maybe it will help those on the hunt for lightning:
https://www.blitzortung.org/de/live_lightning_maps.php?map=10 (https://www.blitzortung.org/de/live_lightning_maps.php?map=10)
and the related project
https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0; (https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;)
Helpful when in the great outdoors anyway.
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This is not a picture post, but maybe it will help those on the hunt for lightning:
https://www.blitzortung.org/de/live_lightning_maps.php?map=10 (https://www.blitzortung.org/de/live_lightning_maps.php?map=10)
and the related project
https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0; (https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;)
Helpful when in the great outdoors anyway.
Wow, these are amazingly handy tool! I wish there's an international version.
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Wow, these are amazingly handy tool! I wish there's an international version.
There are different areas on the to top left to click on:
Overview (Übersicht)
Europa
Ozeanien
Nordamerika
Asien
Südamerika
Afrika
Japan
Kasachstan ...
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There are different areas on the to top left to click on:
Overview (Übersicht)
Europa
Ozeanien
Nordamerika
Asien
Südamerika
Afrika
Japan
Kasachstan ...
THank you! The site has been darkened, and I could only barely see what was happening there. For whatever reason, I could manage cookies and use the offered function. I bookmarked it!
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THank you! The site has been darkened, and I could only barely see what was happening there. For whatever reason, I could manage cookies and use the offered function. I bookmarked it!
recent screenshot - the website can be a bit bandtwidth consuming from time to time - depending on the weather and internet load.
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It has been very humid and hot today, well into the night. And the result was inevitable.
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Congratulations on the thunderous return of NG on the new server! :D
All images were shot on Oct. 25, 2023 in Tokyo.
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Excellent Akira :)
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Akira: I can almost hear the thunder claps!! awesome.
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Excellent Akira :)
Akira: I can almost hear the thunder claps!! awesome.
Thank you, Christian and Birna! Luckily this time, I could capture a fair amount of lightnings to choose from.
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+1
I find extra good the first one
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+1
I find extra good the first one
Thank you, Paco. The first one could have been the least cropped one, and thus the overall atmosphere was also captured well.
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Congratulations on the thunderous return of NG on the new server! :D
All images were shot on Oct. 25, 2023 in Tokyo.
Congrats on the impressive series Akira
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Congrats on the impressive series Akira
Thank you, Daniel!