Betty LaRue Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 When the weather turns severe, how many of you rush out to capture it? I can see doing snow, ice, flooding, but here in Oklahoma, our storms are something else. I so want to get shots of some of our menacing wall clouds, the kind tornadoes drop out of, but it seems most of the time when they reach my area, it is dark. Plus you can't get good ones in the city, you need to get into the countryside with a wide angle to capture the immensity against farm fields, and not be blocked by trees and houses. I've thought about driving west to meet storms, but then one can get caught in hail anywhere from ping pong ball to baseball size. Nebraska had a big one the other day. A young businesswoman got caught in her car. She curled in a ball, put her briefcase over her head while all the windows were knocked out. I'll bet she had to shake out her britches after that. I am fascinated by storm cloud images. I want some. I'm just not willing to lose my car to get them. Speaking of storms, tonight and the next few days will be dicey here. Like last night, it'll probably roll in 3 a.m. or after. Betty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Use a hire car perhaps better a small van? Fewer windows and could work on a tripod from the load space, though the doors. Seriously, I can see the appeal, could you use a clamp on the door window or a have the tripod set up in the passenger seat so it can be deployed quickly. with digital cameras the high ISO is so much more usable than it was with film. A bit of "grit" could add to the malevolence of the weather mood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morrison Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Chasing storms, Betty? Here in the UK we just saunter after light drizzle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inchiquin Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Chasing storms, Betty? Here in the UK we just saunter after light drizzle... And most of the time we don't even need to saunter after it. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony C Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 I'm like you Betty. I am just East of you across the line in Arkansas and try to catch the crazy weather. I am just starting here at Alamy and only have a few pictures uploaded and most of those are from tornado damage that I shot from my front yard but I can't seem to get the tornado shots while they're happening. But, I'm still trying and the next few days are supposed to have a high probability of severe weather. Stay safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Back in October 2012, I did not rush out to cover Sandy. A lot of people did, but I have a feeling they're a lot younger than I am. I did my share of young and foolish things back when I was such. Betty, your question reminds me that I stopped covering the Vietnam War partly because it was May and the monsoon season had started in the south. War is twice as much fun in a driving rain that turns the earth into muddy slime. Clouds used to be a big seller in stock; clients would use them as background for products. I have no idea if anyone still does this, and they mostly weren't storm clouds. Coincidently, I've been watching the clouds carefully for the past few days. I wanted to shoot the Freedom Tower against perfect cumulous clouds. By the time I got out yesterday those clouds had turned into cumulousnimbus. Being an Oklahoma native, Betty, I assume you would be able to get within shooting distance and know when the big black wall of storm clouds is moving your way. And you know to get the hell away if you see a funnel cloud appear. It's not just your car that's in danger. Half of the funnel-cloud images on Alamy are Photoshopped or are of the damage a tornado leaves. I don't imagine you are thinking of all the stock sales and money you will get from storm chasing, but if you want to take the picture: go to it. Oh, and Alan and John: I experienced a low-level hurricane in Oxfordshire back in the '80s. It took down a lot of old trees in Blenheim Park and around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 The only weather I chase these days is sunny weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 The only weather I chase these days is sunny weather. I'm all for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSnapper Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 weather photos sell km Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Endicott Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 We've had a lot of weather here in Denver the last couple of weeks. 6 tornadoes touched down yesterday alone. No damage. I was ready to chase storms today but it's not as hot so we won't be getting anything too dramatic. Instead, I'm enjoying a nice 64 degree day. It's about perfect outside from a temperature perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Here in Canada, media outlets now crowdsource extreme weather photos from their "citizen reporters," etc. However, I guess some publishers -- e.g. textbooks -- still need these types of stock images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losdemas Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Here in Canada, media outlets now crowdsource extreme weather photos from their "citizen reporters," etc. However, I guess some publishers -- e.g. textbooks -- still need these types of stock images. ...and here in the UK media, km did very well out of our winter flooding! As he says: weather photos sell km Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Actually living in Nebraska I can confirm we got hit pretty bad with hail a few days back. North side of my house and garage probably has close to 150 holes in the siding, a couple of windows broke, gutters and downspouts smashed, roof vents dented badly, and I'm sure there's damage to the shingles on the roof too...I considered going out and photographing when it first started but it was pretty dark and it only took about a minute from pea sized hail to baseball sized and couples with the high winds it just wasn't worth it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jordan Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 weather photos sell km Itis rumoured that you did well from them last winter.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSnapper Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 storms, snow, floods, fire, fog....they all sell km Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Morgan Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 storms, snow, floods, fire, fog....they all sell km Do they sell primarily as news, or do they sell well as stock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSnapper Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 both km Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Endicott Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Actually living in Nebraska I can confirm we got hit pretty bad with hail a few days back. North side of my house and garage probably has close to 150 holes in the siding, a couple of windows broke, gutters and downspouts smashed, roof vents dented badly, and I'm sure there's damage to the shingles on the roof too... I considered going out and photographing when it first started but it was pretty dark and it only took about a minute from pea sized hail to baseball sized and couples with the high winds it just wasn't worth it... Well, we had a tornado touch down up in the Mountains in Park County (near Fairplay) and there's currently a tornado warning out in Arapahoe County (East of me in South Aurora). Unfortunately, I'm on my way to a going away party for a friend but it should give you something to look forward to a little later this evening Mike. Stay safe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lastrega Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I think you could do worse than befriend some of the farmers in the places you want to photograph - they might let you shelter in some of their buildings? I see there is an Oklahoma farmers association website, maybe you could place an appeal on there? I understand your state is vast, but it's my best suggestion. One of my favourite artists spent her time between Glasgow and a little fishing village near Aberdeen in Scotland. She wanted to paint the storms rolling in from the North sea, so she got the locals to phone her when they saw a storm coming and she hopped on her motorbike and raced across the country to paint the storm. Must have been quite a feat to do in the 50s and 60s on an old bike, but her paintings are truly special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Park Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Lastrega - the Joan Eardley pic brings back memories. Definitely one of my favourite artists, and a great inspiration when I studied at Glasgow School of Art in the late 60’s and early 70’s, thanks for posting that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lastrega Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Lastrega - the Joan Eardley pic brings back memories. Definitely one of my favourite artists, and a great inspiration when I studied at Glasgow School of Art in the late 60’s and early 70’s, thanks for posting that. Definitely inspirational, yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulstw Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I've licensed a few weather pics in the last year. It's worth chasing cause most people are running the other way and capturing that in itself is a crackin shot. One thing I find frustrating in Scotland in the severe lack of anywhere to stop safely on country roads. I saw a weather system move in yesterday. It was just a wall of black cloud and a rainbow in front. Left of the shot was sunshine shining down on the valley it was flippin epic. No where to stop at all, and of course there's always they one person driving up your bumper looking for part numbers. Sometimes it's not always the gear that helps you get the shots lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Brook Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 ,,,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Yes, I could drive out and view the wall cloud, get the shots and turn tail. Sometimes the storms here move like race cars, so if there was no traffic to speak of or torrential rain, it would probably work. As far as shooting a tornado, last year, about 9 days after the latest Moore tornado that killed the school children, another one came and hit El Reno, 20-30 miles straight west of Oklahoma City. Three veteran and fairly famous storm chasers, who had images in National Geographic, had tv shows, etc, were out filming it. These were people who had all the knowledge, all the experience. The tornado took an abrupt turn and killed all three. I don't profess to know a thimbleful of what they knew, so to actually drive out to shoot one would be dicey. Our local television stations send out spotters to film them, and you have lookey loos out there. Then there are the people driving to safety (they think) from the storm path. Sometimes the traffic keeps one from escaping quickly enough. People got caught on I-40 while driving toward OKC from their homes, some were killed. The helicopter shots showed gridlock. Picture looking down at miles and miles of autos, nose to bumper, headlights on, while a tornado is bearing down on them. I can't afford to rent a vehicle. I'd have to do it on the hope that something worthwhile would develop, and often it doesn't. It would be wasted dollars. If I waited until something developed to do it, most likely the offices would be closed, or it would take up so much time the opportunity would be lost. My son said I should buy an old beater to use, something so rusty and cruddy I wouldn't mind hail damage. But then I'd get an old motor that might fail me at the wrong time, LOL, plus my neighbors might not be happy with something like that decorating the neighborhood. Yes, I just heard on the news this morning that Colorado had a new rash of funnels, and I know for sure that Arkansas gets pretty much everything that comes through here, in spades. Betty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Todd Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Stay safe Betty. Life and limb is worth more than any license fee you may get and nowadays that's not a lot anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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