Photographer Mike Olbinski has become a synonym for breathtaking timelapse movies of different kinds of storms. The latest installment of his Monsoon series has just been published and it took an incredible amount of effort, money, and photos to put it together. Mike spent three months chasing storms for this movie – and he compressed the best shots in only eight minutes of pure nature’s spectacle.
Photographer shares how he took this impressive lightning storm photo
Photos or videos of storms rarely fail to impress. Still, some just capture your attention on the first sight and take your breath away. Tel Aviv-based photographer Sam Jakobson made this amazing photo of a lightning storm that did just that for me. He was kind to share some details and tell DIYP more about how he took this amazing image.
This timelapse shows star trails and lightning storm in the same frame
Star-stacking timelapses are amazing, and so are the thunderstorm timelapses. But when you have both in a single frame, it’s simply breathtaking. Maui-based photographer Joe Domrad has created a timelapse like this, and it’s a real treat for the eyes.
Everything you need to know to capture epic photos of lightning
Nothing beats the smell and feel of a heavy summer rain. Well, okay, maybe only the epic lightning that sometimes follows it. If you want to capture the photos of that nature’s light show, Hank Schyma has some pro tips to share with you. In this video, he’ll give you some tips and tricks how to make amazing photos and videos of lightning and make it as awe-inspiring in your work as it is in real life. Or maybe even more.
This hypnotizing video of slo-mo lightning took 30 days, 20,000 miles and 10TB of data
Thunderstorms are awe-inspiring, whether you watch them live, in photos or in videos. But videographer and photographer Dustin Farrell has made a slow-motion video that makes thunderstorm more enchanting than ever.
Dustin chased storms during the summer of 2017 and collected his best shots in a short film titled Transient. It shows lightning in slow motion and turns a sudden flash of light into a hypnotizing electrical drawing in the sky. If you enjoy watching the lightning, you’ll enjoy it even more in slow motion.
A man almost gets struck by lightning while filming the storm
Shooting storms is an incredible experience, and many of us are attracted to it. Daniel Modøl from Norway was filming a heavy thunderstorm from his deck – when suddenly a lightning struck incredibly near him. It destroyed a part of his backyard and deck, missing the man for only a couple of meters.
When the model fires the camera – Mixing lightning with light painting
I did a 30 seconds edit of that picture at the airport in Albuquerque and posted it right away on instagram. And it went bananas. I had mixed feeling about this because this is not our work, this is not what I want to be known for. And all of these comments about Star Wars are always making me dizzy (I don’t have a tv, I never watch movies, I have no interest for fiction). I thought I would delete it after one day anyway.
But during the flight we talked a little bit about it. That previous night had been so incredible, so powerful, so violent. Oh wait, I’m talking about the super spicy pasta I made after the thunderstorm. I still can’t feel my mouth and don’t even know where it is.
Pilot captures amazing photos of storms from his cockpit
I sometimes think how awesome it must be for pilots if they love photography. And an Ecuador-based pilot and photographer Santiago Borja Lopez proves me right. He captures night skies from his Boeing 767, and sometimes, these images involve lightning bolts and incredible storms. The sky from an airplane is magnificent on its own, but if you add lightning bolts above the clouds to that picture – you’ll get something completely astounding.
Lightning photography tips I’ve learned from living in South Florida
I live in south Florida and spent many nights last summer chasing storms through swamps and along the beach attempting to learn to shoot lightning. I’m a simple hobbyist so please take these suggestions with a grain of salt or at face value…or whatever, you know what I mean. But I’d like to share some lightning photography tips with those who are new to this.
Ok so settings usually depend on a couple factors… ambient light (dusk, evening, dark night etc), the distance you are from the storm, and the size of the lighting the storms putting down.
Watch how I shot Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII with the world’s first 360 BTS
A while back, Eujin Goh from Broncolor Singapore approached me and asked if I would like to collaborate using some Broncolor gear in a conceptual photoshoot that I could hammer out.
I jumped at the chance and was thrilled to know that I would be using some of Broncolor’s latest tech – the Siros L system – a completely wireless battery-powered lighting solution for photography. You can even control the Siros L from your smart device if you download the Broncolor BronControl app for the iOS!
To sweeten the experience further, I got to shoot on the Phase One XF 100MP as well as the old but gold Hasselblad H3DII-39 (medium format) camera systems!
Storyboarding came next. I had to decide what concept to work on and settled on cosplay photography.
I gathered my team for this epic endeavour and got hold of Rainer Cosplay for an epic collaboration that saw us experimenting with water, smoke and fire.
