Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frustrating...

Following the recent balmy spell, the inevitable thunderstorms arrived last night. I just happened to have a barely-used roll of B&W film loaded into the LX and I thought I'd have a go at capturing some dramatic bolts from the blue (or rather black).

My only decent vantage point was the bathroom window, which overlooks a big field, behind which lies downtown Northampton. However, a fairly deep shelf behind the window made it very difficult to get the tripod near the window, so my field of view was further reduced, but I decided to make the most of it.

Now, obviously, you can't just take a picture of a bolt of lightning as it happens - even my shutter finger isn't that quick. So, you have to point the lens at the sky, open the shutter and hope for the best. This is where the frustration starts. You can guarentee that as soon as the LX decided it had had enough light and closed the shutter, a really impressive bolt would appear right where it was pointing. Lightning is also a random thing and, as we all know, never strikes the same place twice. So, I'd see an area of good activity, point the camera towards it, press the shutter and then see a fantasic display somewhere else in the sky. So, I have ended up with 30+ potentially useless shots of the night sky, or I may have got lucky. We'll see when I get the film developed.

I just wondered if anyone had any top tips for lightning photography, or is it simply as hit-and-miss as I have experienced?

There's a thread about the subject: http://www.ephotozine.com/forum/viewanswers.cfm?qid=23959

There's some safety tips and shooting tips here as well: http://www.mindspring.com/~josephmatthews/how_to/safety.html

Hope that helps!
Matt

My tip is to use a digital camera. Then the wasted shots won't cost you anything!
G