Anita Evans" wrote in message
...
I've finally fulfilled a personal ambition to get a lightning photo -
sorry to all those who have been there and done that.

Anita,

I certainly haven't been there and done that, so well done!

Was it on long exposure, or incredible luck?


--
Ken Cook, Copley (5miles north of Barnard Castle), County Durham.
830ft
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/copley
(MO climat. site updated before 10Z and 19Z daily)
kencookATcopleydurham.freeserve.co.uk
(All times GMT)





---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.734 / Virus Database: 488 - Release Date: 04/08/04

I've finally fulfilled a personal ambition to get a lightning photo -
sorry to all those who have been there and done that.

Because of minimal compression for quality sake, I've posted the image
twice, once at 800 x 530....

http://home.clara.net/ra.evans/lightning/

and again at 1024 x 679, which is a hefty 361KB for those on broadband
or prepared to wait.

http://home.clara.net/ra.evans/lightning/bigimage.htm
--
Anita Evans
North Cumbria
(anita[at]ra.evans.clara.co.uk to reply by e-mail)

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 18:36:57 +0100, Anita Evans
wrote:

I've finally fulfilled a personal ambition to get a lightning photo -
sorry to all those who have been there and done that.

Excellent.

So why doesn't lightning take the shortest route?


--
Paul

I've finally fulfilled a personal ambition to get a lightning photo -
sorry to all those who have been there and done that.

Wow! That's quite a pic - well done you.

Anne

Anita

Thanks an excellant shot - tell exactly how you did it - I didnt even get my
camera out last night, didnt think I stood a chance, did you use a tripod ?


--
Paul Crabtree
Brampton N.E. Cumbria 117m ASL
Climatological Station 7076

http://www.bramptonweather.co.uk

In message , Ken Cook
writes
Was it on long exposure, or incredible luck?

Both - I used 4 films to get one good, and two not so good pictures!!
The camera was on a tripod, on bulb setting. Going by various
recommendations I kept the shutter open until I saw the lightning, then
I released it. I guessed at f11. Even though I tried to shelter, the
camera and me got very wet, and the most difficult thing of course was
trying to guess where the next bolt would be (hoping it wouldn't be too
close!). I feel stupid getting so excited about it, but that one photo
took a lot of time and cost me quite a bit too
--
Anita Evans
North Cumbria
(anita[at]ra.evans.clara.co.uk to reply by e-mail)

Nice one Anita. Next time set your digicam on as long an exposure time as
possible, point it in the general direction of the approaching TS, and hope.

Les

--
Les Crossan,
Wallsend, Tyne & Wear 55N 01-30W,
Home of the Wallsend Stormcam - http://www.uksevereweather.org.uk

"Anita Evans" wrote in message
...
I've finally fulfilled a personal ambition to get a lightning photo -
sorry to all those who have been there and done that.

Because of minimal compression for quality sake, I've posted the image
twice, once at 800 x 530....

http://home.clara.net/ra.evans/lightning/

and again at 1024 x 679, which is a hefty 361KB for those on broadband
or prepared to wait.

http://home.clara.net/ra.evans/lightning/bigimage.htm
--
Anita Evans
North Cumbria
(anita[at]ra.evans.clara.co.uk to reply by e-mail)


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.732 / Virus Database: 486 - Release Date: 29/07/2004

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 18:22:30 GMT, (Paul C) wrote:

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 18:36:57 +0100, Anita Evans
wrote:

I've finally fulfilled a personal ambition to get a lightning photo -
sorry to all those who have been there and done that.

Excellent.

So why doesn't lightning take the shortest route?

Probably due to fact that the air is not homogenous, with volumes of
varying resistivity, permittivity, electric field strength,
moisture/precipitation content among others. Also the lightning
discharge makes it's way from one charge concentration to another (or
to ground) in a jerky, stepwise fashion known as a stepped leader -
albeit very quickly and undetectable to the human eye. Sometimes a
single discharge is not enough to even out the charge concentrations
and further discharges will pass down the same, ionised channel. The
path taken is invariably chaotic and lightning shows that typical
chaotic "fractal" appearance.

I notice in Anita's picture evidence of slight camera movement,
showing up the "double" discharge in the upper flash. This camera
movement is used deliberately and to good effect in the following
shot:

http://www.nmt.edu/about/history/storms/image/p101.jpg


Martin

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 21:31:01 +0100, JPG wrote:

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 18:22:30 GMT, (Paul C) wrote:

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 18:36:57 +0100, Anita Evans
wrote:

I've finally fulfilled a personal ambition to get a lightning photo -
sorry to all those who have been there and done that.

Excellent.

So why doesn't lightning take the shortest route?

Probably due to fact that the air is not homogenous, with volumes of
varying resistivity, permittivity, electric field strength,
moisture/precipitation content among others. Also the lightning
discharge makes it's way from one charge concentration to another (or
to ground) in a jerky, stepwise fashion known as a stepped leader -
albeit very quickly and undetectable to the human eye. Sometimes a
single discharge is not enough to even out the charge concentrations
and further discharges will pass down the same, ionised channel. The
path taken is invariably chaotic and lightning shows that typical
chaotic "fractal" appearance.

I notice in Anita's picture evidence of slight camera movement,
showing up the "double" discharge in the upper flash. This camera
movement is used deliberately and to good effect in the following
shot:

http://www.nmt.edu/about/history/storms/image/p101.jpg


Martin


Sorry about the errant apostrophe - I felt a bit sick when I saw it as
I am always going on about the incorrect use of apostrophes.

Martin.

"JPG" wrote in message


On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 18:22:30 GMT, (Paul C) wrote:

So why doesn't lightning take the shortest route?

Probably due to fact that the air is not homogenous, with volumes of
varying resistivity, permittivity, electric field strength,
moisture/precipitation content among others.

You are not labouring under the misaprehension that lightning is a short
between layers of different potentials in the atmosphere are you?

Also the lightning
discharge makes it's way from one charge concentration to another (or
to ground) in a jerky, stepwise fashion known as a stepped leader -
albeit very quickly and undetectable to the human eye. Sometimes a
single discharge is not enough to even out the charge concentrations
and further discharges will pass down the same, ionised channel.

This is not from a scientifically controlled proof is it? Just a theory
based on what apears to be the case.

"If Joseph Dwyer, Florida Tech associate professor of physics, is right,
then a lot of what we thought we knew about thunderstorms and lightning
is probably wrong.

In the latest issue of Geophysical Research Letters, the National
Science Foundation CAREER Award winner caps two years of lightning
research with a startling conclusion: The conditions inside
thunderstorms that were long thought necessary to produce lightning
actually do not exist in nature."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-trs110503.php

Sadly I have not been able to track the article down past the blurb. Of
course it may be wrong too.


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG