What Will You Do Different in 2020?

[Ethan Schisler]

I'll take more photographs of storms and hopefully tornadoes in 2020 than I did in 2019. I didn't get many quality tornado photos in 2019. I hope to change that in 2020, pull over more for tornado photos when time permits. I like being close, but I also like having nice photos to show after the chase is over too. Its always a hard one to choose for me, I usually end up shooting from the car and end up with sub-par results.

 

[Drew Terril]

I'll take more photographs of storms and hopefully tornadoes in 2020 than I did in 2019. I didn't get many quality tornado photos in 2019. I hope to change that in 2020, pull over more for tornado photos when time permits. I like being close, but I also like having nice photos to show after the chase is over too. Its always a hard one to choose for me, I usually end up shooting from the car and end up with sub-par results.

This is probably going to sound a little weird, but practice those type situations with your photography. Oftentimes when I'm driving somewhere, if I see something interesting and I have the camera with me, I'll pull off real quick, check my settings really quickly, and snap a few shots. I've gotten pretty adept at shooting out of my driver's side window over the years during situations where I don't have a lot of time to work with.

 

[JamesCaruso]

I'll take more photographs of storms and hopefully tornadoes in 2020 than I did in 2019. I didn't get many quality tornado photos in 2019. I hope to change that in 2020, pull over more for tornado photos when time permits. I like being close, but I also like having nice photos to show after the chase is over too. Its always a hard one to choose for me, I usually end up shooting from the car and end up with sub-par results.

Yeah that’s always a tough call, keep driving to get closer OR get out of the car, not only to take pictures but also to simply enjoy the moment/experience. In the past, I have usually chosen the latter, often out of fear that the tornado would lift. I think in 2020, if I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity, I might choose to get closer, especially to those tornados such as Campo or Dodge City that clearly are going to stay on the ground for awhile.

 

[Adam Reagan]

I'd like to make a better effort at taking photos of storms. Most of what I share on this site were video grabs.

Speaking of video I also want to run a dash cam. I wanted to do it last year but circumstances beyond my control prevented that from happening.

Outside of those changes I don't plan on doing anything different.

 

[ScottCurry]

As others have said, every possible photo / video has already been captured. News stations aren't really paying for media anymore (unless it's extraordinary), so the pressure is off. My goal is really to do what hasn't been done before, and to re-do something that hasn't been done in a long time.

For 2020, I'm going to capture more of the day-to-day experience of the chase. Try to bring back a little more of the "Storm Chasers" TV Series feel, where the story is the people, and not so much the weather. I've come across A LOT of people who want to storm chase, but haven't for any number of reasons. They want to know what it's like to chase storms, and so my goal for 2020 is to tell the story of what it's like.

I also have a little experiment up my sleeve. Nothing scientific (I'm not a scientist), but just a new way of capturing non-visual video from a tornado and the related storm structure and combining it with visual video to hopefully create a new kind of video that nobody has ever seen before. I have no idea how it's going to turn out, but I'm going to give it a shot.

Longer term (not 2020, but further out), my ultimate goal is to capture a 4K or 8K 360 degree 3D video of a tornado that can be displayed very realistically on a VR device. The cheapest camera I know of right now that is capable of recording this costs $10,000. So that's why I say further out than 2020. That's a lot of money to save up, and I know that even with a sale of that kind of video, I'll never recover the cost of the camera.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Scott, that's a great idea in taking photos of day to day experiences of chasing. I think a lot of people have kind of strayed away from that. I may try to do some of that kind of photography myself!

 

[Bill Hark]

Not much difference in chase technique, though I plan on being a little more careful around HP storms. I also plan on trying to shoot more lightning and artistic storm structure shots even when tornado potential is low along with more general landscape images.

As for equipment, I'm still considering changing to 4K as I have been contemplating the last couple of years. I am quite comfortable with my HDV equipment, though everything is getting old (Sony Z1, HV20). A switch to 4K will also likely involve getting a new laptop and I'm not sure I have enough funds at present.

I'm also considering going back to updating my website in more detail as Facebook now doesn't allow me to give out a link to my photo galleries for non-Facebook members.

 

[James Gustina]

My forecasting/nowcasting approach definitely will be getting a revamp. I likely won't be able to chase much this upcoming season with a wedding coming in late June but I'd like to take a run at whittling down the forecast tools I use. This previous season felt like I was overusing hi-res convection-allowing models while ignoring basic forecasting clues that certain plays wouldn't pan out (going south on the Llano into worse shear on 5/23 towards Lubbock instead of sticking around east of Amarillo comes to mind).

For equipment, I'm hoping to finally add a DSLR to start doing better photography/get into doing some after dark shots of storms. Hopefully an improvement in camera will follow with an improvement in the quality of my season.

I think the final change will be getting back into doing chase logs, mainly for my own edification. It's getting to the point where I'm having trouble remembering precise details of chases pre-2017 and I'd like to get photos and details in more quickly this year.

 

[Tony Laubach]

I have really found myself changing my tactics, how I approach storms, etc over the last few years, and I feel pretty solid in where I am at with that, so chances are I won't see a ton of change in that department. Obviously a lot has changed in regards to my job here in Kansas, so that may continue to evolve as well. But aside from that, I REALLY want to do a better job documenting the chase beyond just the weather. I have done that on a few days, but not as consistently as I would like. As Scott mentioned above, I want to show more of what goes in to chasing. When I worked at the TV station in Illinois, I was able to put together some very fun weekly segments that featured a lot of behind-the-scenes kind of stuff and I had a lot of fun doing that kind of stuff. My responsibilities here are more for live stuff, so that's tougher to do for me on my own, but I feel I can still do better than I have been. It's been a bit of adjustment in the new role, and I feel like after a couple of seasons, my comfort level has gotten much better, so now it's time to really get back to some of my roots a bit.

Over the last couple years, I have focused more on photography, and while I have a long ways to go, I have been very happy with my efforts, if not my overall progression. I have enjoyed much more the opportunity to shoot photos and I am glad I invested in better equipment several years ago. That will continue into 2020 and beyond.

I also want to be better about putting aside some personal time to get out and chase. It's amazing that I can make a living doing this, but it is also nice to get out on my own without the pressures of work and just get out and have fun. This past season, I had a couple long weekends that I was able to get out and play outside the DMA and I really enjoyed those chases a lot. I want to ensure myself a few more chances to do that as I have very good flexibility in my week-to-week schedule and paid time off.

 

[JamesCaruso]

I, too, enjoy documenting aspects of the chase other than the weather. I have kept a chase journal for every chase vacation I have been on for the past 20+ years.

Some years I was good about keeping up day-to-day, so there is rich detail about each individual day; other years, especially the more frustrating ones, I was less disciplined each day and in one sitting wrote a summary for a few days or even the whole one or two week trip.

Earlier years included very detailed, road-by-road, old school chase accounts; more recent years took a more summarized view of the chase itself (or I just copied-and-pasted my Stormtrack chase report) and talked about where we stayed, places we ate, a lot of rumination about mistakes and frustration, etc.

I would love to do something with it some day, maybe write a book about chasing. It's all just in Microsoft Word documents, nothing online, not even any pictures (of course I have pictures, just not embedded with the writing).

 

[James K]

You'll figure it out James. When I started chasing in CO, I lived pretty far east in the metro area (tower/quincy), so I wasnt a challenge to get out. I started by going a few miles out, then a few miles more, then I realized I was travelling 20-30 miles away from home and it felt like a long way out. Now I live way out where I used to feel like it was far away from home and my easy chases will end at the Kansas or Nebraska state lines before I decide I've gone too far.

So yeah, you'll end up creeping further and further away from home base. Its inevitable. In any case, have fun and don't stress about distances/time. Just remember if you chase in Colorado, you're always chasing away from your house, no matter in you live in Denver or Strasburg or way out in Burlington.

Thanks Marc. I hope to do so. I think I'll also have more confidence next year too (since this past spring was afterall the first I even looked at anything like this)
In my case, I'm right near the mountains (far enough to be outside city-limits). At some point in the summer I figured out that the weather app I use could give a 'distance to storm' ... The ones I checked were all well over 100 miles away (a couple being over 200 miles) - just way too far for me.

It might be that I have to earlier in the day find a park or something to go to, closer to where storms are predicted, rather than waiting for storms to be truly fired up and then saying 'is there any chance I can even get to one'...

I'm sure what you said about creeping further and further away from the home base as time goes on is true.

 

[TimMaynard]

For me, as a chase tourist, I'll change the only thing specifically in my control. Chasecationing a week in June instead of my usual mid May.

 

[Ric Burney]

2020 will hopefully find me getting out more but traveling a little lighter. Same chase rig as years past but dumping some stuff that no longer is necessary or suits my needs. I no longer stream live video or need to upload pics and video on the fly so some of that tech won't be needed. Hope to spend more time with the DSLR and upgrade a video camera or two.

 

[Quincy Vagell]

May 28th was an eye opener with respect to chasing HP supercells. I've already trended against chasing low contrast/high precipitation setups over the past couple of years, but I plan on getting away from this even more in 2020. Not only are these setups frustrating, but for the type of photography I enjoy the most (wider angle landscapes and storm structure), there isn't much reason for me to favor a grungy target if there are, other/better options.

I'm going to try to put more effort and resources into chasing June/July, as opposed to early season, which relates back to me wanting to chase the Northern Plains more in 2020. I still like late May and will chase a few one-offs in the weeks/months leading up to then, but 2019 was tough with very few chases north of I-70. Even though I only chased a few times in the summer, there were some highly memorable chase events in favorable areas with few chasers on the roads. Many of the chases this year in May were not very enjoyable due to traffic, hordes and reckless behavior en masse. Of course, these plans will hinge upon weather patterns and schedules cooperating...

I plan on continuing to put more emphasis into still photography. I bought a new camera early this year and it took a few months to really get comfortable with it, resulting in a few missed opportunities early in the season.

While I still chase a lot of marginal/iffy setups, I plan on being more selective in 2020. I had a few events in which I drove over 1,000 miles in a single 24 hour period this year with little to nothing to show for it. That needs to end, for the sake of sanity.

Summary of plans for 2020:

• Less chasing within messy setups.
• Chase more in late season/Northern Plains.
• Stronger focus on still photography.
• Be even more selective with chase setups.

Edit:
I almost forgot to add that I hope to put more effort into chase vlogs and other videos about chasing topics. I started this over the summer, but it was toward the tail end of the season, so it didn't take off as much as I would have liked.

 

[adlyons]

I think I will be forgoing the the standard chasecation this year and just chasing local/some bigger 1 or 2 day trips. I'm going to be wrapping up a masters degree and beginning private pilot training along with taking on a bigger role at work. While I love my chasecations it gets really difficult to grind out for so many days. Fatigue is a huge issue when dealing with long drives and I am starting to feel the wear and tear of 5 and 6 day trips with constant chasing and driving. I've not had the best luck the last 2 years but that's okay. I think its just going to be a play it by ear kind of year for me.