Into a Prairie Storm.
A Prairie thunderstorm just west of Three Hills Alberta. If you look at the left side of the storm you can see a Tornado extending from the base of the flankin...
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A Prairie thunderstorm just west of Three Hills Alberta. If you look at the left side of the storm you can see a Tornado extending from the base of the flanking line.
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Feb, 2016Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Rain In Nature Photo Contest
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken on the highway 583 going west out of Three Hills Alberta Canada.Time
We had just finished a day hike in the Alberta Bad Lands and we were on our way home to Didsbury Alberta. The time would have been in the vicinity of 04:00 PM.Lighting
As you can see the sun is well to the left of the image and is lighting up clouds behind the storm. The storm itself is the ominous gray color that thunderstorms so often display providing some contrast. The lighting, of course, was completely serendipitous, we could not have planned it.Equipment
Normally I use a NIKON D800E for shots like this but if I remember correctly we thought that the photo opportunity would quickly pass by so I grabbed the camera closest to hand and that was a GOPRO. So I put it in single image mode and started snapping pictures.Inspiration
For just about the last 30 years I have taught Meteorology for aviation students at two different institutions of higher learning. Weather is one of the things that fascinates me and so I take a lot of weather pictures. Because this particular storm had a tornado in the flanking line southwest of the rain shaft it made a nearly perfect example of the structure and movement of a Thunderstorm in the North American plains. I simply had to get out of the car and take pictures.Editing
Very little, I adjusted contrast a bit and saturated the colors a bit and then put the image through mild sharpening.In my camera bag
Cameras: NIKON D800E, NIKON D750, Olympus T4 Stylus Tough, GOPRO II, SONY FDR-AX53 Video Cam, a variety of Nikon/Nikkor lenses, two tripods and a large variety of filters, Remote release Pluto Trigger. I can carry everything when we expect to be close to the truck while on a shooting expedition. When we expect to be hiking any distance I have three different backpacks which can be loaded for the particular situation we are planning for.Feedback
If you are targeting thunderstorms you need to learn how to use the various forecasting tools available online from the NOAA. That way you can be in position at a place where strong storms are most likely. Storms that form late in the day often provide backlighting which can be very dramatic if the images are shot from the east of the storm. Safety is always an issue and tornados are not the only danger. Large hail and straight-line winds can also create dangerous situations. Most storms in North America track southwest to northeast but there is wide variability in this and if you are taking images from the east of the storm you need to know when to get in the vehicle and drive out of harm's way. I have seen storm cells traveling at speeds of up to 60mph or just about normal highway speeds so be aware that they can move very quickly.
