Tobias Andrzejewski, a photographer and videographer from Luxembourg, provides some insight on how to capture lightning bolts.
As a web designer and videographer/photographer by profession, I have always been fascinated by nature photography. When I’m not working on projects, I pursue my passion for photography under the alias Kompott.
This passion led me to document one of the bigger thunderstorms Luxembourg has seen in a long time, on the night of August 13-14, 2024.
Looking at the radar from that day, you can see a lot of lightning bolts in the north of Luxembourg. I live in Asselborn, which is perfectly located at a higher altitude with a wide view around the horizon.
On this day, most weather apps were not expecting thunderstorms. Since weather apps are not very reliable locally, a thunderstorm formed anyway, so I did not have my camera ready for lightning shots and was not even at home.
Fortunately, I noticed that a thunderstorm was approaching. I was initially in Boxhorn, just a five-minute drive from my hometown, and when I saw some small lightning bolts, I borrowed my girlfriend's camera.
However, I soon realized that it was still too bright outside to capture a lightning bolt. To do this effectively, you need an ND filter (Neutral Density), which is essentially a pair of sunglasses for the camera lens. Since I did not have a suitable filter with me, I had to head home and get my Nikon Z6.
Back in Asselborn with all my equipment, I took my preferred lightning bolt shot using a long exposure setting. This technique involves exposing the sensor for a longer period, such as 5 seconds, to capture light. Given that lightning is very fast, a shutter speed slower than 1/60 is recommended, but this requires quick reactions and a longer duration of lightning.
Hence, I chose long exposure. A wireless shutter release is useful to avoid camera shake during the long exposure.
I used the widest focal length of my zoom lens. For the first 1–2 hours, I manually pressed the shutter every 5 seconds because the storm was moving fast, and I often changed positions, such as different windows. Later, as the storm progressed, I switched to interval timer shooting, programming my camera to take 100 shots every 5 seconds.
Afterward, I could review the images to see if I had captured anything. I closed the aperture further to have a wider focus range and turned off autofocus, as the camera cannot focus on something that is yet to appear.
In summary, it is crucial to be quick and adapt to the conditions. If you find a setting that works, stick with it; changing it might result in missed spectacular shots. Be prepared with enough storage, as shooting in RAW requires more space but offers greater flexibility for later adjustments. Always have spare batteries nearby, and most importantly, stay safe – never venture into an open field during a storm, no matter how beautiful the scene may seem.
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