Being There
A Thunderstorm by Emily Dickinson
The wind begun to rock the grass
With threatening tunes and low, —
He flung a menace at the earth,
A menace at the sky.
The leaves unhooked themselves from trees
And started all abroad;
The dust did scoop itself like hands
And throw away the road.
The wagons quickened on the streets,
The thunder hurried slow;
The lightning showed a yellow beak,
And then a livid claw.
The birds put up the bars to nests,
The cattle fled to barns;
There came one drop of giant rain,
And then, as if the hands
That held the dams had parted hold,
The waters wrecked the sky,
But overlooked my father's house,
Just quartering a tree.
Being There and Landscape Photography
The weather doesn’t always cooperate. And if you allow yourself to be frustrated, you’ll never get a good photograph under less-than-ideal conditions.
It was one of those weeks recently while storm chasing. Just as a storm appeared to be on the verge of becoming a classic supercell, the atmospheric conditions caused it to die. And without supercells, you don’t get tornadoes. Even the day the National Weather Service issued a moderate warning (it’s rare) for severe storms, nothing within hundreds of miles of our “perfect” location became severe.
So, when you don’t get what you’re looking for, look for something else! You need to enjoy just being there to “see” other possibilities.
The Shot
With that in mind, my three van mates on the storm chasing tour all started yelling “abandoned house” one afternoon. In the distance was a classic abandoned, weathered, and decrepit farmhouse on a hill. Dark, ominous clouds were racing towards the structure.
We stopped on the side of the road, piled out of the van and hurriedly took pictures as the storm approached. Within minutes, the light changed, and the storm’s hail was getting too close for comfort.
We piled back in the van, just avoiding the rain and hail, savoring our chance to witness the scene. Later in the day, Caryn, the co-owner of the tour told us it was the only time in over ten years of chasing that the photogenic farmhouse was framed by interesting clouds.
I’m glad we choose to “be there” and see the moment.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck