Check out their videos on how to do it at their website:
www.LibertyPhotoProducts.com

- You prints must be on canvas to use the gallery wrap system
- The bars come in two thickness:  1 1/4 and 1 3/4 for larger frames.
- You need to buy a KIT for whichever size you plan to use to get the
blue or red corners, blue, pins, etc.
- Order two of each bar for the size you need for each print.
- The canvas print needs to be printed ~ 3 inches longer and taller, ~ 1
1/2 extra on each side,  than the finished size to account for the part
of  the print that wraps around the edges.
- Liberty can do the canvas prints, so all you have to do is the wrap
assembly.

Click on image to open new window

Click on the heading “The Ten Commandments…” (above) to see the complete show.

I’m sure you’ve taken photos of the moon both in daylight and at night. Your night exposures were most likely overexposed and the moon showed no detail particularly at night. The problem is the moon is too small an image for your cameras light meter to give you a proper exposure. It sees too much dark sky and tries to average what it sees thus resulting in a washout dark sky (Overexposed) and a washout moon (also overexposed).

Actually a full moon is the about the same brightness at night as it is in the daytime. The sun light on the moon does not change, as it is still about 93 million miles away – day or night. So you need approximately a daytime exposure for the moon whither you’re shooting it day or nighttime.

What is the best phase of the moon to photograph it? A full moon looks special because of its size and brightness, but it is so evenly lighted that there are no shadows to give it texture. A moon that is about half lit has shadows from its mountain peaks and crater walls. Try photographing at its’ various phases to see what you like best – and you photographing techniques will also improve!

Another problem is the earths rotation which means the moon is 240,000 miles away from us and moving about 1,034 miles an hour relative to where you’re standing on earth, so you need a fairly fast shutter speed unless your camera is mounted on a tracking mount like the ones used on expensive telescopes to keep the stars and planets in view.

Yet another problem and its’ a big one!  All warm atmosphere that is between you and the moon. It’s moving like someone shaking a bed sheet and quickly bends the light rays from the moon and stars (that’s also why the stars seem to twinkle). By waiting till late at night or better yet just before sunrise, the earth’s surface and lower atmosphere are cool and more stable thus clearer photographs of the moon and stars.  Also the air is usually calmer out in the boondocks – well away from all our paved streets, buildings and city lights (also much better for photographing the stars/star trails but then you also what a moonless night).

Then there is the problem of the moons angular size is 30 minutes of arc (0.5 degrees), which is about the same size that a tennis ball appears at 24 feet. That’s pretty small. If you want the moon to come close to filling the frame you’ll need about a 1,000 mm telephoto lens, which you may not have, so use the longest one you have and crop the image and enlarge it meet your needs. Problems holding a long telephoto lens still can best be handled by using a sturdy tripod, large lens opening and a fast shutter speed. Then take a few dozen photos as you re-center the image in your finder from time to time as it moves across the sky. If you shoot enough images, several dozen, a few should be noticeably sharper then the others.

Images still blurry? Try locking the mirror up and use the self-timer and a cable release to eliminate the mirror slap from shaking the camera, especially important when using long telephoto lenses.

Full moons are nice to look at but always produce kind of blah photos. No detail to show off the creators on the moon. Your best photos may be when the moon is about half lit making the creators really stand out as the rims of the creators create shadows and show surface relief and depth.

After a few trials and errors you probably have several nice photos of the moon and perhaps in several different phases. You can now cut the moon out of the photo and paste it in another image to make that photograph something special and you can now make the moon in the combined image and at any size you’d like!

This December 21^st 2010 at 1:21am the moon will be in earths shadow and will glow a dim rust/orange color. You’ll need a long telephoto and sturdy tripod to get a nice sharp photo. Expect an exposure of something like f:6.3 at 8 Seconds for the moon when in the earths shadow – maximum red glow.  Set your cameras ISO to a higher number – perhaps 800 to reduce exposure times. Remember, the longer the lens you use the greater the apparent movement of the moon during your exposure. Also, lock your camera mirror up before you make an exposure to reduce mirror slap/camera movement during the exposure. Use the longest telephoto lens you have to get the largest image size possible. Practice your moon photos now so you’ll be ready to photograph it when its much more challenging – during a lunar eclipse.

David Doughman

What vehicles have a transmission/option for a true 4-wheel limited-slip drive?

Here is a quick check I made with Service Managers at various dealers in St. George.

Talk to your vehicles Service Manager to verify/clarify the information for your specific vehicle to be sure what you really have. You will need your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) so they can check your vehicles “As Built Specifications”. You may not have what you thought you bought!

If your 4-wheel drive vehicle does not have a true limited slip differential you are at greatly increased great risk of getting stuck in soft sand, mud, snow, etc.! If you have a 4-wheel drive with limited slip differentials, you are significantly less likely to get stuck. It’s not guaranteed, but the odds are more in your favor.

I have been stuck in my Jeep with 33” tires and lockers on both front and rear wheels in soft sand (didn’t air down). I used my winch to free myself. I have used my wench to pull another Jeep with 33” tires and lockers from a muddy riverbed. I’ve pulled five SUV’s from soft sand. One SUV – all wheel drive (Two Germans on their way to Coyote Buttes trying to dig their rental car out with their bare hands) and one 4 wheel drive pick up truck with a broken axel (Five Australians) who had waited for hours; hopping someone would come by to help them.

What are Lockers?  A differential allows the inside wheel on a driven axel to rotate slower than the outer wheel. Great for hard pavement! A Locker drives both wheels on an axel at the same rate. A Locked Axel is a real problem on paved roads but provide much greater traction on soft sand, mud and snow. A flick of a switch activates or deactivates your lockers. An expensive after market add-on!

What do you carry with you – and you know how to use – to help yourself get unstuck? What do you have with you to help others get unstuck?

On a recent trip to White Pockets two SUV’s in our group became stuck in soft sand when one wheel spun and dug itself into the sand while the other three wheels remained stationary. These vehicles were pulled from the soft sand by a vehicle with oversized tires (better flotation on the sand) and a winch used as a tow cable.

Driving on soft dry sand is mostly about reasonable momentum – keeping the vehicle moving, at a safe speed for driving conditions, will keep it on top of the sand and help prevent it from sinking. Soft sand can instantly sap momentum from the vehicle, which can then quickly lead to sinking into the soft sand (getting stuck). Going down hill in soft sand makes it easier to maintain good momentum and stay on top of the sand. Driving on level sand is a little harder to stay on top. Driving up hill on soft sand is where most vehicles get into trouble. Vehicles without a true limited slip differential will transfer power to the first wheel that starts spinning and little or no power to the other wheels. One spinning wheel digs a hole – and you’re now stuck!

For your most success in driving on sand keep the engine revving in a lower gear (1^st or 2^nd) so it has power on tap for when you hit soft sand. The smoother you drive, the better.

Don’t make sharp turns because the vehicle won’t respond. Instead, you will plough straight ahead, like under steering on an icy road, as your front wheels dig into the sand.

Don’t follow too closely! If the vehicle in front of you slows or becomes bogged, you won’t have time to steer around them or brake carefully. If you follow a slow-moving vehicle too closely you also increase the risk of losing momentum and getting stuck in the soft sand.

A normally inflated tire puts the weight of your vehicle on four small footprints in the sand. This allows your vehicle to easily sink into soft sand. By letting some of the air out of your tires (12-15 pounds) they have more tire area in contact with the sand and you will ride more on top of the sand and less sinking into it.

For maximum traction and flotation in soft sand it is necessary to deflate your vehicles tires. Depending on your tire size and vehicle weight most vehicles need to drop from your regular tire pressure down to at least 20 psi – if necessary down to 15 psi. This gives your tires a much larger footprint and allows the vehicle to ride more top of the sand vs. sinking in to the sand (and possibly getting stuck). Any pointy object pressed into the valve will release the air for you. You will also need a battery operated tire pump and tire pressure gage to restore tire pressure to normal when you return to more standard driving conditions. When driving in soft sand (or about to) the smart thing is to lower your tire pressure before you get stuck in the sand!

Stock SUV tires usually do not provide enough flotation for most of today’s rather heavy vehicles. They’ll cut into the sand like a hot knife in butter. The resistance of the sand may soon slow you down to a stop as your tires sink into the soft sand. Many local off roaders find the BF Goodrich “All Terrain” tire works well on their SUV’s when driving on our back roads as they are designed for off road use and running at lower tire pressures on our back country roads. The tires also have somewhat improved tire puncture protection.

Another issue is clearance.  Your vehicle should have at least 6.5 inches of clearance. The more clearance your vehicle has the better.  While sand is unlikely to damage the vehicle’s undercarriage, it will quickly cause the vehicle to slow down and lose precious momentum. If your vehicle gets so bogged down in the sand so that its frame rests on the sand, it may take a commercial tow truck to free the stuck vehicle! (Think Big Bucks)

Limited Slip Differential – Provides the same basic functions as an axle differential, but with an added advantage: when the drive wheel begins spinning as a result of being on a slippery surface or in soft sand, a limited-slip differential automatically transfers torque to the opposite wheel to help improve traction & less chance of getting stuck in soft sand. A feature missing on many SUV 4 Wheel and All Wheel drives.

If off-roading will be a significant part of your Utah experience you may want to consider a true Limited Slip Differential on your next SUV.

If you get stuck, or have a vehicle break down, what tools and materials do you have with you to get your self-unstuck or back into operation? What do you have to help someone else get unstuck or use your materials to help you get unstuck? Are you prepared to wait for hours, perhaps the next day while someone goes for help? Can you/they find there way back to civilization? Tell others exactly where they left you? Or where you left your stuck or broken down vehicle? A GPS and a good map can be very helpful, even critical for both situations!

So you’re now stuck! Once your vehicle stops moving and you’re bogged down in the sand – don’t sit there spinning your wheels – you’ll just dig a deeper hole making it harder to get moving again and harder for others to help you! If someone in the group has a winch and has hooked up to pull you out – put your vehicle in neutral, engine running, parking break off and turn your wheels towards the towing vehicle. Once you’re started moving forward put the towed vehicle in low and slowly start driving toward the towing vehicle. When you’re out of the hole and moving forward under your own power – stop and disconnect from the towing vehicle.

What if no one has a vehicle-mounted winch! Do you or another vehicle in your group have a Recovery Strap (no hooks) or a Come Along that can be used to connect a rescue vehicle to the stuck vehicle and pull it out of the soft sand?  A Recovery Strap costs about $ 20.00. Seehttp://www.offroaders.com/tech/Tow_Straps.htm for information on safe use and purchase of Recovery Straps! Do not use tow straps with metal hooks because if the strap breaks, the metal hook can become a deadly missile! Or a Come Along/Cable Puller with a 2 on capacity cost about $40. Check the Internet for more information on purchase and safe use of these items. Highly recommend you practice using the above items at/near home before you really need to use them many miles from home – so you can use them safely and effectively when they really needed!

Other tools to help you get unstuck include a small shovel to dig out the sand in front of the stuck tires. You can try jacking your vehicle up and put a piece of old carpet about 12” x 36” in under your tires to get better traction than the sand alone provides (consider carry these with you when driving in remote areas). You will definitely need to put a larger base to put under your jack to stop it from sinking deep into the sand (something like a 1 foot square piece of plywood). Wetting the sand may also help increase traction. Temporarily reducing your tire pressure to 12 or even 10 psi may also help you get unstuck. Just be sure to increase tire pressure back to 18-20 psi once your moving again! A good portable tire pump costs about $60. Some tire pumps plug into your cigarette light socket and others (usually more heavy duty) clamp onto your cars battery. A must for all off roaders!

Prepare an emergency response kit for both you and your vehicle and keep it updated each time you venture off into our great outdoors! Be sure to include good off-road maps of the area, a GPS, extra water, food, flashlights, medications, tire gauge, tire pump, tow strap, come along, cell phone, etc. Also remember that many great places to photograph are in areas without cell phone service!

Fortunately vehicles are very reliable today. But it is very wise to check your radiator water level, oil level, condition of your fan belts, hoses, tire pressure and tire tread before venturing into remote areas or any trip away from home.

Airing down your tires by about 10 pounds when you are driving on back roads can also be a good idea. It will make your ride softer/more comfortable, improve traction, and may reduce rock puncture by having your vehicle weight spread over a larger surface area. Driving slower on our back roads is also smarter. Taking a curve too fast on dirt roads can easily result in a vehicle roll over when your vehicle slides to the roads edge!

Remember there is safety in numbers when traveling to our beautiful, but potentially dangerous backcountry. How many vehicles are safe enough? Can’t say for sure because it depends on how many get into trouble and what help the other vehicles and their drivers can provide.

You will not know how your SUV works in soft sand until you are in it. First check to see if you have a real limited slip differential. If you do, why not take your SUV to some close by soft sand area and try driving in soft sand (lower your tire pressure first) -up modest hills, down hills and on level ground to see how your 4 wheel drive, limited slip differential SUV responds before you go out into the middle of no where and get stuck. Go with someone who has the equipment and knowledge to help you get unstuck should that occur. Practice safe equipment and recovery skills before your long trip to primitive areas. Places that you can drive on soft sand are Warner Valley (the easiest place to practice in level sand), Sand Hollow State Park and Coral Pink State Park – both have great expanses of sand and steep hills. Be sure to have the required safety flag on your vehicle when driving on sand in the Parks.

Also remember many of our back roads have sharp rocks that love to flatten your tires. Know how to change your vehicles tires! Can you find your tire jack? Some vehicles are good at hiding them. Two flat tires on one vehicle are not unknown on some trips. It’s happened to me and I’ve seen it happen to others. The road to Toroweap is particularly famous for causing multiple flat tires.

If you venture out into our remote areas on your own, you need to prepare your vehicle and yourself with many more safety features and emergency supplies than discussed in this article.

David Doughman

Paul Furr

• Hiking time is about 2.5 hours round trip – more for most photographers!
• Trail Elevation: 5,980 – 5,700
• Elevation change 280 feet
• Slip and trip hazards abound as they do in any canyon and there are narrow passages in parts of the canyon. You may also find a few water pockets.
• Beware of flash flooding, should it rain heavily in the area
• 4-wheel drive recommended, if the road is wet or in snow, otherwise not needed.
• Best time to explore Willis Creek is April to Mid-June and September through October
• No permit required
• Good hiking shoes with ankle protection are recommended
• Bring your First-Aid kit, just in case you need one!
• Bring food/snacks, drinking water, medications – as appropriate

Kodachrome State Park is 12-15 miles further up the road, Grosvenor Arch another 12 miles – just off – Cottenwood Road (dirt/gravel), should you care to visit them after hiking Willis Creek Narrows

David Doughman

I have either experienced or witnessed the following problems while traveling in remote areas in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. This information is shared to help you prepare to safely return from your trip to many of the fantastic sights awaiting your travel on the many our back roads and trails. Many of these locations are seldom traveled, have no cell phone service and love to flatten your tires. There are very few signs on the roads/trails or intersections. No water or food available unless you brought or a fellow traveler has some to share with you. GPS and map reading skills can become very important in finding the site you are looking for and finding your way back home.

• Beware of “The GPS Junky” I road with a GPS user who spent 20% plus of his driving time looking at his GPS, a very unsafe practice anytime to include when driving in remote areas. I no longer ride with him!
• Two flat tires from sidewall punctures on same vehicle by same sharp rock. Another driver had a spare tire same size and rim off set so we could continue on our trip. Extra high tire jacks were used to change the over sized tires.
• Two flat tires. Had to leave the vehicle behind and take one of the tires back to civilization for repair, then return the next day to change the second flat and drive back to home and fix the other flat.
• Radiator failed and the vehicle overheated. Added some of our drinking water to the radiator to drive a few more miles then had to tow the vehicle closer to civilization then leave it to return the next day with another vehicle and equipment that could better tow the vehicle back to civilization.
• Radiator failed close to civilization. Able to get back by using water on hand. Stopping long enough to cool the engine, add some water and driving till it started to overheat, let it cool and add more water – about 4 times.
• Batteries in the GPS failed. No extra batteries on hand. The GPS of others in the party got us to where we were going and back home.
• 4 Wheel drive SUV’s stuck in soft sand. Used winch on my Jeep to pull the vehicles out of the soft sand. I’ve done this five times. One group was two Germans going to Coyote Buttes South, a very remote area, in a rented SUV with all 4 wheels stuck in soft sand down to the vehicle frame. They had been there for two hours hoping someone would come by.
• 4 Wheel drive pick up truck stuck in soft dry sand – no cell service. A group of 5 Australians in a rented vehicle. Broke a rear axle trying to get unstuck in a very remote area. I happened upon them and pulled the vehicle out of the sand but the pick up wouldn’t move with the broken axle. Drove three of them back to civilization where they called for help. They had it towed by a commercial tow truck and fixed the next day and continued on their 5-week tour of our parks and back roads sites.
• A member of a photo group became cold, left the group to return to the vehicles. He missed the return trail and walked for several hours till he made his way back to the vehicles. Mean while the group returned to the vehicles, waited 45 minutes as it became colder and dark as the sun set. One member drove up a near by mountain trail to get cell phone service and asked for rescue support as the night would soon be quite cold. Another 45 minutes passed then the lost person found his way back to the cars. Phoned the Sherriff to have them call off the Search & Rescue teams.
• Group members ran out of food and water on a longer than planned day trip. Others shared their food and water.
• Group members did not bring their medications. They were unable to enjoy the rest of the trip do to their discomfort. Fortunately not a serious event.
• Vehicle power steering leaked fluid making driving very difficult. Others in the group had extra fluid, patching material and bands to hold the patches in place.
• Jeep stuck in soft sand coming up steep riverbank. Successfully winched self out of problem.
• SUV stuck in soft sand while going down a very long steep sand dune. Extracted by Jeep with winch.
• Jeep stuck coming up steep muddy riverbank. Pulled up by another Jeep with a winch.
• Jeep stuck on moderate sand dune. Pulled out by another Jeep with a winch.
• Vehicle ran out of gas. Used gas from gas can carried just in case it was needed.
• Six vehicles on a trip in a remote area had to drive up a narrow riverbank trail. Five of the vehicles had a flat tire caused by the tire being pushed so hard on the sidewall that they lost contact with the rim and immediately went flat. One vehicle had two flats and borrowed a spare from the one that did not have a flat. Fortunately the two vehicles could share tires and rims!
• A Jeep was stuck in mud while crossing a river, with water entering the vehicle. Used the electric winches on two other Jeeps to free the stuck Jeep. Drained the Jeep and continued on our trip.
• Clutch went out on a vehicle. Unable to fix. Drove the rest of the trip by starting the vehicle in gear and shifted carefully without using the clutch.
• Jeep high centered while driving over big rocks lifting two wheels off the ground. Restacked many rocks then used two winches to carefully move the high centered jeep off the rocks without any damage!

Vehicle problems? Need to call a tow truck? If you are or can get to a place with cell phone service -expect to pay about $125/hour plus for the tow truck to get to you and get you back to their shop – then add repair/replacement costs for what ever you need! Do you carry a tow strap to help others or so someone can tow you to a civilized location and save or reduce the tow truck costs? Can you give your vehicles GPS location to the tow truck driver so he can easily find you or your a banned vehicle?

If you or someone in the group has a serious medical problem such as a heart attack, diabetic reaction, broken bones from a fall, etc. can anyone in the group effectively use first aid techniques? Does anyone in your group have a good First Aid Kit & know how to use it? You may be hours from getting medical care! Can you transport them safely back to civilization? Do you/they have a supply of important medications should your return be delayed?

If you are traveling without another vehicle and yours breaks down, gets stuck, you have a serious medical problem and you are out of cell phone service, you could be stranded for several days unless someone at home notifies the sheriff that you are way behind your scheduled return time. The problem is where do they start looking for you! Does the person at home who called the Sherriff know what roads/trails you were taking and what was your destination, est. return time, vehicle description, who else is in the group, are they prepared to spend the night where they are in the heat, cold, etc.?

Can you do emergency tire repair? Have a tire pump? Patch or replace a leaking hose on your engine, power steering, plug a leaking radiator? Replace a broken fan belt? Carry extra gasoline safely? Extra water for you and your car? Extra clothing for colder nights, rain/snow? Good maps of the area, a compass and a GPS to find out where you are and how to get back home just in case you get lost or separated from the group? Something to eat and plenty to drink should your planned return be significantly delayed (hours or days)? Do you have a flashing beacon to help others find your vehicle from the air and in the dark? Can you start a fire to signal for help?

If you break down or are stuck do you stay with your vehicle or try walking to find someone that can help you? If you know you can easily walk to some form civilization you might want to give it a try, but remember you are very hard for rescuers to see unless they drive right up to you walking on the road. Your vehicle is much easier to see from the road or from the air than you are! If you left the vehicle behind did you leave a note to tell the rescue team where you have gone in your attempt to find some form of civilization?

How many days’ food and water do you take with you for a one-day trip when going by yourself? Meds? Extra clothing? Sun protection? Food? Water? Warmth?

Have you considered carrying an Emergency Locator Beacon (ELB)? It could save your life! You use it to send an emergency distress signal via satellite that identifies who you are and where you are when you activate your ELB. The US Air Force receives your emergency signal, they then call the nearest sheriff to your location telling them you’re in some sort of trouble and give them your GPS location. No voice communication, just a distress signal is sent. It could save your life and that of others with you. Don’t wonder from where you sent your distress signal or they might miss finding you.

Are you ready, able and willing to help others you might find in your travels of our great outdoors?

David Doughman

Infra-Red light lays just below the light spectrum we see but our digital cameras can see and record images using this light, if we use a very dark infrared filter such as a Hoya R72 filter (cost about $70.00) in front of our camera lens. This filter is so dark to visible light that the only thing you can see through it, is the sun itself. To take an infrared photo with a Hoya R72 filter expect a daytime exposure of something like a 1/15 second at F5.6. You will also have to temporarily re-set your cameras White Balance to get the best results with this filter – See your camera manual for instructions. Correct exposure is mostly determined by trial and error. A tripod is a must!

All digital cameras are sensitive to IR light but the manufactures add a special filter inside the camera to block the IR light that would interfere with your normal light photography, which is why exposures are so long when using an IR filter over your lens. But you can have this filter permanently removed and a special IR filter put into its place. IR filters are available for B&W IR only or a mix of IR color light. Your IR photos will require special image processing in Photoshop to show false IR color or to get IR B&W photos. See examples above taken with my Nikon D100.

Have an old camera you’re not using? You might consider having it modified for fulltime IR photography. Cost for a camera IR modification is about $300-450. The advantage of having a modified camera is that your camera functions much like it did before – you can see through the viewfinder and take handheld exposures, but all photos are now IR photos. A great modification for an older digital SLR camera you are no longer using.

Here are two great websites to get additional information on IR photography.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_photography
http://www.lifepixel.com/digital-infrared/samples.html

Here is a site to see IR photos from many other photographers:

Infrared_Photography@yahoogroups.com

Happy IR shooting

David Doughman

Word of Caution: Don’t shoot or try to get out of the rain by going under a tree, they are lightning rods! If the hair on the back of your head, or arms is standing out – you’re way too close – get to cover immediately! And have someone with you that also knows CPR, just in case! If there is no cover nearby such as an alcove, cave, or inside your vehicle, try to find a depression in the ground, or lie flat. Again, do not take shelter under a tree, or high object. Common sense is the key to survival here.

Night Time Lightning Photography:

- Set your camera on a tripod.

- Connect a cable shutter release

- Lock focus at infinity.

- Set the shutter speed to bulb ‘B’ (the shutter will stay open for as long as you hold it open). If your camera has incremental seconds settings, consider using these as another method.

- Set the aperture (f-stop) around f/5.6. Experiment a little with different settings but I recommend nothing higher than f/8 unless you want many bolts of lightning to occur in one photo. Depending on closeness, or intensity of the lightning, set your ISO at 200. Far away storms with smaller flashes may need ISO 400, but lightning flashes are very bright. Avoid blowing them out. Ambient foreground and background light, if any, will also affect the length of your exposure. City lights, or any skylight will blow out your lightning, if your exposure is too long

- Frame the picture where the most lightning is occurring, and/or where the most spectacular clouds are. Dave and I disagree on this aspect, spectacular clouds are pretty, but you want to be pointing at the major lightning source area. I have never had a problem with moving clouds, the strobe effect and intensity of the lightning will normally overcome the cloud movement, which is usually minimal.

- Observe the lightning for a short while before taking a picture. You will notice that some cloud to ground (CG) lightning strikes very fast (in a fraction of a second it has flashed and gone). Other CG bolts strobe or pulse for anything up to about two seconds. Sheet lightning (anvil crawlers) sometimes last up to a second or more as they spread across the sky. If the storm is somewhat close to you and/or you can see it growing or moving, then exposure times should be at most 15 seconds, or else the cloud will blur (especially if more than one lightning bolt occurs during the exposure). If the storm is farther away, and you are only framing the storm base, or you cannot see it developing or moving, then exposures can be anything you like! Try something between 20 seconds and 2 minutes. You can have longer exposure times for higher f/ stops. Bob bases his exposure times and f/stop on rapidity, distance and intensity of the lightning flashes. In Dammeron Valley storms are often nearby with extremely bright flashes. In this case, ISO 200 and f/11, usually for 30 seconds works pretty well. If you have an unusually intense storm with many flashes occurring in a short time, close the shutter and begin another exposure to avoid blowing out portions of overlapping flashes.

Day Time Lightning Photography – Yes, you can do it, at least some of the time!

- Camera on a tripod w/cable release

- Focus set to manual and at infinity

- Exposure set to manual and at a proper setting for current lighting conditions

- When you see a strike, quickly take your photo using the cable release. If the strike is short – you’ll miss it! If the strike is unusually longer – perhaps lasting near a second or two (and some do) you might catch it.

- Want to automate the process? The best price I’ve seen for a lightning strike detector/camera trigger is from AEO Lightning Strike for $189.00, advertized atwww.aeophoto.com. You’ll still need to have your camera set to manual operation as above, and they will take an exposure of every strike within many miles of you, including those out of sight, behind you etc. But that’s what the delete button is made for.

Any of you still shooting film can accomplish the same results, but with much more difficulty and expense. With digital cameras, you can just keep on making exposure after exposure as long as the storm lasts. But with film, you can go through a lot of rolls and processing on just one storm.

With practice comes perfection, and this especially applies to lightning photography, it’s all about patience and practice. Don’t give up if your first results are not what you were hoping for. Dammeron Valley is a great place to shoot summer electrical storms; they normally come through the valley on the East side or over Pine Valley Mountains. Anyone wishing to do so is invited to call Bob Lawson and shoot from his front (covered) deck, overlooking the valley and mountains. 574-3335/680-9812.

Happy & Safe Shooting,

David Doughman & Bob Lawson