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Terror in the Night
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Terror in the Night

by Stan Rose

Gallery: Man & NaturePosted May 29, 2012735 views19 comments
After a car wreck that put me in the hospital with a broken finger and badly cut head, i thought my storm photography trip this season was finished--but after getting my car back after 5 days in a motel in OK, i rebounded by quickly driving north and ended up catching several tornadoes in Kansas. This was my first ever tornado at night--i usually dont chase at night due to the inherent danger, but after nearly getting killed i figured my bad luck was spent for the week :biggrin:
When i saw the tornado from lighting flashes a couple miles up the highway, i pulled over, and with one hand (my other ones in a cast) i fumbled with my tripod and camera and set up on the side of the road. This is a 5s exp at 100mm, at ISO 1600--lightning is providing illumination for the tornado (later rated EF-2, it went through the town of Lacrosse KS--which is in the center of this shot--and tore up a bunch of buildings). I left a lot of 'extra' space on the bottom and rhs of this comp on purpose--i wanted to introduce tension (cause it was intense!) and i liked the eerie glow that my emergency blinkers gave the fg.
C&C Welcome!

Comments

19 comments
Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on May 29, 2012 at 1:43 AM
Awesome. Even more impressive that you were one handed and brains leaking out. :jump:
Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments
Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 29, 2012 at 1:49 AM
No brains, Youssef--they leaked out years ago. No, just lots of blood and beer.
Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments
Comment posted by Rick Turner on May 29, 2012 at 8:48 AM
Go get em Stan. Pleny of tension in this shot.
Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments
Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on May 29, 2012 at 9:41 AM
Great shot Stan, good to hear you came out of the accident with only a damaged finger and head well at least the damage did not interfere with your photography !! :biggrin: glad you are still with us thought ! :toast:
Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments
Comment posted by Paul Duval on May 29, 2012 at 10:40 AM
Stan,

Unreally awesome( The image)......A serious car accident is a mind bending experience. Been through one and was a little luckier than you, car was totaled but I only had whiplash....Great way to get back in the game by throwing off the misfortune and continuing to shoot.

Paul :eek:
Registered on June 30, 2009, 508 Posts, 1907 Comments
Comment posted by John Fan on May 29, 2012 at 11:26 AM
Photography is dangerous. :eek:
Registered on August 24, 2010, 135 Posts, 489 Comments
Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on May 29, 2012 at 11:39 AM
sorry to hear about ypour accident but glad to hear you're doing fine. This is very unique. Good idea to use the emergency blinkers for the foreground.
Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments
Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on May 29, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Terror indeed, but awesome!

It's really hard to critique a scene like this personally, Stan. I've never been this close to a tornado with a camera in hand so I can't even imagine the difficulties involved.

Cracking shot, even cooler that it's at night! Can't wait to see the other ones.
Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments
Comment posted by Brad Kargus on May 29, 2012 at 1:19 PM
Stan,

Sorry to hear about your accident but glad that it sounds like you're going to be alright. Great shot - well conceived and well executed.
Registered on January 19, 2007, 47 Posts, 1051 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on May 29, 2012 at 8:20 PM
Stan:
Just Awesome :eek:. The orange light in the foreground adds a lot to the mood and tension.

Glad you are not seriously hurt in the MVA.
Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments
Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on May 29, 2012 at 9:21 PM
Cool, Stan! I've always wanted to see a tornado in person. Good to hear you made it out of the accident ok.
Registered on November 19, 2008, 49 Posts, 1035 Comments
Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on May 29, 2012 at 10:41 PM
The reflected red light gives of a sense of urgency and alarm. Terrific shot.
Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments
Comment posted by Rob Graham on May 29, 2012 at 11:27 PM
Great shot, Stan. The extra space and the glow from your blinkers add to the overall feel. I am still waiting to capture my first tornado photograph.
Registered on August 22, 2006, 842 Posts, 2824 Comments
Comment posted by Murali Santhanam on May 30, 2012 at 8:33 AM
Simply superb. You are very brave. :toast:
Registered on July 31, 2008, 43 Posts, 331 Comments
Comment posted by Soubhik Patranabis on May 30, 2012 at 2:48 PM
Well Stan, nothing can stop you I guess. :cool:
Awesome and super cool image. Get well soon ... :toast: :toast:
Registered on January 25, 2010, 54 Posts, 610 Comments
Comment posted by Yiming Hu on June 1, 2012 at 9:37 PM
Awesome. Didn't know you are a storm chaser. Glad that you are safe. Be careful next time!
Registered on April 28, 2011, 38 Posts, 733 Comments
Comment posted by Marco Crupi on June 2, 2012 at 12:58 PM
Nice shot Stan! Good to hear you were back on your feet and shooting again relatively quickly. Thanks for sharing this one.
Registered on April 22, 2012, 14 Posts, 69 Comments
Comment posted by Matt Anderson on June 3, 2012 at 7:47 AM
Jeez, unreal!
Registered on September 6, 2007, 346 Posts, 2696 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on June 6, 2012 at 1:01 PM
Sad for the rest of us - even one-handed and with "brains leaking out", Stan gets images like this that are far better than any of ours. (LOL!)
Seriously, glad you're recovering and will have this image to remind you of the good parts of a tough week.
Congrats on the WP!
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments