I started shooting lightning for the first time on a Friday night the 13th of June, 1997. Yes, that's right! ;-] Since then I was hooked and I still try to shoot any active thunderstorm at night. It is not difficult to photograph lightning, although the number of keeper shots of a session total will be low. Use a SLR camera, ISO 100 film or digital, tripod and cable release, set shutter at "B" (wait for the lightning flash) and set aperture generally at f/4 for quite far, to f/11 for very close lightning. Do not expose for too long (longer than one or two minutes, or even 10 seconds in a big city) in areas with a lot of light pollution, as this will turn out as colored haze. Be sure to find a nice place that is dry and safe. Consider that the wind during a thunderstorm blows away from the heavy precipitation. You wouldn't like to wipe droplets off the lens all the time! Also avoid bright lights to prevent flare. A camcorder should be set really dark at night and dusk to avoid whiteout frames. It is great for capturing the "atmosphere" including thunder but nothing beats a photograph!
You can even capture lightning during daylight too by reacting quickly, but only when most strikes flicker or crawl so that your chances increase :-]
My personal quest is to find nice scenery as a foreground for the lightning. Be creative!

August 5th, 2008  Sant Vicenç de Castellet, Spain

June 29th, 2008  north of Nice