Gearing Up For Fall Photojournalism

An ode to a fantastic summer filled with ample golf and stormchasing! What more could a man ask for? Im getting ready for another photojournalism class so i figured this would be appropriate. This is my most sucessful photoessey from last simester and involves a round of golf played by my Father.








Ive also upgraded my photo system to include a Canon 30D camera. So another $645 down and Im ready to go with 2 body setup. No more changing lenses and missing shots!

Ken-Caryl Valley Storm 6/25/08

What a nice suprise! A sweet, photogenic storm went up over the Ken-Caryl Valley right at sunset. This thing had cool structure and awesome lightning. The first shots are in my hood and the last one is out at Castle Pines Pkwy and I-25. Im really happy with these shots! This will help ease the pain of having to miss tommorow's tornadic setup in South Dakota.

Ducking For Cover!

This was taken somewhere south of Wichita, Ks. On June 12th.

Jon and I were both ducking for cover as this struck about 50 yards from us. The photo was taken at 10mm so it looks further away than it really was. I was really lucky to be stopped down and have the shutter open at this point. June 12th was a frustrating day with a cold front crashing through the area. We had all but given up home. we were hunting for a place to get dinner in Wichita as a huge supercell formed right over the southern part of the city. We were unable to get east of the hook due to traffic, street flooding, and road construction. More supercells formed to the southwest and we were able to intercept these after dark for some killer lightning. The bulk of my chasing this season is behind me. I will save my money for the outbreaks in August and September barring a potent tornadic setup closer to home. I will continue to shoot storms and lightning in the Denver area throughout the summer.

5/22-5/24 NEW VIDS!!!

Here is the video courtesy of Jon Merage. His video and editing skills are fantastic and these vids bring justice to these tornadoes like no photograph can do.

Multiple tornadoes near Orlando, Ok. on the 24th!


Hoxie, Ks. Multivortex madness on the 22nd!

More of Jon's videos can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/jmchaser

Fantastic Nightime Tornadoes in Kansas!!!

Another Amazing chase!!! I finally was able to take tripoded shots of a tornado at night with lightning. We were just north of Belleville, Ks. observing this tornado.

Well, this is pretty much the money shot. Focus was a little off and ISO 800 left a little something to be desired but I am thrilled regardless.


Awesome Tornado!!! This image is heavily edited.


Finally!


Another Killer shot. I was loosing it as I reviewed this image on my camera.


Very Nice Structure! It was hard to tell how many seperate tornadoes were observed.


Action in Kearney, Ne. Earlier in the day.


Nasty looking wall cloud. Not sure if there was a tornado here.


This was sooo close to touching down.


We started the day in Goodland, Ks. noticing that the SPC had their risk way too far east. All it took was an easy drive to Hays and and north to Kearney, NE. The Kearney storm was fierce but visibility was an issue. We watched power flashes and a rain-wrapped tornado pass through north Kearney. We abandoned the storm near Grand Island, Ne. and dropped south to a new supercell near Beloit, Ks. We were pretty late for this one but after shooting lightning in Concordia, Ks. we booked north to Belleville with hopes of a nightime tornado. Obviously, we got our wish and some great shots to boot. A few tornadoes and a possible wedge were observed north of Belleville. This and previous chases in May have all lead to tornadoes. We are going on 5 consecutive chase days with observed tornadoes, Fantastic!! Hopefully the trend will continue with minimal loss of life and minimal damage to property in the effected areas.

5/24 Oklahoma Tornadoes

2 tornadoes on the ground here. The one in the foreground moved right at us as the other tornado roped out. This storm offered very little in the way of visibility after these tubes.


Our attention quickly focused on this tornado that came right at us.


Majestic tornado in its weakening stage.


A nice CG blasts right through the RFD of the decaying supercell.


Intense lightning right over the highway.








This day offered two potential targets, one to the north in Nebraska and one to the south along an outflow boundary in north/central Oklahoma. We didnt like the instability forecast for Nebraska so we blasted south to Oklahoma where a large tornadic supercell was already ongoing. We were quite late to the storm but that didnt stop us from seeing 2, possibly 3 tornadoes. This was also the only real quality lightning op for us over the 4 days.

Despite a really great stormchase, many people lost their lives and homes in this tornado outbreak. The tornado in Parkersburg that killed at least 6 has been rated an EF-5 by NWS Des Moines, the first in Iowa since 1976. My thoughts are with all who were affected by these tornadic events.

5/23 Tornadoes in kansas

Nasty EF-4 Tornado to the south of Quinter, Ks. On an intercept course with us. This was my first time being chased by a violent tornado.


The tornado went multivortex as it crossed the highway before wedging out north of Quinter.


Contrast enhanced image of one of the tornadoes north of Ness City, Ks.


Another Amazing day! We watched the Quinter, Ks. EF-4 tornado cross I-70 right infront of us. It was a nasty looking cone south of the highway but transformed into a multivortex tornado as it crossed the I-70. Unfortunately, the road network in the area sucked, offering no paved road options north out of Quinter just as we experienced on May 22nd of last year. Many chasers found them selves stuck in the mud around the Quinter area. We blasted east after seeing this tube and dropped south to the next storm. We go stuck behind the ROTATE armada but witnessed two more tornadoes north of Ness City, Ks. The light was very low and I had to use a high ISO so the pictures kinda suck.

5/22 chase report with 3 tornadoes in kansas

Jon Merage and I woke up in Colby and travelled south to Scott City, Ks. It wasnt long before the first supercell formed to our southeast. We tracked the storm north where we witnessed a brief tornado near Monument Rocks, Ks. We continued north past I-70 where we witnessed the rope-out of a tornado south of Hoxie. After that, we headed east of Hoxie where we filmed the birth and almost full life of a large tornado. The tornado started out as a multi-vortex cone and quickly morphed into a large, full condensation cone with violent movement. Some may have called it a wedge but I like cone better. We tried to follow the storm north but encountered downed power lines and broke off the chase. We are in McCook tonight and wont have far to drive for a very similar setup with fast northerly storm motions. I will have pix up soon.

Significant Tornadoes Possible Today!

Jon and I woke up in Colby, Ks. This morning. We really dont have too far to go but may drop south just a bit. There is a risk for strong tornadoes in southwest and west/central Ks. Will be posting a report later tonight assuming we arent dodging supercells near Mcook, Ne. after dark.

(Update)Nasty Weather Coming Next Week!!!

(Update)
The GFS just updated here before bedtime. Things are looking better and better for the possibility of an outbreak late nextweek, likely on friday. The ECMWF model is in fairly good agreement with the GFS so this gives me confidence that these models are not full of crap. We are going to be out starting wednesday where there will be a chance for tornadic storms after dark. The cap on wednesday looks crazy now but this could change. Either way, we are in full chase mode starting next week.
(Update)


This spring has been very active for severe weather in all the wrong places. Unfortunately, we have already had many deaths as a result of tornadoes in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Next week is showing some pretty big potential starting Wednesday and possibly lasting through saturday or longer. The GFS forecast model is painting a pretty picture for us stormchasers but lives could also be in danger. I really havent seen a trough like this since Greensburg. The atmosphere is going to be primed for huge supercells with ample moisture and INCREDIBLE forecasted shear and upper energy.


Really nice mid and upper energy progged for central Kansas on Wedensday with 50-70kts at 500mb.



Decent moisture and a dryline with dry air punching in from the southwest. It will be nice to chase in west/central Kansas for once!


This thing BOMBS out at 978mb!!! Surface temps are going to be nearing 100 in sw Kansas. Im pretty worried about the cap on this day (18c at H7) but we will have some pretty strong forcing. We will have to wait and see how it developes.



Upper winds are INSANE on Friday. Almost 100kts at 500mb!!! And 125kts at 250mb!


Friday just looks downright nasty! Although it may be a squall line with linear forcing perpendicular to the dryline.


This of course could all change but the GFS has been fairly consistant in bringing this trough into the plains. Everything looks to be in phase so it will be interesting to see how strong the cap is and how the surface features set up. Jon Merage and I will be out Wedensday through Saturday or longer. We will go wherever the storms are, including Missouri, Iowa, and Arkansas if nececarry. Im ready for some Naders!!!

(Updated Video)4/23 Texas Chase Report

Link to video courtesy of my chase partner, Jon Merage.


A frustrating day. We woke up in Clayton, NM after driving through the night. We slept in when we should have been on the road at 8 am heading south down to I-20. We had lunch at Chili's and wasted even more time. We werent counting on the main round of storms firing so early after the grunge-fest moved out so we were planning on a 6 or 7 p.m. initiation. The storms didnt wait and there was tornadoes on the ground as we were coming through Lubbock. We blasted south to catch the LaMesa storm. We must have missed the tube by only a few minutes judging by the incredible structure and severe rotation.


This is the view we got as we emerged from a precision core-punch into the middle of the hook. We only encountered quarter sized hail as GR2 was estimating 3.25 inch hail sizes.

This thing had amazing structure.

The LaMeso!!
I only managed snapshots on this chase due to driving and lots of rain.

Strong rotation almost overhead.

Pretty awesome looking storm in its decaying stages (note the dual level inflow).



Nice little sunset storm as we headed back north to our south KS target for the next day. I would have stopped and tripoded but this thing refused to put out any CG's

The next day yeilded no pictures but only video. Jon Merage is reviewing the video to verify if we saw the tornado near Bogue, KS. It looked like a nice tube for sure but we are not certain that it was on the ground due to hills and no line of sight. We were also late to this storm as we missed the spectacular daytime structure while holding out on our south target near Medicine Lodge, KS. It was a bad call but we couldnt convince our selves that the NW, KS storm would produce based on low surface dews and weak surface winds. The storm of course moved into better air and turned into a monster. Im looking forward to more successful chases in the near future.

Sunday 3/30/08 Storm Shots!!!

Well, what can I say? It was an awesome first chase of the year. Only a few possible brief tornadic circulations were observed but we will have to check the video. Overall, it was a fantastic trip for photography, at least the 30th anyway. Our targeting was precise and our choices were strong. The 31st was a really frustrating day and the 15% hatched tornado risk did not verify. We were right infront of the only tornado reported in Oklahoma but could not verify a touchdown due to poor visibility through trees and hills although witnessing damage in the area. I will have pix from that up later. Im going to skip a lengthy chase report here. These shots are in no particular order.


Killer Sunset with a mini LP Supercell in the distance.

This is the main supercell shortly after initiation.

This is well after dark here shortly before the cell was tornado warned as an increasing low level jet strengthened the storm. We flirted with several supercells in the area after dark.

The first supercell beginning to go outlow dominant

Several of our friends including the Carlsons, and Tony Laubach, sampled this core as we were listening to the hail roar from a safe distance.

3/30/08 Chasing Update

Today, we chased in Western Oklahoma just south of I-40. Im proud to say we targeted around 10 miles away from the main storms of the day. We chased a few different supercells well into the night and observed several wall clouds and funnels but no tornadoes. We will chase Central and Eastern Oklahoma tommorow before bolting back to Denver in an attempt to make class the next day. Pictures from today's chase will follow when I get back to Denver.

Luongo Pulled During AV'S Ownage!!!

This is a slideshow depicting the struggles of the Canucks. All of these are shot from the 3rd level with my 200mm f/2.8L and a 1.4x tele-converter. I really need a camera with a spot meter to get consistent exposures. These are roughly edited.

Milan Hejduk had 2 goals and an assist tonight, earning 1st star of the game next to Peter Forsberg and Paul Stastny. Ben Guite scores a goal as Luongo flops in his net.

Cody McLeod goes 5-hole on Luongo to continue the 4th line production.

The AVS celebrate the timely goal by #55 Cody McLeod.

A late scrum shows the frustrations of the Canucks.

This pretty much sums up the night for a HOSER!!!

3/20/08 Possible chase next week

The longrange GFS model is hinting at a possible setup in w/c OK or north TX. Quality moisture will begin working northward by early next week. This is right on time with last year's March 28th setup. hopefully this will pan out unlike the last time I looked at the GFS this far out.

2/22 Snowboard Shots

Nothing seemed to be going on today so I headed up to the Ruby Hill Snowboard Park to get some shots for my photojournalism class. My buddy Kyle tagged along so I could get some shots of him on the boxes. Overall it was a pretty decent shoot despite crappy light and a severely cramped park. It was tough to isolate my subjects from the ample distractions in the backgrounds. I utilized my Sigma 10-20mm and Canon 200mm 2.8L lenses. I tried a few with fill flash against the sun with little success.

2/19/07 Baseball and Fast Pitch Softball

I have been shooting quite a bit of baseball and softball but this was the first time with the new 200mm f/2.8 lens. All of these are shot wide open at f/2.8. I found it hard to beleive that these are so sharp at f/2.8. This lens is truly amazing and I found I didnt miss the zoom one bit. Im not used to shooting at 200mm wide open and I should have stepped down to f/4 or f/5.6 to get a larger depth of field on the subjects in a few shots. Unfortunately, there was no batting practice today so I focused on the pitchers and catchers. I cropped two of these just a tiny bit.

This shot is slightly out of focus but I like the composition here.
Tac sharp, unbelievable.

It would have been nice to have 8fps and captured the whole sequence.

If you look at the ground under the catcher, the extreme shallow depth of field with this lens at f/2.8 is illustrated nicely.

The color, sharpness, and contrast are superior with this lens. This is the best $450 I have ever spent on camera gear.

Skate Shotz

It was hard to turn down 60 degree weather in February so I headed out the Clement skate park. My photojournalism instructor, the world renowned Kenn Bisio has removed my ability to use zoom or autofocus in order to help me see in focal lengths. I understand the purpose for this but my keeper photo rate has decreased severely. No zoom would have been fine but autofocus could have really helped here. Regardless, I did manage to capture quite a few good shots of some local skateboarders. My special thanks to Ryan, Brandon, and Jonpaul for working with me on this day. These shots are taken with my 70-300 and 10-20mm lenses at the long or short ends of the zoom only.

Ryan does a flip trick on the quarterpipe
Jonpaul leaps over a trashcan. This kid rips for his age.

A tighter crop of Jonpaul before clearing the trash.

Brandon gave me some really great shots today

I did use my new 430EX flash here. I still have some work to do with the white balance here. Notice the purple tint.

In conclusion, this was a pretty decent day. I found it was almost impossible to use my new 10mm lens so the 70-300mm was employed for much of the day. I will take the 28-90mm lens for my next skate shoot. I also want to try shooting this park at night, using the new flash to its full potential.

Am I Going Crazy?

Ok well that about does it. I have spent quite a bit of cash lately on camera equipment. I pulled the trigger on my photojournalism/sports lens, the Canon 200mm f2.8L prime lens. I have been noticing that I am always shooting at 200mm with my 70-300mm zoom so why bother with the zoom? Anyway, the Canon 200mm f2.8 along with the Sigma 10-20mm and Canon 430EX flash means that I have spent $ 1125 on camera gear this month. I think it is safe to say I am going to be selling all of my cheap ass tamron and Canon kit lenses as im almost broke.

My New Baby 1/25/08

Finally!!! After nearly a year of searching for a nice used copy of this lens, I found one for sale on Craigslist. This is like the 3rd time that Craigslist has came through for me for buying and selling camera gear. Behold the Sigma 10-20mm f4.0-5.6 EX DG. This lens shows less distortion and better sharpness than its Canon counterpart, the EF-S 10-22mm. This lens is also built way tougher than the flimsy Canon EF-S. After some testing, I concluded that this is a sharp copy and the lens does not have the decentering issue that some others have reported. I will use this lens for panoramic photo composites and up close action sports shots. I will be shooting with this lens tommorow and will post the results soon after.

The lack of a spinning focus ring promotes the use of filters.10mm doesnt come without distortion but this lens will do great with landscapes and action shots. GO GO GADGET ARM!!!Gawd I cant wait to take this stormchasing!!!