NIKON D70 - 126/5 sec, f14 at 50mm
Today the weather forecast was for heavy rain and thunder late in the afternoon. That was a bit hard to believe given how sunny it was this morning. But for a change the Met Service was right. There was (very) heavy rain, and just as I got home there was a nice lightning display out over Rangitoto Island.
I yelled to the kids to come look. I grabbed a jacket, the tripod, an umbrella and the camera and ran across the road to a good vantage point.
As we were running, Sarah was worried about the metal in her jacket zip. Then she was concerned about the metal in my jacket zip. And then she told me, "I've taken my earrings off, just in case the lightning gets me".
I had to laugh at her, thinking how little metal there was in her earrings, compared to how much there was in the tripod and the umbrella I was carrying.
The Photo
In theory, this should have been an easy shot. Set the camera to bulb, open the shutter, wait for lightning, close the shutter and think smugly what a clever bastard I am. Reality was a different matter. Judging how long I could keep the shutter open combined with having it open and a flash of lightning happening at the same time was tricky stuff indeed.
And in my haste, I forgot the basics of proper focus. Never mind.
But I'm pleased with the shot I managed to get. I'm even more pleased I wasn't hit by a bolt from the sky through the tripod and even happier Sarah's ears are lightning free.
Daniel - Wednesday, 4 July, 2007 19:33
Dave - Wednesday, 4 July, 2007 19:36
Scott - Wednesday, 4 July, 2007 19:58
Dave - Wednesday, 4 July, 2007 20:04
Rik - Wednesday, 4 July, 2007 20:53
Glen - Thursday, 5 July, 2007 22:46
Ben - Thursday, 5 July, 2007 23:11
Nova - Thursday, 5 July, 2007 23:50