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ctfchallenge | all galleries >> The Best of CTF Challenges >> Best of 2008 > 2nd Place
Quick as Lightning
by Brent
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29-JUN-2008 Brent

2nd Place
Quick as Lightning
by Brent

Canon EOS 30D ,Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
1s f/6.3 at 70.0mm iso200 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time29-Jun-2008 22:02:59
MakeCanon
ModelCanon EOS 30D
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length70 mm
Exposure Time1.00 sec
Aperturef/6.3
ISO Equivalent200
Exposure Bias-0.67
White Balance
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programaperture priority (3)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto
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ctfchallenge01-Jul-2008 06:32
Thanks Abs, you are too kind. I had a whole lot of help from the setting and mother nature on this one.
~Brent
ctfchallenge30-Jun-2008 23:40
it's better to be lucky than good.
although the result is an absolute stunner like this when someone is both.
-Abstract
ctfchallenge30-Jun-2008 21:23
Thanks very much all for your comments :-) As some of you may know, lightning isn’t all that common on the West Coast of the US. So this was my first chance to try and capture it with a camera and the infrequency of the strikes had me using a different approach than what might have worked in a storm with almost constant electrical activity. Just random exposures of 10, 20, 30 seconds rarely seemed to happen at the right time and when there was a strike during say a 30 second exposure; the bolts turned out very faintly exposed. What worked best for me was just anticipation. If you are all ready and primed on a warm night you can squeeze that button on the remote pretty darn fast.
~Brent
ctfchallenge30-Jun-2008 20:25
Amazing shot, Brent. I was expecting to see that it was several seconds long...as you waited for the flash. But only ONE second...you've got a fast reaction time!!
--Mary Anne
Canon DSLR Challenge30-Jun-2008 17:39
Cartier-Bresson spoke of anticipating the event. You've learned well Brent. Amazing capture. -tv
Guest 30-Jun-2008 16:25
well done
Charlie Beck30-Jun-2008 16:10
Beautifully done. I was flying home last night, and saw this same scene from above. Looks much better this way. LOL.
ctfchallenge30-Jun-2008 15:21
Great job brent - the exposure looks terrific- Debi
ctfchallenge30-Jun-2008 12:55
Now we're even (as you say you've tried panning and it didn't work) - this is not easy - I tried this one night from an open car window on a hill overlooking ny and wound up with a million blank pictures. Nice timing!
Penny Street
sue anne30-Jun-2008 12:21
Beautiful night scene and the lightning is awesome.
(was this shot in Tv mode or manual?..... well I guess all pros use manual...... :) )
ctfchallenge30-Jun-2008 11:20
Fantastic Brent! That iconic background turns an ordinary lightning picture into a poster worthy image! Love it! :-) CJ
iso320030-Jun-2008 07:35
Woah! Excellent.....
ctfchallenge30-Jun-2008 07:34
Thanks Rod :-) This was my first attempt at shooting lightning. It seemed to work pretty well to just wait until a strike started and quickly hit the remote shutter switch. It was a rare warm and balmy night in Seattle- felt good!
~Brent
Rod 30-Jun-2008 06:51
Well I'll be buggered this in the realms of magnificent catching lightning on only 1sec shutter speed. The composition is really great too. Excellent picy Brent mate.