365 Project 2011 ~ July Update

I have now officially continued my 2011 365 Project for longer than I did last year. I think I puttered out about half-way through July during 2010. Hoping to keep plugging away the rest of the year! Here are some of the more interesting photos from this month.

Widow Skimmer Dragonfly ~  187/365 ~ 2011

Sparkler Girl ~ 190/365 ~ 2011

In Flight ~ 203/365 ~ 2011

Monarch Caterpillar ~ 204/365 ~ 2011

LOLcat ~ 205/365 ~ 2011

My 365 Project at Flickr

Shooting Lightning

Tonight I made my first attempt at capturing lightning in a photo. I would say it was a success. This first photo below was literally my first try at it and it turned out to be the best one of the night!

Lightning in Minnesota #1

It was easier than I expected it to be. I experimented with the instructions on this tips page from Lightning Photography. One thing I found difficult was getting the focus right because it was so dark and lightning is so fleeting.

Lightning in Minnesota #2

Extraneous clouds also made some photos look blurry simply because the exposure time was so long and there was so much lightning to illuminate the sky, the one could see how the cloud had moved while the shutter was open.

Lightning in Minnesota #3

This was exciting. I love storms and this was an amazing light show. I don't think I would have stopped to appreciate it as much if I hadn't been waiting for a good storm like this to try lightning photos. I look forward to trying this again in a different location besides my boring backyard. Take a look at some of the amazing photos at Lightning Photography to see what I mean.

Before & After the Storm

Storm Clouds

Golden Clouds