Chasing and Photographing Storms in New Mexico

There are few natural phenomena that are more exciting to witness and photography than storms. However, chasing them can be dangerous, and capturing them can be difficult. In this video, go behind the scenes with Brent Hall as he photographs storms in New Mexico.

I have a long-standing fascination with storms. Perhaps it's because I am from a place that doesn't get many, perhaps it's because they're so grand; whatever the case, I would love to photograph them more. Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for more or less everyone else), where I live gets one or two per year and almost never on a scale worth photographing. I have, however, seen some impressive storms in parts of the U.S and I would love to shadow a professional storm chaser to capture them.

In this video, Brent Hall is photographing storms in New Mexico in the deep south of the U.S. As I often say about behind the scenes videos: they are superb learning tools. Watching an experienced photographer work — particularly in an area that's so difficult for beginners — can yield more information than almost any other type of content. This video is no different and Hall walks you through the shoot, his process, and then the post-production phase back in the office.

Capturing lightning in your images can be tricky, but it is also one of the most rewarding types of landscape photography available. Have you captured any storms? Share your images in the comment section below.

Robert K Baggs's picture

Robert K Baggs is a professional portrait and commercial photographer, educator, and consultant from England. Robert has a First-Class degree in Philosophy and a Master's by Research. In 2015 Robert's work on plagiarism in photography was published as part of several universities' photography degree syllabuses.

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I've shot some storms here in Michigan where I live, and recently on a 9-day trip across the plains states through Colorado and S. Dakota. Half of that trip was based upon weather forecasts for storms :)
This shot was made in Grand Haven Michigan as a storm moved in across Lake Michigan one evening.