In search of the perfect storm, Storm Chasing Team Photographs Nature’s Most Violent Weather


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In Search of the Perfect Storm
Storm Chasing Team Photographs Nature's Most Violent Weather
For Immediate Release
February 8, 2002
Contact: Lorie Kinkaid, Prairie Pictures, (817) 276-9500

ARLINGTON, Texas - While most people are frantically heading for their storm cellars, two Prairie Pictures photographers are carefully calculating an intercept with nature's most violent weather.

The company's president, Martin Lisius, and producer Kurt Ugland, have been tracking dangerous storms together for ten years. Their mission is to capture dramatic weather footage on high quality formats for their StormStock library. The library, founded in 1993, is considered by many TV and film producers to be the best collection of storm footage anywhere.

The team totes an Arriflex 35 mm motion picture film camera across the Tornado Alley states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado each spring. They combine their refined forecasting skills and high tech tools, such as GPS navigation, to predict and intercept their prey.

"Being a successful storm chaser is a challenge that requires dedication, skill and luck," says StormStock founder and veteran chaser Martin Lisius. "Add to that the additional challenge of shooting steady, properly-exposed 35 mm film in high winds, and it becomes a monumental task," he said.

Sporting a white, straw Resistol hat on trips across the Plains, partner Kurt Ugland compares storm chasing with hunting. "Capturing a great storm on film is the photographic equivalent of hanging a hunting trophy on the wall," says Ugland. "And, there's always potential for seeing something beautiful, something dramatic just around the next corner. We never want to miss that opportunity," he said.

Each "chase day" begins early in the morning when weather data is analyzed and a target is selected. Cameras, tripods, film stock, a laptop computer and GPS navigation system are then loaded into a waiting chase vehicle. "Our day starts off at a slow tempo, but picks up as the day progresses and we get closer to an intercept," says Ugland. The team may drive as far as 600 miles to reach a target by late afternoon when storms typically develop. Many times, the team will "bust" and not see severe weather in the target area. Sometimes, however, they get lucky and nature provides them with a show worthy of the camera's lens.

"We've seen our share of incredible storms over the years," said Lisius. "We've captured tornadoes, driven through baseball hail and 100 mph winds, watched 10-mile high supercell thunderstorms build and twist like barbershop poles, and dodged white-hot cloud-to-ground lightning," he said. "Confronting severe weather is scary to most people, but it's just another day at the office for us."

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StormStock is the world's premier storm footage library. The StormStock team of photographers track violent weather to capture spectacular and rare images on premium formats for licensed use in film and television productions worldwide. StormStock is a trademark and service of Prairie Pictures, Inc. and can be accessed on-line at http://www.stormstock.com.