This image is part of my Supercell series. A Supercell is a rotating storm. I went stormchasing in the USA for many years, capturing storms on my Linhoff Panorama camera. The aesthetics of a storm are the most important to me. Sometimes it’s a beautiful Mothership and sometimes a beautiful Rainstorm like the one in Boise City, Oklahoma.
Chasing storms is quite addictive. You can drive around all day with clear blue skies. As soon as you approach the target area at the end of the day, the storms are brewing. If you’re lucky and everything comes together, there will be a beautiful storm. During chasing, you position yourself in front of the storm. When it’s almost getting too close, you make a run for it and reposition yourself. I chased the storms with stormchaser Roger Hill. Apart from the fact that finding good storms is not an easy thing, I could focus on my photography while he focused on finding the storms and keeping us safe.
Photographing fast-moving storms on the Linhoff was interesting. Taking a position, putting up the camera on the tripod. Measuring the light under a rotating storm can be challenging :-). Every roll of film has 4 exposures, so you have to make them count.
The series was published in the Supercell book published by Hatje Cantz in 2012. The Supercell series evolved in my latest Remote Series, in which Grand Nature is combined with a human element represented by little houses. I am aiming to publish my Remote book at the beginning of 2027. Both the Supercell series and Remote series will be part of a large exhibition at The Photo Museum in Maastricht in 2027.
What are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!
The timing and the use of a medium-format panorama camera.
If you could make this photo again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or differently?
Honestly, nothing,
Erik Hijweege shared this photograph with the FRAMES Facebook Group.
Photographer
Erik Hijweege, Amstenrade, The Netherlands
Equipment and settings
Linhoff Technorama 617 panorama camera
Kodak slide film
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