Another day of storm chasing and while there were tornados all around us we did not have the opportunity to photograph any today.  However, that did not mean we had nothing to photograph, quite the contrary, we had amazing skies…

And, on our way back to the hotel, tired but happy, we stopped for one last hurrah to photograph a retreating lightning storm.

Images captured with Nikon D3, AF-S 24-70mm on Lexar Digital Media

We hit the ground running in Oklahoma City. We met for orientation and then because there were storms brewing, off we went. I am in Oklahoma storm chasing…

Our chase guides use this cool weather software to determine where the storms are and where we are in relationship to them. We are in the very center of the inner circle. Each circle represents twenty miles. As you can see, we were right in the heart of the action.

We had ten tornados!

Numerous lightning storms…

And when the action slowed down we had ominous skies to work with! We also had torrential rain and hail the size of golf balls. It’s amazing how fast a tornado can move, how fleeting they can be and yet the damage they can cause. We had one big cell most of the afternoon that we worked. Oklahoma made national news with the storm we were chasing. All in all, storm chasing is one heck of a thrilling adventure! I can’t wait to see what day two brings.

Images captured with Nikon D3, #1AF-S 24-70mm, #2 AF-S 70-300mm VR, #3 AF-S 24-70mm, #4 AF-S 14-24mm on Lexar Digital Media

We spent our final day of DLWS photographing the Redwoods…first at Jedediah Smith and finishing up at Del Norte.  Both locations yielded some amazing photo opportunities.  Then we finished up another DLWS with our traditional participant slide show and I can honestly say this was one of the best shows we have had.  The images were strong, inspiring and showed just how much the group had learned in our short time together both photographically and using Photoshop to finish their images.  I was truly inspired and wish I could stay on to go back out and shoot some more but, I’m headed for home and then back on the road.  Stay tuned to see what Moose and I are up to next week.

Jedediah Smith Redwoods

Jedediah Smith Redwoods

Del Norte Redwoods

Images captured with Nikon D3, AF-S 24-70mm (1st image) AF-S 70-300mm VR (2nd & 3rd images) on Lexar Digital Media

I am a day late posting DLWS day 2 because I am bone tired after back to back workshops.  When the alarm went off this morning I could hardly drag myself out of bed until I remembered where I was and what lay ahead this day…another amazing shoot with a great group of folks.  That’s what keeps me going when I am tired…the enthusiasm of the participants that come to learn and the passion of the staff put a spring back in my step and a camera in my hand to seek out new and exciting images.  Stay tuned for todays shoot…later!

Last night we headed to Battery Point Lighthouse with overcast skies…no problem, that just meant a chance to work on slow shutter speeds and cotton candy waves.

Image captuerd with Nikon D3, AF-S 70-300mm VR on Lexar Digital Media

DLWS Redwoods kicked off with a day of water.  We began our day with a shoot at the harbor in Crescent City and ended with an evening shoot at Harris Beach.  What a great day with an enthusiastic group of shooters.

Beached ship that has seen better days.   I’m sure there are many stories in her past.

A shiny new ship in the final stages before heading to Alaska.

Our day ended with a great sky at the beach.

Images captured with Nikon D3, AF 16mm Fisheye, AF-S 4-24mm (beached ship) on Lexar Digital Media