(Above: Lightning Over Oslo. Click to see image)
Anyone who's ever tried to capture lightning knows it can be tricky. Last night, we had a massive lightning storm over Oslo, and tricky it got. As the amateur I am, I spent a good half-hour just watching the inferno before realizing I should probably grab my camera and try to capture a strike. Eh!
After setting the camera on the tripod, I started snapping away, hoping to catch a first lightning bolt for reference. I needed a starting point to make camera adjustments, but no luck—the lightning seemed to strike every time my shutter was closed.
After analyzing my utter cluelessness, I decided to turn the exposure up to 10 seconds, adjusted the aperture to f/10, and set the ISO to 800. I kept shooting, but the bolts still seemed to happen in between my shots. Just as I was about to give up, a massive one went off straight in front of my viewfinder—and I GOT IT!
And where did it strike? Right next to the old Tryvann Tower, likely hitting the Tryvann Lake. You can view the lightning strike location on Google maps.
All shots:
Lightning image (cropped and adjusted exposure):
UPDATE:
Since capturing this photo, it has gained some notable attention. It was featured in a couple of Norwegian newspapers, a Finnish popular science magazine, and even a school textbook. Below, you’ll find links and screenshots of the publications where the photo was credited:
- Aftenposten: Gjør deg klar for ekstremværet
- Aftenposten: 8000 lyn herjet Sør-Norge
- Aftenposten: Hus brant ned etter lynnedslag
- Nordre Aker Budstikke: Alle prater om været, men ingen gjør noe med det
I’ll also be adding this to the press section of my site, where you can explore all my photo credits and media appearances.
