Minnesota Storm Clouds

I went storm chasing yesterday morning after recently watching some very impressive storm videos on Youtube, the Wyoming tornado in particular. Yesterday's forecast and radar lined up so I went hunting using a GoPro and my 7D.  Rain is an issue that you don't notice when watching the edited clips. Wind can also be a challenge but yesterday was relatively calm, just wet.

 

Passing storm

Watching clouds change reminds me of my size and position on this big Earth.

Two cameras are set up for time-lapse and the iPhone was used while waiting for sequence to be captured.  This is a grab shot from a sequence that has been converted to B & W in Lightroom. The sky is so much more foreboding in black and white.

Storm Chasing

I was chasing the weather Saturday hoping for some good storm time-lapse sequences. While waiting for a sequence to record the iPhone came in handy to catch some still shots of the clouds. I'm still learning storm time-lapsing technique so the morning was otherwise a little disappointing. For the ultimate storm chasing experience and the source of my inspiration check: Vorticity

Technical: This was taken on the iPhone with Procamera8 app and processed with its HDR app.

September Storm

I was driving home yesterday afternoon and noticed these clouds about the same time a weather alert was announced. I took the first available country road to avoid power lines in the image and shot until the rain started. Incredibly powerful winds soon followed.

After the Storm

My latest playground in photography is time-lapse. It does not require a big investment, perhaps only an intervalometer. I use Magic Lantern which is an incredible free program for Canons and I think Nikon has a built in intervalometer. I have been using an old Quicktime Pro program but switched over to Sequence for this video. At $35 it is a perfect replacement for Quicktime on Macs. Its ability to remove flicker is a major improvement over Quicktime.

After the Storm

I went out after the storm last night to photograph lightning with Magic Lantern  firmware.  The firmware worked fine but predicting the direction of the strike was a problem.  Several times there were ground strikes outside the field of view which triggered the shutter but did not result in a dramatic image.  What did I learn in my first attempt?  Exposure for the ambient light gives the horizon some clarity.  I think the back side of the storm is safe with the lightning receding, this may be a false assumption.  The firmware works.

This was the western sky as the storm was clearing. Technical: Auto white balance was used to reproduce what I saw, the other choices did not seem real.

Storm Clouds

Lots of weather in Minnesota yesterday!  I hope there was no damage in your area. The storms gave me an opportunity to try time lapse with Magic Lantern firmware. If you are a Canon user this program increases your possibilities beyond belief.  It has sound activation, light or motion activation, and trap focusing.  I was trying for lightning shots but didn't have the camera in the right direction when the camera fired.  More to follow over the next few weeks.  Check out: www.magiclantern.fm