Stormy Weather…

Stormy weather provides wonderful opportunities for the photographer. You can capture dramatic cloud formations and fantastic lightning! This scene was photographed from the top deck of the St. Petersburg Pier during a lightning storm. It was beautiful to watch from afar.

Want to try to photograph lightning this summer? You’ll need a safe location, tripod, cable release and the bulb setting on your camera. Manual focus, (so the camera isn’t trying to autofocus for each shot). You can also use a Lightning Trigger, which works great for this purpose. At that moment, my Lightning Trigger was over the bridge and in my car, near that bolt of lightning. I decided to do it the old fashioned way, by using the bulb setting to expose for the length of time needed. I used a 24-70mm lens, allowing about 60 seconds for the sky paint the picture. Exposure times vary depending on light conditions. Experiment with a few settings to see what works best. Be safe and have fun shooting!