Lightning Photos from Last Night's Storm

Lightning shots are tough, but worth it. You need to use a tripod, otherwise the shots will have motion blur.

This was a perfect storm for lightning shots because there was a lot of lightning activity. 

This lightning flash was so bright that it lit up neighborhood like it was day.

To get lightning shots, mount the camera on a tripod. Set the camera to manual and focus as far out as possible. Point the camera at the area where there is a lot of activity and hold the shutter open for 6-8 seconds for each shot. You will get a lot of black pictures, but you will also get a lot of good lightning flashes.

New Photos

Here are a couple of photos taken from my wife's hospital room window the night after she gave birth to our 2nd son. The setting sun illuminated the landscape between the ground and the cloud cover in brilliant golden light. On the opposite side of the sky was a breathtaking double rainbow.

Photos From This Summer

Here are some photos taken over the summer. There's everything from squirrels to lightning. The lightning was tricky. I had to use a tripod, set the camera to manual and then hold open the shutter during the flashes.

Free Image Editing Software

Many of us want a feature-rich image editing solution, but we may not have deep enough pockets for Adobe Photoshop. I recommend 2 software packages that are heavy on useful features and light on price (actually they are free). The first, for Windows users, is Paint.net, which can downloaded at http://www.getpaint.net/. It has powerful tools such as multiple layers, clone stamp, contrast and level adjustments, and multiple filters. The interface is intuitive, and there is plenty of online documentation from developers and users.

The second free image editing package is the GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program). It can be downloaded at http://www.gimp.org/ or http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Graphic/Graphic-Editors/GIMP.shtml, and is available for for Windows, Mac and Linux. In addition to many Photoshop-esque tools, there is an animation package available as a separate download.

New Photography Blog

This is my new photography blog. I am a freelance photographer in the greater Boise, Idaho area. Photography has been a hobby since taking a basic photography course in college. This was before digital was all the rage, so I started with a used Pentax K1000 35mm SLR. I was amazed at the great pictures that came from that beat up old camera, and I still use it as a backup. I now shoot with a Nikon DSLR. I will be posting photos, tips, and details of current photo projects.