a bolt out of the blue
We photograph light. Weather makes light interesting and attractive to us as landscape photographers. A passing storm is the big dance for me. That's were the event takes place and the fun is to be had. It's the end result of a lot of planning and if all goes right, it's everything you'd hoped for.
A blue sky day is the invitation to that dance. It's the chance to practice those steps, learn the manners and customs and do the day dreaming of the day to come. it's the preparation. The equipment is the what to wear. You go through all the wardrobe and maybe even get something new to go with the ensemble you'll present yourself in. You put it on and take it off many, many times before the big day. Now all that is needed is directions and transportation. In my case, f-8 and be there!
On our recent f-8 and be there workshop in Death Valley I found myself suddenly at the big dance! As we prepared to photograph a sunset high above the valley floor an ominous thunder storm made it's approach. I've had what Stepping Stone Productions calls The Lightening Trigger for a number of years. It's a little device that knows when a bolt is in the air and triggers the camera. It's small and I have it in my kit at all times. The biggest burden is to have a nine volt battery that has not gone dead in the trigger in between uses. Which in my case can be years! I enjoy using this tool but have to admit that the opportunity to use it along with the success rate when I have, have produced only a few really good images.
It's the kind of tool one dreams of using but forgets completely when there is not the opportunity for it. While the group watched, one called out to me questioning if I indeed had my lightning trigger with me. I did and with it a fresh battery at that. The Big Dance was on!
I first went back to "dance with the one that brung ya", meaning that I found that blue sky composition. The one that I would have shot no matter what the weather situation. I made as strong a composition as I could that still had the storm in it. I then made that composition as wide as possible to increase the chances of getting a lightning bolt in the frame. It's a compromise that I have found must be made. Too tight a frame and I usually end up with very little or nothing at all. Too wide and the entire composition may not be worth the effort or the bolt itself too small to see.
Mounting the trigger on the hot shoe and then the cord from it to the remote release of the Canon 1Ds, I then set the focus and made sure the auto focus was off. You don't want the camera to do anything but open the shutter when released. I set the shutter speed to one eighth of a second (a quarter works also) and set the aperture at the corresponding setting to give me an exposure that had been predetermined before attaching the trigger.
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By firing the lightening trigger with a flash unit, I was able to capture the moment of best light without having to change the camera setup or settings since I manually set the camera for the proper exposure. |
As is the case in the image above, I would have liked to pick the moment and the frame that the lightning appeared. I did not have that luxury. As the storm passed the camera fired a half dozen or so frames but only one strike was recorded.
In previous situations like this one I have set up another camera and continued to shoot while the camera with the trigger waited and hopefully shot lightning. I did not see the need for this since I thought that I already had nice compositions shot prior to this point. Instead I brought out my flash unit and when I thought I wanted a frame, I simply fired the flash which in turn fired the camera.
As the storm raced through, the camera fired several times on it's own. I did see some of them, however the top image was an exception. My gaze was elsewhere when this huge burst occurred. Someone asked if I saw it and I replied I did not but I think the camera might have. It did! And now I do also!
Being prepared when opportunity arises is what some call luck! I was fortunate to have received my invitation in the form of the workshop and then to have made my way to the big dance. When I got there it rocked, I rolled and I now begin the fine memory of that day when I got that bolt out of the blue.
Other images from the f-8 and be there Death Valley Spring Workshop.
Your comments are always welcome. f8andbethere@cableone.net