Here we go..

No this is not a Bud Light commercial, we're talking about the start of spring and the weather that comes along with it.

This weekend we have experienced the best weather of the year; yes the first third of April is behind us, and anyone reading this blog south of say, Hwy. 80 would be saying, "We have had warm weather for weeks now, what are you talking about?" Well, we haven't...it's been grey, cool, and well, typical for Chicago. But here it comes, and here come the storms along with it.

Today it is supposed to be in the mid-to-high 80s and then tomorrow in the Mid-50s. This is not a meteorological report, it's the goofiness of what this weather can bring. When I was young, very young, growing up in the suburbs of St. Louis, one night we had a tornado rip through our area; it was the first time I think I had ever heard of a tornado, and all I remember was the destruction and devastation in the neighborhoods around us. Our area had little if any damage, yet an area less than 1/2 mile away was flattened. I mean, gone. Luckily of what I recall it was physical damage and not loss of life. I have no idea how that happened.

Last weekend, when I was leaving St. Louis after visiting my Dad, he said, ""We are supposed to get some pretty bad weather be careful driving back."  I made the casual comment, "I would love it if I could see a tornado when I was driving back, I would love to photograph it." My Dad wears hearing aids and I think he adjusted them with that comment. I went on to explain that I have travelled to Kansas in the spring on business hoping to photograph a tornado. Not close up, but far away. I am crazy, not stupid. So far, no luck.

A tornado is one of those weather phenomenas that would just be amazing to photograph; as I explained to my Dad, "It's not like I am going to stand in the middle of a field and wait for it to pass by, I would be under a viaduct or near a safe structure where I could escape the violence of the storm." By the way, I am serious. Put a farm in the background of this picture and I think I would be spastic. I have seen a picture of a farm with a rainbow and tornado in it, it was published in Smithsonian Magazine years ago, and it has stuck with me since I saw it. I want to capture something like it---it just takes time and the right conditions.

So, when could that happen? Today. We are supposed to get some really violent storms tonight. In fact, Iowa had 11 tornadoes dance through it yesterday and we could be the next stop. I am not hoping for any damage, or fatalities of course, I am hoping to photograph the swirling funnel cloud as it bobs up and down and literally "dances" around the area. What will I do once I get the photos at 7 frames per second? I will run as fast as I can as would any normal person once they have come to their senses.

The photo above was taken at the Morton Arboretum in the Western suburbs of Chicago; as the buds of the flowers reach toward the sky, they await the needed rain and sunshine that help them explode in color. As far as I am concerned, for a couple of minutes, let's put the sunshine aside and catch a picture I will never forget---and once it's inside the camera, I am going to run like hell.

Thanks for stopping by.