What makes this time lapse storm chasing trip
different than one of Tempest Tours regular trips?

 

This past July I spent a week storm chasing with TempestTours while working to capture the experience for the promotional film you see above.  Since this was my first storm chasing trip I didn't know what to expect, but quickly learned that capturing time-lapse was going to be a very difficult proposition.  

 

Why?  When storm chasing, the chase team's goal is to keep us out in front of the storm as the storm heads toward us.   When we were about a minute or two ahead of the rain line we'd all get out of the van to watch the storm and take some photographs.  With time-lapse I needed a couple of minutes to set the tripod, set up the intervalometer, get a decent composition, and start the camera.    By the time I was ready to start capturing the storm the rain line had caught up to us and we had to jump back into the van to stay ahead of the storm.  

 

Day one was pretty much a bust for me with regard to time-lapse so I had to quickly adapt. On day two I kept one camera on a tripod in the van with me - all ready to go. When the doors to the van opened I was able to quickly spread the tripod legs, level the camera, and start shooting.   By capturing at fast intervals I was able to get just enough footage in that one or two minute stop to create a 2-3 second time-lapse.  Obviously, this is not an ideal situation for time-lapse.  The footage was so incredible it's hard knowing you only got enough footage for 2 or 3 seconds of it. 

 

After talking with the crew I knew that if I really wanted to be able to capture time lapses while storm chasing I would have to commission one of their vans and dedicate it to capturing time-lapse and photographs.    This is how this workshop tour came to be.  

 

During this trip the goal of the chase will be to get us into a position that will allow us more time to capture the beauty of the storms, with their incredible cloud formations, lightning, updrafts and downdrafts all helping to create breathtaking time-lapses.

 

Daily weather briefings. 

The storm chasing will analyze and forecast a target early in the morning and will present a forecast package to the group prior to each day's chase. It's important to us that our guests leave with a better understanding and appreciation for our dynamic atmosphere.

 

On the go time-lapse and post-processing instruction
Once the weather briefings are over we'll load up into the van and be on our way to intercept that day's storm or storms. During our travels you'll learn time lapse and post-processing techniques, and will be able to apply what you've learned during our daily shoots.   If there's a day without a storm, then we'll head out to capture the night skies if the location and weather allows or we'll hold a post-processing session to get a jump start on transferring and processing our captures from the trip.

 

Exploration days. 

When Mother Nature takes a rest, so do we.  On those days, we stop at sites like Mt. Rushmore, Badlands National Park, Devils Tower, Pyramid Rocks, Palo Duro Canyon, the Cadillac Ranch, The Big Texan, Chimney Rock, local National Weather Service offices, or take a personal guided tour of the Lisius Farm in Nebraska.  And on these days, we eat delicious local Tornado Alley delicacies like chicken fried steak, some of the world's best BBQ and our legendary Tex-Mex cuisine. We make sure every day is a day of wonder!

Storms! 

Lots of storms. That's what we do best. 

 

Safety

The safety of our guests and staff is our number one concern. We track storms close enough to view tornadoes, but far enough to be safe.  We do not "drive into" dangerous weather and do everything possible to avoid these hazards.  In fact, it is common to see other motorists driving into large hail, etc. when we are safely out of the way.  

 

Tempest Tours has established a safe record and has maintained a commercial grade insurance policy since we began operating in 2000.  All driving records are checked and cleared each year by our underwriter.  And, our staff receives a thorough and updated safety orientation annually.  In addition, all guests are presented with an in-depth safety class prior to each tour. Our president, Martin Lisius, is also our risk manager. He is known throughout the storm chasing community for being tough on safe and responsible conduct. Martin is the author of "The Ultimate Severe Weather Safety Guide," a book he wrote to mitigate the risks of potentially dangerous weather.