Making Wise Decisions in Storm Photography

Bastian Werner a Weather Photographer explains his fascination of storms, lightning and thunder and how using Wise Advanced memory cards gives confidence in capturing the perfect shot.

Navigating the Dangers of Storm Photography

The storm is coming. Yet watching this miracle from God's nature far from it may not be a bad idea. “Don’t be stupid, know what you do! Don’t just drive out to chase a Tornado. Best way to die,” said weather photographer Bastian Werner. “The weather man” – nothing can be more precise to describe this guy with a scruffy beard and beaming eyes. “As I do every year, I went storm chasing in the Tornado Alley of the USA. This specific area stretches from Texas up to the Canadian border. My target was to capture stunning supercell structures with lightning coming out of the clouds,” Bastian said excitedly. “At night, my father always had to stand at the window with me when the lightning flashed across the sky.” When Bastian turned 14, he was trained as a glider pilot. Aviation became his second passion in his life. “Gliding gave me an introduction to meteorology. The connection was simple: the better I could read the clouds and the weather, the longer, faster and further I could fly in my glider. I gradually began to find the weather more fascinating than flying itself. I got deeper and deeper into meteorology and began to photograph the weather with my camera.”

Bastian doesn't think of himself as a typical landscape photographer. “I coined the term ‘weather photography’ in a new way, which targeted weather forecasts to photograph a particular landscape only when the weather is going to be particularly appealing. For my A-levels, I took mathematics and physics as advanced courses.” As a weather photographer, these courses help with weather forecasting, which is no doubt, one of the biggest challenges in this type of photography. “Some days there are different target areas, which are hours of driving apart. Based on different weather parameters I have to decide where to go. If I choose wrong, the whole day could be a bust.” Careful calculations are required so as to not waste time. Once he arrives the target area, his real work begins, a boxing match with the storm. “I also need to stay away from the giant hail storms and of course I should not get too close to a Tornado. Then there are bad roads. Sometimes it gets so muddy that even with an offroad capable car you can get stuck easily.”

Well, so what preparation does a weather photographer need to do to witness the magical moments? “The most important thing is to have a decent car. We use offroad capable cars with all-wheel-drive and enough clearance to drive on the mud roads of the great plains. Second will be the internet connection to receive weather radar data. And after that of course my camera captures the stunning skies into pictures.”

He knew that these elusive magical moments appear for less than a second. Time is extremely precious, and we must make Wise choices. There is no room to hesitate. “In my attempt to capture magic (stunning lightning strikes), I need to shoot continuously. When lightning strikes, I capture it.”

There are many intricacies that come with chasing and capturing storms, and having great technical skills are just one of the requirements. “If the daylight is still bright, I get exposure times around 1/10th of a second. My only chance to capture lightning is to shoot a great number of pictures. Fast memory cards from Wise are the best tool for that,” said Bastian.

He jumps into his beloved car with gear and endless passion in hand, ready for the next match.

Bastian's Gear

Memory Cards

• Wise Advanced CFexpress 4.0 Type A
• Wise Advanced SDXC UHS-II V90
• Wise Advanced CFexpress 4.0 Type A Card Reader
• Wise Advanced CFexpress Type A / SD UHS-II Card Reader

Cameras

• Sony α7 IV
• Sony α7 III
• Sony α7C

For more information on Bastian Werner and Wise Advanced click here