Capturing Lightning

It's amazing how a vacation designed to be all about relaxing and doing nothing has such little free time. And there has been very little time for photography. But late afternoon thunderstorms that appeared across the Everglades slowly worked their way out to sea last night, creating a great opportunity to attempt to capture lightning out over the ocean. Having never really tried to catch lighting bolts, I was apprehensive and unsure of a technique. While I got lucky with a couple of great captures, I was dissappointed to find out that my focus was ever-so-slightly off.



This shot was taken on a tripod at f3.5. I triggered the shot with a shutter release and the shutter was open for 3:55. If you look closely, you will notice several tiny streaks in the top righthand corner of the frame. Those are stars revealed by the retreating storms that blurred with the long shutter. A near miss at best, it leaves me with another lesson learned and another opportunity to wonder "what if". But with luck, Mother Nature will give me another chance or two while I am here.