My favorite Mt Rainier shot.

Tony S · 10-21-2009, 04:54 PM

Anyone remember the huge lightening storm on July 2, 2008 that lasted well into the morning of July 3. Well I went out to get some shots of my neighbors lighted flagpole after my wife went to bed (she's spent time in Oklahoma so there was no way she was letting me outside in the storm, so I had to wait lol). I got my flagpole shots, but then thought I could get some foothills shots over the Town of Eatonville. Soon you could see a little snow on the lower mountain and I got a few shots of that thinking that was cool.
But then short time later as the back side of the storm passed lighting struck over the mountain with bolts that went down on the east side, almost looking like they were going into the crater... the mountain was clear and the lighting appeared to be over it. I found myself almost giddy for the first time taking pictures, hoping like heck I got somewhat of a shot. Then "pow" , it happened again...... and then a third time. It was awesome. I was making setting adjustments on the fly, hoping something would come out. I think I got really lucky.
I've lived here my whole life and never has lightening and Mt Rainier been visible at the same time. Many of the old timers here in town have told me they've never seen such a sight (nor did they that night, it all happened after 12:45 AM).

OK... enough of my story. Now the pics.

On this one in the print the bolts of lightening in the highlihgts are visible...

For the prints I cropped out alot of the dark areas and made them into panoramic gallery wraps that came out great.

benttop · 10-21-2009, 05:54 PM

Wow! I'm always saying, how many shots of Mt. Rainier can a guy have? But I don't have any like these! Excellent work!

jezterr · 10-21-2009, 06:21 PM

nice catch.

JWPhoto · 10-21-2009, 08:54 PM

do you mind telling us what your settings were? do you just leave it on bulb until the lightning happened?

plummy · 10-21-2009, 10:56 PM

crazy

Tony S · 10-22-2009, 01:03 AM

Here's the exposure info on the first one.

Exposure Time = 6"
F Number = F8
Exposure Program = 9
ISO Speed Ratings = 3200

Held the shutter down in bulb mode until I saw the lightening bolt appear, then released it. Set the focus by flashlight with the hyperfocal markings on the lens. There were several times that I held the shutter and nothing happened, but it was worth the wait.
My wife gave me hell for going out into the storm, but I told her it was ok that I wore my aluminum foil lightening proof cap... at least it kept the aliens from talking to me that night.

One of the shots of the foothills over town before the mountain cleared off...

one of the better lightening shots, but somehow I ,moved the camera and only got part of the neighbor's flag I was after in the picture also...

The #1 Dad · 10-22-2009, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony S

Set the focus by flashlight with the hyperfocal markings on the lens.

could you explain more about this please?

Tony S · 10-22-2009, 09:49 PM

I suck at explaining technical stuff, but here's my attampt and then a link to something better.
The hyperfocal marking on a lens is a focus setting where things will be in focus from a certain distance out to infinity. I find it really useful for distant scenics where the autofocus will sometimes fail , you are trying to get a certain area in focus, or shots like the ones above where you cannot see the subject to focus on because it's not lit at the time. I seldom use the shorter settings because I am not good at estimating distances and auto focus works better at these distances anyways.

On Canon lenses it's marked along with the focal lengths as a figure 8 on it's side (infinity sign) and a line to mark where the setting is against another on the barrel of the lens.

I think this is a good explanation at this link...
http://www.revellphotography.com/blog/?p=726

I hope this helps explain it better.

If you have an I-Phone there's an app that has the calculator for it...
http://hfd.lightoncanvas.com/index.html

10-21-2009, 06:21 PM	#3
jezterr Moderator Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: a cesspit. Posts: 854 My Camera: disposable	nice catch. __________________ photos.juniormonkey.com \| www.juniormonkey.com

10-22-2009, 01:03 AM	#6
Tony S Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 140	Here's the exposure info on the first one. Exposure Time = 6" F Number = F8 Exposure Program = 9 ISO Speed Ratings = 3200 Held the shutter down in bulb mode until I saw the lightening bolt appear, then released it. Set the focus by flashlight with the hyperfocal markings on the lens. There were several times that I held the shutter and nothing happened, but it was worth the wait. My wife gave me hell for going out into the storm, but I told her it was ok that I wore my aluminum foil lightening proof cap... at least it kept the aliens from talking to me that night. One of the shots of the foothills over town before the mountain cleared off... one of the better lightening shots, but somehow I ,moved the camera and only got part of the neighbor's flag I was after in the picture also... Sorry about the © on them, that's the way I have them stored online. Last edited by Tony S; 10-22-2009 at 01:08 AM.

10-22-2009, 09:49 PM	#8
Tony S Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 140	I suck at explaining technical stuff, but here's my attampt and then a link to something better. The hyperfocal marking on a lens is a focus setting where things will be in focus from a certain distance out to infinity. I find it really useful for distant scenics where the autofocus will sometimes fail , you are trying to get a certain area in focus, or shots like the ones above where you cannot see the subject to focus on because it's not lit at the time. I seldom use the shorter settings because I am not good at estimating distances and auto focus works better at these distances anyways. On Canon lenses it's marked along with the focal lengths as a figure 8 on it's side (infinity sign) and a line to mark where the setting is against another on the barrel of the lens. I think this is a good explanation at this link... http://www.revellphotography.com/blog/?p=726 I hope this helps explain it better. If you have an I-Phone there's an app that has the calculator for it... http://hfd.lightoncanvas.com/index.html Last edited by Tony S; 10-22-2009 at 10:01 PM. Reason: Added I-Phone application link

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10-21-2009, 04:54 PM	#1
Tony S Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 140	My favorite Mt Rainier shot. Anyone remember the huge lightening storm on July 2, 2008 that lasted well into the morning of July 3. Well I went out to get some shots of my neighbors lighted flagpole after my wife went to bed (she's spent time in Oklahoma so there was no way she was letting me outside in the storm, so I had to wait lol). I got my flagpole shots, but then thought I could get some foothills shots over the Town of Eatonville. Soon you could see a little snow on the lower mountain and I got a few shots of that thinking that was cool. But then short time later as the back side of the storm passed lighting struck over the mountain with bolts that went down on the east side, almost looking like they were going into the crater... the mountain was clear and the lighting appeared to be over it. I found myself almost giddy for the first time taking pictures, hoping like heck I got somewhat of a shot. Then "pow" , it happened again...... and then a third time. It was awesome. I was making setting adjustments on the fly, hoping something would come out. I think I got really lucky. I've lived here my whole life and never has lightening and Mt Rainier been visible at the same time. Many of the old timers here in town have told me they've never seen such a sight (nor did they that night, it all happened after 12:45 AM). OK... enough of my story. Now the pics. On this one in the print the bolts of lightening in the highlihgts are visible... For the prints I cropped out alot of the dark areas and made them into panoramic gallery wraps that came out great. Last edited by Tony S; 10-21-2009 at 04:57 PM.

10-21-2009, 05:54 PM	#2
benttop Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 88	Wow! I'm always saying, how many shots of Mt. Rainier can a guy have? But I don't have any like these! Excellent work!

10-21-2009, 08:54 PM	#4
JWPhoto Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Mountlake Terrace Posts: 295 My Camera: Canon 5d mark II	do you mind telling us what your settings were? do you just leave it on bulb until the lightning happened?

10-21-2009, 10:56 PM	#5
plummy Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Pooptown Posts: 375 My Camera: one pixel of awesome	crazy