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Zeus’s Fury and Lightning in Chiang Mai ~ Thailand

Zeus's Fury and Lightning in Chiang Mai ~ Thailand

Well, Holy Lightning Batman!

As I’m writing, there’s another thunderstorm passing over Chiang Mai in Thailand. It’s actually more of a lightning show than rain.
My wife warned me there was a storm approaching in the horizon. So I grabbed my camera and my tripod, set it in a dry spot, pointed the camera towards a clutter-free area, set the exposure and focus and started taking shots.

This particular one was so fast and bright that I just saw a flash and didn’t notice the lightning until it appeared on my screen.

Some of you asked me what settings I use to capture lightning, so I’ll share them with you. But first of all, don’t believe any Fauxtographer that claims they capture lightning by pressing the shutter at the “exact moment”. That’s impossible.
To capture lightning, you just need a lot of patience. Set your exposure to several seconds and keep taking shot after shot.

The settings I usually use at night are: 20s shutter speed, ISO 100 and f/8. I sometimes adjust and decrease the exposure when it’s a little too bright.

Here’s another shot I took a few weeks ago and converted to B&W.

Enjoy.

Lightning over Chiang Mai in monochrome.

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Posted on Friday, May 25th, 2012 at 22:58. Filed under: Blog, Photography, Thailand Tags: , , , , , RSS 2.0 feed.

  • http://www.MyBeautifulAdventures.com/ Andi Perullo

    My goodness these shots are TOO amazing!!!!!

    • http://www.canvas-of-light.com/ Daniel Nahabedian

      Thank you Andi :)

  • Dani

    Wow, what a great shot!! Love that photo.

    • http://www.canvas-of-light.com/ Daniel Nahabedian

      Thanks Dani! Yes I’m quite proud of this shot :)

  • http://idrinkmyteasweet.com/ Abhi

    Wow, beautiful! 

    • http://www.canvas-of-light.com/ Daniel Nahabedian

      Thanks!

  • http://www.shorttraveltips.com/ Vi @ Travel Tips

    Nice shots! How many pictures did took before you captured this one?

    • http://www.canvas-of-light.com/ Daniel Nahabedian

      Thanks!
      this one was probably my second shot of the night.. I took maybe about 30 more, most without anything and a couple not as impressive.

      • http://www.shorttraveltips.com/ Vi @ Travel Tips

         I think you are lucky :) Sometimes it is so hard predict where another strike will be.

  • Alex

    Just found your site and blog, and absolutely love it! Some of the best pictures I have ever seen! I grew up in Florida where we have lighting for what seems like every day! Can’t wait to try this myself. Great job!

    • http://www.canvas-of-light.com Daniel Nahabedian

      Thank you very much Alex!
      Good luck in your shots, it’s a great feeling when you manage to capture a beautiful one :)

  • http://whichhotel4me.com/ Spencer

    Great pictures! I’ll bet it was amazing to see it up close and personal.

  • http://www.chasingtheunexpected.com/ Angela

    Wow! Fantastic shots!

  • http://www.groundedtraveler.com Andrew

     Wow such impressive shots. I never have the patience to catch such things myself, so it makes looking at others all the more amazing. I remember a friend talking about a rig that did some sort of light sensor attached to the shutter, but it seems like it would still be too slow.

    Maybe I’ll get lucky some day on a lightning shot.

  • http://twitter.com/saporedicina Furio

    Hey Daniel, I bought a tripod after I read this article. Cannot wait to see what I can do.

    Thank you for sharing your tips!

    • http://www.canvas-of-light.com/ Daniel Nahabedian

      You’re welcome Furio. I always recommend people to have a tripod, even though it’s heavy and annoying to carry around.

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