How far would you go for a picture, Toto?

Scenic landscape photographers and photojournalists often look for dramatic action to capture in their photographs. But at what lengths would you go to get your photos? Where would you draw the line? For me personally, I do not like heights. I'm that kid you'd find hanging for dear life onto the Capilano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver. And I have the pictures to prove it, but to save face, I won't show them here. :-) Not to say that I am a total wuss. I have rafted whitewater, have got hit by sleeper waves at the beach, slipped down forest ravines on slick rock, risked hypothermia and frostbite. What I haven't done that interests me, is storm chasing.

The closest I have been to a tornado is when my apartment was hit by a F2 tornado a few years ago. I wasn't home that day. I have seen tornados in the horizon while driving in Oklahoma. I have felt post-tornado winds in Nebraska. And I witnessed some brief but freakish storms in Louisville. Never seen the full-blown thing though.

I first heard of storm chasing in the National Geographic article several years ago and have been intrigued by it ever since. Apparently there is a fringe tourist-industry in the midwest geared toward stormchasing. Most however, are amateur hobbyists who chase during their spare time. I wouldn't go chasing by myself, but I would hire a professional meteorologist to be my guide. I want the photos and the thrill obviously but I am not stupid. Whenever you do an extreme sport, you should always use your best judgement. If you lack confidence in your teammates, then don't be afraid to walk away and say no even if it's at the last minute. There will always be another day.

Here is a good example of a storm photo that I found today. Storm chasing photo

Alpenglow is pretty awesome to see, but storms are a notch above that on the excitement scale in my opinion. Now excuse me while I look at storm chasing websites.

P.S. The most annoying thing about living in Tornado Alley are those tornado warnings at the bottom of the screen during tv broadcasts. Nothing ever happens where they say it will!