Storms!

I have an obsession with storms! When I was little, I was scared to death of them. See, in California, we learned about earthquakes, but a tornado was unheard of. So, moving to Oklahoma, hearing a tornado siren sound and not knowing what a tornado was (I was only 10 at the time!) I guess I thought it was the end of the world. It was many, many years before I got past that fear! LOL
It wasn't until after I really got into photography and was living in Colorado before I realized, hey, this whole storm thing could be FUN! Yes, I know, demented, huh? But I have some super wall cloud images on display in my home and while to Oklahomans they look scary, shooting the images was extremely safe. Sitting out on the plains of Colorado, you can see for miles and miles. The storms were a good distance but the photos look like the storm was right on top of me. I think by the time we took cover, it might have been half a mile away.
In Oklahoma though, the storm can be right on top of you before you know it. Like today! There I was sitting in Duncan in front of the Stage store at Elk Plaza, deep in conversation on my cell, when all of a sudden it got really dark and there it was. I'm sure I shouted obscenities when I looked up at the sky. I was semi-prepared. I had taken my camera and gear with me this morning, but when I could have jumped out and got a great shot, it started raining hard and so I didn't risk getting my camera soaked.
I headed back to the newspaper and while there talking with a co-worker, we hear over the scanner that a funnel had possibly touched down at Halliburton Stadium (Duncan High's football field). I don't think much happened though other than just a toss of some field equipment.
But, I was kind of bummed to not have gotten any shots so far this year. And for it supposedly to be one of the high risk days, it wasn't much and was short lived. My adrenalin barely moved!
So, if you've read this much, and are still clamoring for a storm shot. The link is in the title of this entry and will take you to my old proofing gallery and some 2005 images I have up. I'll try to be more diligent in the future!
Also, here's a link to a photo I really like that I shot in Oklahoma http://tphotos.smugmug.com/gallery/508938#34889330-L-LB
If you have any great storm shots from this week, send them my way. I'd be happy to post them!