Did you know

Did you know that it is exceptionally difficult to capture a lightning strike with an ordinary auto-focus digital camera? I tried, tonight, and got nowhere. It was a terrific night for such an endeavor, better than I've ever had the luxury of experiencing, and STILL I got nothing.

Nothing!



I suspect I might find more success with more sophisticated equipment, but this Sony Cybershot DSC-P92 is all I've got at the moment, so I'll make do. I think that, considering the idiot-proof nature of my little handheld camera, I end up with pretty decent photos in spite of it. For example, I did manage to get this pic of the roiling cloud formations over Ardmore, Oklahoma this evening:


The severe weather had been quite worse the day before, but I think that even though we did get vast quantities of rain, the atmosphere was just too cool for very much severe stuff. When the clouds are bluish like this, it seems to indicate cooler temperatures. The greener the sky appears, the nastier the possibilities, particularly for hail and tornadoes. That's just in my own personal experience; I have no idea if that pans out in actuality.

As for trying to capture a lightning strike, the closest I came was this photo:

It's the semi-daylight effect caused by a cloud-to-cloud bolt directly overhead. I know -- boring. But it's the best I could do tonight. There were some fabulous electrical displays all over the horizon on all sides of me, and durnit if I couldn't catch a single one.

I love photography!