Hi all,
My name is Greg as some keen eyes looking at my user name would've already figured out! I'm a professional filmmaker from Orlando, Florida. I primarily work on set in the lighting department, but I occasionally work in the camera department, even sometimes as a director of photography. If you watch TV, you've seen something I worked on. My website is kind of old and crappy, so I don't feel bad about this shameless plug:
theslacker.xyz (I don't update it often because it turns out that no one in the high budget film industry cares about your website)
When I was little I could recite every line of the movie Twister as they were said on screen. I was obsessed with tornados ever since. I didn't become a filmmaker with the intention of chasing storms though. I always figured that if I was going to do it, I would do a public service to meteorologists or the NWS or something like that; sending probes into the tornado... that kind of thing. I'm not smart enough to do something like that (my website domain is literally "the slacker"). I also have lived in Florida my whole life so I've never really encountered anything note worthy. Yeah, I've chased hurricanes, but tornados are the real allure.
Recently I made the decision that 2020 would be the year that I captured violent weather on camera... Whether (hehe) it be tornados or hurricanes. I recently completed my Skywarn class, I also did the two online "certifications" by COMET and UCAR, and then the Spotter Network class (though that one is so old, the questions don't load right). I also dragged my fiancee into this mess by making her sit in on the 4 hour Skywarn class, which she doesn't really have a desire for. I really started paying attention to weather patterns and thunderstorms, I first invested in MyRadar, which was my first per-station doppler radar app, but now I pay for RadarScope. I feel like I'm ready to play it safe for a little while, obviously I have no desire to intercept (though I do want to try and fly a 360° camera rig attached to a drone into a tornado).
Though I don't have any real roots or education in meteorology, I decided that my public service to storm chasing (aside from just calling it in) would be that after the storm had passed I begin immediate search and rescue. This is where my fiancee comes in. She is a nurse, she works in a hospital in Orlando, she's willing to help me rescue people. I myself am going to get EMT certified very soon, so that I can do basic life support. I don't know how often something like that is required, but I'll be ready for when it is.
For now, I just want to take cool photos and videos. I thank you for reading this, I know it's kind of lengthy.
See you on the forums!