Lightning Photography (Super Cheap)

This is so cheap and easy, it's nearly cheesy.
This will show you how to reliably photograph lightning for under 3 dollars.

Step 1: Professional Lightning Photography

Lightning photography is some of the most impressive natural/landscape photography there is. Most photographers use high-end cameras with adjustable f-stops, special films, a nice tripod, and a cable shutter release. These are all well and good but even the film is out of my price range.

So first, buy yourself a disposable camera. I used a 1000 speed "high action" camera (because it was the cheapest at ~$2.30) and the results seem to hint that a slower speed would work better (those that developed were flooded with light) and I'll tell you how it goes.

RESULTS: the picture in the Intro was taken with a 400 speed camera. Worked great, especially since the photo was taken at dusk.

A word of warning: After experimenting with Kodak disposables, I've found they don't work the same way. They use a spring trigger, which doesn't fit the following steps. I'd stick with fujifilm (plus, they are generally cheaper)

Comments

[Rishnai]

I noticed that a lot of the lighting photos in this instructable have a lot of grain in the darker areas. I wonder if that's an artifact of the time you're holding it open, your scanner, or the film itself? I think I'll try this with my film SLR (the hold-open-until-lightning, not the open-and-tie-strings-in-it) method and see if I can get something, since it has an option for keeping the shutter open as long as I hold the button.

[sconner1]

What a great idea! It makes me hate disposables just a little less.
Even though they have cruddy film and cruddy lenses, this is a great idea for doing long exposures without an expensive camera setup.
It would probably help to pick a disposable cam with a slow film to minimize the overexposure graininess.
If the camera advertises that it's good for action shots or sports, then it's fast film.
Look for the ones for indoors or low light situations to get slower film.
After that you're pretty much limited by the quality of the film the disposable was loaded with.
One could take the artist's attitude and claim you worked hard to achieve that "effect". ;)

[aidanjarosgrilli]

You can set a dslr on to bulb, which holds the shutter open as long as you want and you can set the sensitivity and apreture.

[altomic]

So how do I generate the lightening?

[coolbuddyv]

really nice question :D

[jwoo2023]

If you have a sticker on your camera, take it off! you might find something interesting... a USB socket to connect to your computer! well on mine it did

[samhutto]

I used my Sony H-50 (before I bought the a300 dslr) and took around 1000 pictures of lightning one night. These turned out the best, just on continuous shoot mode.

[wat.]

Wicked!

[Sodium_Benzoate]

samhutto, wth kind of lighting is that on the top right (kinda purple tinge) its like a column instead of a bolt... >.<

[Boy1er1990]

Another way... Bulb funtion on your Canon 40d :P

[Rishnai]

Fuli also has a much better dark-tone variation response than Kodak, and the blues are a little richer, although greens are a little flat. So for lightning, even if you're using individual rolls and it cost a bit more, Fuji is the ticket. Kodak has good browns and okay reds, though, so I'll use that for, say, dirt-track races.

[LinuxH4x0r]

Canon A75 3.2 mp digital 3 out of 130 - got to love digital!

[Shifrin]

Those are some really nice photos, you can sell them for big $! ~Shifrin

[LinuxH4x0r]

You really think so!? Where? To who? Thanks!

[Crusty_07]

Do a search for photo stock on google and add them to one of those sites. They pay you for any people that want to use your photo for commercial uses.

Big Stock Photo is a good one.

[LinuxH4x0r]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[Trebawa]

I know nothing about this, but I guess you could try a stock photo site.

[Shifrin]

Well, I don't know exactly, but that can be put into a book, do your research... Good Luck! ~Shifrin

[Xial]

In regards to film development and disposable cameras (Mostly, regarding Step 2), I'd like to suggest that rather than bothering to reassemble the camera, simply take the roll of film out of the thing once you've burned off all the shots (The film retracts into the roll once it's completed and properly wound. Also, enterprising users might even know how to reload the disposable camera and/or have the equipment to do so), put it in a film tube, and drop it off at your local/internet photo developer. The rolls in those cameras have the speed printed on them.

As it was, when I was developing film in my old job, all we did with the disposables is tear 'em apart, load the film into the machine, and whack the camera to pop out the battery to spook our coworkers with a sudden flash as well as discharge that building charge.

[denilsonsa]

A tripod is one of the best things I bought for my camera. Wait, it is the best thing I bought for my camera! I think everybody should have one. Even the cheap and small tripods many times give better pictures (less blurry) than when just holding the camera. I wonder if your photos could have been better with a tripod.

[graphak]

anybody know if the cheap disposables even have threads for a tripod?

[gschoppe]

epoxy a fine threaded nut to a C-clamp, and use it to hold non tripod cameras

[Shifrin]

Yeah, this is really cool! i'd love to try it, but I think i'm just going to use my fathers cannon powershot! it would be much easier on my side... The photos you took were cool but not as clear... ~Shifrin

[Ribs]

by exposure time do you mean ISO / ASA?

[tcabeen]

On the high end SLRs, this is often called "bulb" where the shutter is open until you release the shutter button (or press it again, depending on model) Your 400 speed film is definitely going to yield better results than the 1000 (which will be grainier) I shot some lightning with a midrange digital point&shoot, but that was all luck. I put it on an 8sec shutter and pressed the button again every time it finished. Out of 10 exposures, I got 3 or 4 good shots, and 1 great one. It was the FL Keys, though, where storms can get pretty electric. :) Love the bit about ripping apart disposable cameras. Kudos.

[static]

Around here the good light shows don't start until it's good and dark out. I would guess the open shutter technique should work OK, not great, but OK. Has to be better than exposing my Minolta SLR to the elements. I'll have to pick up a disposable to hot rod and try this. Only if I would have found this before the "season " is ending.

[dannosliwcd]

You can try with a digital camera (or a film SLR, but then you can't delete bad photos) by using a shutter priority (Usually S grouped with options P, A, and M) or night photography (if you have a choice between night landscape and night portrait, choose landscape so it focuses better) mode. When using shutter priority mode, you can choose the shutter speed and the camera out all the other settings for your photo. Try using a shutter that stays open for at least 2 seconds (take some test photos to find the longest possible time you can keep it opened without having a washed-out photo). Then just point your camera in the direction of the storm and take preemptive shots. If your camera has a "last burst" mode, try using that. Last burst modes allow you to take many photographs in succession without a long pause in between, just hold down the shutter button. For example, I think the last burst mode on my camera can take up to 30-some photos without resting, and it just keeps the last 5. By doing that, I can hold down the shutter until I get some lightning then let go after it strikes. If your camera has a time-lapse option (mine doesn't, but my sister's does), then you can just tell your camera to take a set number of photos with a set time to wait between photos. That way you can just point your camera in the direction of the storm and let it do its thing. Come back when it's done and check the photos it took for one with lighting. Remember to keep your camera dry (unless it's waterproof) and don't leave it outside if it can get blown away by the storm or stolen by some random passer-by.

[RedRussian]

Did you try waiting until you heard the thunder before opening the shutter or not? That should minimize exposure time and net you a clearer picture. This of course will only work if the storm is far enough away that there is a noticible gap between the thunder and lightning of a strike.

[O_Kodama]

That probably wouldn't work all that great because light travels faster than sound so when you pull the string the lightning is already gone.

[Crash2108]

If you have a digital camera, you should be able to set the exposure time, too.

[joejoerowley]

That is really cool!!

[knexer1]

Very cool! My parents have a camera with a cable shutter release, and a tripod so the pictures that you can take with that are really cool, but expensive, so that makes yours better.