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

365 Project 2011 ~ June Update

Yellow Center ~ 159/365 ~ 2011

Baby Sparrow ~ 162/365 ~ 2011

Pink Flowers ~ 172/365 ~ 2011

Red Flowers ~ 174/365 ~ 2011

Raspberry Sour Cream Pie ~ 176/365 ~ 2011

My 365 Project at Flickr

365 Project 2011 ~ Belated May Update

May and June were mind-numbingly busy months for me. I kept taking photos, but didn't always have time to upload them or blog.

Sweet Strawberry ~ 123/365 ~ 2011

 

Dandelion ~ 139/365 ~ 2011

Pink Orchid ~ 142/365 ~ 2011

Fierce ~ 146/365 ~ 2011

"Like" ~ 149/365 ~ 2011

My 365 Project at Flickr

National Photography Month 2011

May has been designated as National Photography Month. Who says so? No idea, can't seem to find an official source on that, though after a quick search of the web, it seems to pretty much be a consensus. Doesn't change much for me since I'm doing a 365 project, but it's a good excuse to have the camera around even more often than usual. Right? Right.

Loring Corners Alley

Of course, that's exactly what has been happening. Capturing random moments here and there. This was during a not-so-successful networking session. Notice how I'm out on the street taking photos instead of talking to people. That's because the room the event was being held in was so small and crammed with so many people, I got a little claustrophobic. I wandered around the area for a while snapping photos, including this image and those below.

Near Sunset at Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge

Another thing which has been occurring is the photos I choose to take are gaining more variety. Like this one. A year ago, I would have hated the solar flares off to the right, but I actually like it in this image. Subject matter ideas are springing to me that wouldn't have before, like the alley scene I wouldn't ordinarily have noticed if that group of people hadn't come out at this moment to take a smoke break. I've also been trying to emulate effects I've seen in other photos, like the blurring in the one below.

Interstate 94 & St. Mary's

So in honor of National Photography Month, I've already been trying some new things, but I'm also going to work towards posting more often to Sam Can Shoot. I've been doing pretty good with True to Words and making a stronger effort at being a real Minneapolis Pet News Examiner, now it's time to follow suit with this blog. Here I go!