Good evening everyone

[tornado34jh]

So I am new here, thus I am still learning the ins and outs of these things. So I live in Lakeland, Florida, but I was born in Bethesda, Maryland. I do lightning photography, but also play piano, keyboards and synthesizers, also like astronomy. I have visited this site numerous times, but only recently have started posting here. I have had high-functioning autism all my life. You may see me post things on many different topics. So I will be around every now and then.

[Skittles]

1. welcome to DU

curious what you mean by "lightning photography", how about a sample

[Irish_Dem]

2. Welcome to DU!

I look forward to your posts.

[Docreed2003]

3. Welcome to DU

[Luciferous]

4. Welcome to DU!

[snowybirdie]

5. Hello

[Tetrachloride]

6. welcome

the astronomy people here hide in Weather Watchers or a science group

i watch stars but no telescope

[Conjuay]

7. HOWDY!

Yeah, photographing lightning is a kind of “Florida” thing.

When I first moved here, I heard a weatherman mentioning six hundred lightning strikes…

At first I thought he meant a year, but no. He meant an HOUR. In a single storm system.

I am only half joking when I tell visitors not to carry too much change in their pockets😄

[tornado34jh]

8. This was taken here in Lakeland, Florida at 7:31 pm, on July 14th, 2022

[link:|

[Walleye]

12. Really cool shot, welcome to your new home. DU

[tornado34jh]

14. Another one from the same thunderstorm

[link:|

[housecat]

55. Beautiful photograph!

[tornado34jh]

56. I started doing lightning photography when I moved to Florida in 2015

Before that, I lived in northern Virginia, where I had my fair share of big storms, just as the 2012 derecho that hit Fairfax County on June 29th, 2012. We had high-end storm force winds (65-73 mph) and it was during a major heat wave.

[kimbutgar]

57. Do you take your pictures on a camera or phone?

My son has autism and only uses a camera to take pictures. I gave him an old iPhone and he said he likes his camera better!

Beautiful picture!

[tornado34jh]

58. Camera

Yes, I use a digital camera. When it comes to lightning, fast-speed is preferable. While you can do it on a phone, by itself it isn't really designed for it. When you press the button on a phone, there is a delay to when you press it until you get the picture, and by then, you might miss it. It is also the same problem with astronomy. It isn't really designed for long exposure, and nearly every astronomy picture I have seen they use a mirrorless/DSLR camera with a sensor size of at least an APS-C size or larger. Also, if you half-press the shutter button, on a digital camera. it should lock into a scene and then when ready you press it. Burst speed/continuous shooting is the preferred method I use for lightning. Ideally getting a camera that has continuous shooting of at least 10 fps is preferable, with 7 fps probably being the minimum, the latter of which is what I currently have with my camera. The reason is the amount of time per frame. For example, at 7 fps, each shot is done in approximately 0.142 seconds. If you were to get a camera with say 15 fps, it goes down to 0.066 seconds per frame, and that can mean a big difference between getting it or not. I am trying to get a newer, faster camera. I still probably would still get a point and shoot camera so that I can easily take it with me when I go out and it won't be too expensive. That said, I am thinking of maybe getting a multi-purpose ILC camera for both lightning photography and astronomy, with maybe the consideration of a full-spectrum conversion (e.g. from Kolari or Life Pixel). Now of course, any interchangeable lens camera I do get, should I decide to do so, I'm not going to get say a Sony A1 or a Nikon Z9, as that is way beyond anything I would need and it would probably be overkill. Most likely if I went that route I would get a mirrorless camera. Nonetheless, there still are certain criteria I would need. First, it has to have a fast burst speed preferably at least 10 fps with mechanical shutter, Second, the camera and whatever lenses I do get have to be weather-sealed. Finally, since my parents are in Montana, and it gets cold in the winter, it ideally should be freeze resistant to some extent (the lowest I have found goes down to 14 F). It sounds like a lot, but really cold temperatures and electronics have not been my friend. Although yes people do it in much colder temperatures, by itself a camera is more designed for above-freezing temperatures if you look at the operating temperature.

[kimbutgar]

60. Thanks for the info Tornado34jh

One more question Canon or another brand?

[tornado34jh]

67. It's a Samsung camera I got in 2013

More specifically, it is a Samsung WB350F. But it is on its last legs. It's barely working. Heck, these pictures I was able to take, I was lucky enough to even get them as it was barely working. But then again, it was probably damaged when I took it up to the humid continental climate of Maine during the holidays, particularly since we were near the coast. It was cold, but because we were near the ocean, it often was more humid than if it were inland. However, my parents are in Montana, which is often much colder than in Maine, so any future camera I do get, it has to be able to handle cold temperatures. That said, however, I probably would get something like a Olympus TG-6 for the rainy climate here and maybe for travel up to Montana, and maybe a freeze resistant ILC camera to do landscape astronomy in Montana, particularly for the aurora borealis. However, unlike the Olympus TG-6, which is supposed to be dust, shock, and waterproof up to a point, I wouldn't use a mirrorless camera in thunderstorm weather, plus taking the bus to the location and all that, I wouldn't risk that. But then again, there is another camera, the Panasonic FZ-300, which has a 25x zoom with a constant aperture throughout its range, that I am also thinking. But in astronomy, long exposure is the thing. They have something called a bulb mode, which is where you hold down the shutter until you release it. However, some cameras, particularly Nikon and Canon, have an alternative mode called time mode. That is where you press the shutter, and it keeps it open until you press it again. Some have the option of selecting how long you want to keep the shutter open. Now I have heard people, when they do lightning photography, will use something that detects the infrared/light from lightning and it takes a picture. Other times people will use video and then take the frame from that video. If that is what they prefer, that's fine. But to me, I don't care for either of those because I think it defeats the challenge of getting lightning pictures. More times than not I don't get them, but when I do get lightning pictures, I feel good because I feel like I did a lot of hard work to get them. Lightning is supposed to be challenging to get. If it were easy, you would see a lot more lightning pictures out there. That said, I have not done long exposure photography with lightning, although I have heard it is supposed to be amazing. Then again, with -CG (negative cloud to ground) lightning, you don't see the other branches because they are so quick and you only see the return stroke of a single channel.

[Skittles]

64. wow!

that is outstanding!

[JudyM]

65. Can almost hear it crackle, what a great shot!

Glad you’re here, tornado34jh!

[tornado34jh]

73. I think it was about 3-4 miles away

But with a +CG lightning strike, which I posted an example of one, the thunder will still be very loud even while it is a significant distance away. That is because it has a lot more voltage and amperes than a -CG lightning strike. They also tend to last longer and only produce a single stroke as opposed to a quick, multiple stroke -CG lightning strike, although a -CG lightning strike could still do it in what is called staccato lightning. A positive CG lightning strike can have up to 300,000 amperes and up to 1 billion volts compared to m more typical -CG lightning strike, which has 30,000 amperes, 10 million volts. Now air is not a good conductor of electricity, and since a positive CG is usually at the top of a thunderstorm cloud, it needs a lot more energy to get to the ground. Usually it is more towards the end of the storm, since at the beginning of the storm, it will be all negative cloud to ground lightning. However, in the winter, because the height of the troposphere is lower due to less solar energy, often cold-air thunderstorms or even thundersnow produce more +CG lightning. I have been in thunderstorms with temperatures as low as 40-45 degrees, but I have never seen thundersnow. Of course, when there is thundersnow, it is often very loud because it has to be relatively close. If you go outside after a major snowfall, it sounds very quiet. That is because snow is an excellent acoustic suppressor because it is porous. That is why, if people are buried under an avalanche, people can't hear them because the snow dampens any sound waves. So during a regular summer thunderstorm, in a quiet, rural area, you could hear thunder say 10 miles away, although I have occasionally heard thunder from 15 miles away. But in thundersnow, the lightning would have to be no more than maybe 5 miles at most, and usually it is a lot closer to that.

[JudyM]

74. Interesting!

Fun that you have such depth of knowledge about the science behind your art!

[tornado34jh]

76. Indeed

Now obviously I didn't see cold-weather thunderstorms here in Florida. I believe I was in Illinois at the time. I have lived in the Chesapeake/Norfolk area, Hawaii, the Gurnee/Waukegan area in Illinois, Fairfax County in Virginia, as well as being in Italy, lived in Orlando for 2 years, before currently living in Lakeland. In all those areas, I dealt with almost every type of weather scenario. The ones I have not been in are an ice storm (although I have seen freezing rain, but not enough to be considered an ice storm), dust storm, and an actual tornado (although I did see a funnel cloud once). But for me, warm weather, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorms are more what I like. Of course, between all of the places that I have lived in are different climates. When I first visited Italy, the first thing I noticed was the hot, sometimes humid, but dry summers, typical of a Mediterranean climate. The west coast of the United States actually has this climate, with dry summers, but wet winters. Now for a place to be considered a Mediterranean climate, at least 4 months have to be averaging at least 50 F, the coldest month can not average below 27 F (some use 32 F), the driest summer month has to average less than 30 mm (approx. 1.18 inches), and that the driest summer month can't be no more than 1/3 that of the wettest summer. So if a given place has the driest summer month of say 28 mm (1.1 inches), but the wettest winter month is say 90 mm or 3.54 inches, it is considered a Mediterranean climate. There are two types, hot and warm, with the former requiring that the warmest month averages above 72 F. Conversely, most of Florida has a humid subtropical climate with somewhat drier winters but wet summers. However, it is not dry enough to be considered a monsoon-influenced climate as you might see in say the Indian subcontinent or Mexico City. For it to be a monsoon-influenced climate, the average rainfall of the driest month has to be no more than 1/10 that of the wettest summer month. So for example, if a given place has a January month of say 0.05 inches but the wettest month is say 6.5 inches, then it is considered that. But if the same place has the average rainfall of its driest month as being 1.30 inches and the wettest month is say 5.2 inches, then it is not enough because the driest month is only 25% of the wettest summer month. Just like above, there are two types, but in the subtropical climate, the cooler one is often called oceanic or subtropical highland (e.g. Mexico City). However, in all instances, it cannot be semi-arid.

[JudyM]

77. Also interesting.

Delicate balances for the native fauna/flora.

[tornado34jh]

78. Well, the Koppen climate classification, which is the main one used, is based on native vegetation

This gives a more detailed explanation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification

In a nutshell:
It is grouped as follows (all except group B and E cannot be arid)
Group A: Tropical (all months average 64.4 F)
Group B: Dry (more water is lost than the rainfall brings)
Group C: Temperate (average temperature of coldest month is not lower than 27 F, but at least one month averages 50 F or higher)
Group D: Continental (average temperature of coldest month is lower than 27 F and at least one month averages 50 or higher)
Group E: Polar or alpine (no month averages more than 50 F; it is often arid precipitation wise, but due to low temperature and low evaporation, it is grouped with polar climates)

Within each group are subdivisions depending on certain criteria
Group A: Af, Am, Aw, As
Group B: BSh, BSk, BWh, BWk
Group C: Cfa, Cfb, Cfc, Csa, Csb, Csc, Cwa, Cwb, Cwc
Group D: Dfa, Dfb, Dfc, Dfd, Dsa, Dsb, Dsc, Dsd, Dwa, Dwb, Dwc, Dwd
Group E: ET, EF

So for example, Lakeland, Florida is a Cfa climate. This denotes a humid subtropical climate. C means it is temperate or not hot enough to be considered tropical, f meaning there is no dry season or doesn't meet criteria to satisfy a dry summer (Cs) or dry winter (Cw), while the a means the warmest month averages about 71.6 F. However, it does have a little bit of Aw characteristics in that the wet season is between June and September and it is somewhat drier in the winter. Another example, Oymyakon, Russia, one of the coldest places on Earth, is a Dfd climate. The coldest month is below 27 F, it is not dry enough in the winter to be a dry winter, at least one month averages above 50 F, and the d means that the coldest month is below -37 F. However, lately it has been having well above normal to record high temperatures in the summer within the last 10 years. It once reached 100 degrees, and it is located in the Arctic Circle. It is by no means the only place. As many of you have probably read, many places in the Arctic and many mid-latitude places have seen above normal temperatures. I read an article in December 2022 showing that many places in Europe started winter with well above normal temperatures. It was so warm, they had to close ski resorts. So even though the climate type is what is expected to be normal (30 year average), it rarely is. Occasionally it is below normal, but more times it has been above normal. Record high temperature exceed record low temperatures by sometimes as much as 10 to one.

[JudyM]

80. Yeah, folks here post articles/data on the warming climate as they're published.

You might want to check out the Science groups here. There’s one for weather watchers, if you hadn’t spotted that yet.

[tornado34jh]

81. I did see the Weather Watchers group

However, the group seems to involve current weather, and right now here in Lakeland, Florida, it is the dry season. There isn't really anything major happening since it is not the busy time of the year for me, which is June through November, with the first three months being the time I try to get lightning pictures if I have the right camera gear, and the months of September through November is when I deal with hurricanes, although there is some overlap. Even then, right now I am not ready to go to any of the specific groups yet. I have only joined this site a few days ago on Saturday, January 28th. It will take me some time to get the feel of this site and everyone around here.

[livetohike]

9. Welcome to DU! n/t

[Tetrachloride]

10. i am into piano comedy

such as in Who Framed Roger Rabbit

[markie]

11. Welcome

make yourself at home!

I lived in Lakeland for about 2 months and decided it wasn't for me (not enough snow in the winter ), although it is a nice town!

the photography group would love to see your photos

[cilla4progress]

13. Howdy and

welcome!

[Bluethroughu]

15. Welcome

Awesome stormy photos! My daughter and son have high functioning Autism.

I'm glad you are here and look forward to your posts.

[Mopar151]

16. At DU, "normal" is just a point on the spectrum

It's just where some curves coincide.....

[rainy]

17. Welcome and I have cousins from Lakeland:)

[Solly Mack]

18. Welcome to DU!

Love your photographs you shared. We have a Photography Group. Please give us a look.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. Hello! And welcome to DU!

Hope you have a long and wonderful time here.

[secondwind]

20. Welcome to DU!

[aggiesal]

21. Welcome to DU ...

You'll find that your fellow DUer's are really smart and have some of the funniest sense of humor of any site.

Welcome aboard.

[MontanaMama]

22. Welcome.

Your lightning photos are breathtaking. We have a photography forum…I’ll bet you would be a wonderful addition to that group, among others.

[tornado34jh]

23. Thanks everyone

I should note that it can be tough to discuss things. As you are aware, although I like the weather here, I don't like the government here in Florida. But considering that my hands can't really handle cold temperatures and there isn't a lot of great options for me, I am kind am stuck with where I am. Also, I should note that there are certain things that are very dicey to discuss with my relatives/friends in person, such as politics and religion, stuff I don't normally put on other mediums because if I said what I really thought, somebody such as a co-worker, boss, relatives, etc could potentially see that and it would not be a good look.

[nightwing1240]

24. Welcome to DU!

I will watch for your posts, best wishes and welcome to DU

[Deuxcents]

25. Welcome Friend. Your photo of a Florida storm is fantastic. I, too, live

In the lightening capital.. south of you. Looking forward to more photos

[tornado34jh]

26. Astronomy pictures

[link:| Solar eclipse using colander trick

[link:| Night sky/deep sky aurora in Northport, Maine
[link:| Night sky in Northport, Maine

[tiredtoo]

27. Welcome to DU

Have a 24 year old grandson in the Autism spectrum.

[Warpy]

28. Welcome to DU

and better thee than me. I was born in FL athough I never lived there. My parents retired there and I had 40 years of visits that became longer as they grew older. You couldn't give me that state on a solid gold platter with the Hope diamond in its mouth.

My mother once said she loved to see them building all those high rises along the beaches, they'd make Florida sink faster.

However, if you think it's where good people go when they die, enjoy it.

Enjoy DU, also.

[tornado34jh]

32. I see

My family is scattered all over the place. My brother was in Seattle for a while, and this upcoming fall they will be in California, my sister is in Denver, although they don't plan to stay there, while my parents are in Whitefish, Montana so my family is scattered all over. I'm not saying it's where good people go to die, but again, my other options are probably worse. I'm from Bethesda, Maryland, and I would stay in Northern Virginia, which is where I spent a majority of my time, but I couldn't afford it, even if I was with someone I knew. Also, most, if not all my friends are no longer there. Then again, if we want to do the Bugs Bunny thing of cutting off Florida from the United States, I guess you could do it that way.

[BlueTexasMan]

29. Howdy

From the great state of Texas. Your work is fascinating!

[denbot]

30. Welcome to DU

[markodochartaigh]

31. Beautiful pictures!

I also have high-functioning autism. I was in Lakeland last year for the Great Florida Bigfoot Conference. Welcome!

[Murphyb849]

33. Welcome ❤️❤️❤️

[Grumpy Old Guy]

34. Welcome!

[judesedit]

35. I look forward to reading your posts. Welcome

[Laffy Kat]

36. Hai!

Welcome!

[pazzyanne]

37. Welcome!

Looking forward to reading your future posts. Glad you are here.

[sinkingfeeling]

38. Hi.

[flying_wahini]

39. Welcome to DU, the more the merrier.

I think you will find lots of varied topics here.

Enjoy them and Speak up if you have any questions or comments.

[AllaN01Bear]

40. wilcome abord. hope u share your lightining photograpy in the weather watchers group.

[tornado34jh]

41. The pictures were taken on a point-and-shoot Samsung Camera

It's served me well, but it is on its last legs and is barely working. I am hoping to get a better camera, such as an Olympus TG-6, Panasonic FZ-300, or maybe a ILC camera that does a multi-purpose thing, such as a Fujifilm X camera or maybe a Canon R6 II, with a consideration to have a full-spectrum conversion (e.g. from Lifepixel or Kolari).

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

42. Welcome!

[lark]

43. Welcome aboard!

I love it here, it's the best place for news and lefty political discussions plus forums for your particular interests. Hope you like it here too.

[tornado34jh]

45. Thanks

Trust me, before I started posting here, I visited this site numerous times. Let's just say that some of the stuff here I probably would not be discussing with some of my relatives, especially with certain things. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but there are things that I try to avoid discussing with them. Also, as you are probably aware, nowadays a lot of companies go on social media, so posting stuff like this is dicey. I have many friends on Facebook and Instagram who don't think the same way as me. So even though I may read something there and want to say something, I have done so before and my family didn't like what I posted, so I ended up deleting it even though many of my friends did like it. It's a precarious balance that I have to contend with. Although I don't regret what I put, I am sort of forced to keep it low in regards to certain things.

[Klondike Kat]

44. Welcome to DU!

I think you'll like it here.

[solara]

46. Welcome!

hope to hear more from you

[kooth]

47. Welcome!

I live in Tampa. I'm a bassist, saxophonist, but I'm retired now. It's good to have another musician on the site!

[RestoreAmerica2020]

48. Lightening photography? Sounds electrifying! Love your photos --

..

Have a great day.

Paz.

[llashram]

49. welcome

[MiHale]

50. Welcome home!...

Great place to learn about all sorts of things as varied as your interests.

[appalachiablue]

51. Hey there and welcome, outstanding photos! I worked in Bethesda near NIH for years

and have long ties to Florida. Glad you're on board.

[MLAA]

52. Glad you found us!

[housecat]

53. Welcome! I predict you'll have interesting posts

[tornado34jh]

54. Some music for when it is a rough day (from another post)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181769259

[YDogg]

59. Meanwhile, in Lakeland

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-polk/9-people-injured-2-critical-after-shooting-in-lakeland

Welcome to DU, tornado34jh!

[tornado34jh]

62. Why am I not surprised

I hear it all the time, you wonder why people can't have nice things. But trust me, I will have my take on this and many others. In fact, on some I already have (e.g. Azerbaijan and Armenia, the $100 million Super Bowl ad, the idiot sending welcome grenades). Now looking around this site, I see you have different things. I see Editorials and other Articles, Video/Multimedia, Breaking news, etc. I also see you have different topics. Now I am not familiar with those, and I do have thoughts on certain things (e.g. Ukraine, Iran, etc.). I don't know where I would post those.

[Elessar Zappa]

70. Most serious stuff should be posted in General Discussion.

That’s by far the forum with the most traffic.

[tornado34jh]

71. Thanks

I posted an article recently about the shooting here in Lakeland on General Discussion, as I live there and know the area well. Some have suggested that I put it in the Florida Forum. Again, I am not familiar with that, so I went with where I thought I would work.

[JudyM]

82. You can always cross-post

Post in GD if you think there’ll be broad interest, then start a post in the FL group with a quick blurb and a link to the GD post — that’ll keep the discussion mostly in one thread. Or you could post the whole thing twice, or in either place, your call. You just want to check out the “about this forum/ group” tab before posting (especially if you ever post in LBN).

[tornado34jh]

83. I see, thanks

It will take me some time to get used to the features, as I only just joined this past weekend. I am slowly starting to get the feel of some of it, but it still will take me time. For me, joining something that I have never done takes me a while. While I do go on Youtube and I have a channel there, actually commenting there is still daunting. Especially in a very volatile world, you just don't know who is going to respond. I commented once on a +CG lightning strike video, and someone replied on there some weird thing that I wasn't sure what they were saying.

[OldBaldy1701E]

61. Greetings and Welcome to DU!

One of my brothers lives there. Nice place. And, somewhat aptly named!

[malaise]

63. Welcome to DU

[SheltieLover]

66. Welcome to DU

[tornado34jh]

68. Here is a +CG for good measure

[link:|


Very different from a -CG, A +CG, or positive ground to ground lightning, has a very distinctive thunder. It sounds like a sonic boom, cannon, or sometimes like metal hitting metal. The lightning did not hit the lightning pole, it hit behind the trees. Somehow the other postimage links are having problems, so the other images that should have been there are not.

[debm55]

69. Welcome to DU

[yellowdogintexas]

72. Welcome! The Lounge is where I have made the most DU

friends.

I am a Texas by way of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Indiana.

I love Florida, and am a real sucker for books with a Florida setting, especially South Florida.

Your photos are fantastic!!!

If you are a reader, do check out the Fiction group.

[Emile]

75. Welcome aboard!

[a kennedy]

79. Always glad to get new posters on DU.......welcome, and enjoy it.