Photographing nature: A slave to the weather

Professional photographers often talk about the need for lightning reactions in their work. For Mark Humpage, 43, a Leicestershire-based storm chaser and elemental photographer, the metaphor is all the more apt. "As a subject, severe weather has the advantage of continual change," he says. "One has to adapt and react quickly, in order to achieve a special moment. Once that moment has passed, it cannot be revisited. Capturing lightning is a good example of that. It's possibly one of the most difficult sub-divisions of weather photography to master."

His passion for the elements has brought him his fair share of close shaves. In 2004, he narrowly escaped being struck by lightning while chasing a storm in the US with a video cameraman. "We were standing alongside a huge supercell, the king of thunderstorms," he recalls. "It was throwing out cloud-to-ground lightning bolts all over the place. I had my camera on a tripod – foolishly – when a bolt hit the ground within yards of me. It was like a bomb going off. The cameraman caught the entire thing on film. Boy, it was close!"

Humpage has photographed some of the biggest storms in recent history, including a series of tornadoes in the US in May 2004, which caused $62m-worth of damage and killed seven people across four states. On 29 May that year, in Harper, Kansas, he experienced what he says was a life-changing event. "I witnessed a storm grow from nothing into a rapidly rotating, thunderous, destructive force of nature – a tornado. I tracked it, watched it rip up people's homes, snap trees like twigs, tear the macadam off a road, and it was within touching distance."

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From his vehicle, Humpage pursued the twister for half an hour, until it dissipated. "The entire life cycle of a tornado was captured on my camera," he says.

Not all of Humpage's entanglements with Mother Nature occur in Tornado Alley, however. One of his favourite subjects is in the UK: the Severn Bore, a large surge wave that runs up the River Severn estuary from the Bristol Channel during spring tides. "It's one of Britain's few spectacular natural phenomena," he says. "There's nothing like bouncing along the muddy river torrent on a tiny inflatable as a huge tidal wave tears up everything in its path. It is a roller coaster ride to hell!"

Hairy moments are par for the course for the professional elemental photographer. Even a trip to capture one of nature's gentler displays in February this year, the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, brought spills and thrills aplenty. "Transport was solely via snowmobile," he says. "Myself and cameraman Alister Chapman took it out to check out some 'shoot' locations. We got lost, hit six feet of deep snow and overturned the snowmobile. It took us five minutes to claw out from underneath and another 30 minutes to drag it back on track. Daylight was fading and we both had visions of an Alive moment."

The Northern territories of Norway and Iceland are considered to be among the best places to experience the Northern Lights. Humpage flew to Tromsø, Norway, and travelled 500km east by car, deep into the Arctic Circle. He knew the chances of getting decent shots were low. The lights are caused by charged particles carried on the solar winds interacting with the earth's atmosphere, so solar activity has to be high and skies must be clear for a good display. "Throw in the phases of the moon, which can diffuse any showing, and you realise just how the odds are really stacked against capturing it," he says.

Humpage advises anyone considering making such a trip to check a solar forecast before departure, on websites such as www.spaceweather.com. "It takes two or three days for solar storms to reach earth, enough time to arrange a flight," he says.

He also recommends a robust camera that can cope with extreme cold. He used the Olympus E3 D-SLR for its weatherproofing. "A tripod is a must, too," he says, "as are a good supply of batteries and plenty of warm clothing." Careful planning paid off for Humpage, who returned with some magical shots of ghostly green illuminations against an icy night sky. Can such images be topped?

"The Northern Lights trip takes some beating for sheer natural beauty," he says. "But storm chasing has become the norm in the US for me each spring." Next, he wants to document the world's largest tidal bore in China and the devastating storms of Bangladesh. He is also teaming up with Alister Chapman again, for The Elemental Project – a series of online films, photo journals, blogs and podcasts featuring hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes and other natural wonders. "I've got a busy time ahead," he says. "One thing is for sure: Mother Nature never fails to deliver."

Visit The Elemental Project at www.elemental project.com. To see more of Mark Humpage's work, visit www.mhweather.co.uk

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