Storm-Chasing photographer and filmmaker Mike Olbinski has brought us inside insane storms countless times before. He took the most dramatic lightning photo of the year, found himself way to close to a monster tornado, and showed us what it’s like to chase storms through the American Heartland.
As a follow up to his popular film “Monsoon II“, Olbinski has delivered another knockout punch that has left us dazed and speechless. “Vorticity” is the cumulation of Olbinski’s storm-chasing spring, where he was on the road for 18 days while driving over 20,000 miles through nine states and taking over 60,000 photos.
Olbinski often talks about the toll that is storm-chasing addiction has on his family life. While his family is supportive, the photographer dreads the time away from his loved ones. But was it worth it?
Blood. Sweat. Tears. Joy. That’s what this spring was for me. The miles, the grind, the failing, the epic days missed, the lack of sleep, the jubilation, the friendships strengthened, and the time away from my family. And when the chasing was all done…wondering, was worth it all?
Heck yeah it was.
Check out more from Olbinski on his website, Facebook, and Instagram.
Olbinski shared some of his favorite stills from the chase with us. Thanks Mike!
Sometimes you wish a road could have appeared from nowhere to get you a couple miles closer to a storm, with that view and that little tornado hanging out in the back. A great day…this was all captured on time-lapse, including two tornadoes, although they are tough to see…but it was a beautiful view.
When this storm finally got its act together, it was amazing. The updraft blew my mind…how intense and defined it was as it exploded upwards.
Sometimes I wish I could just stand and watch a storm like this and not rush around trying to capture it with a million cameras. To just be in awe of God’s majesty and creation without agenda. Sometimes I forget that’s where my love of storms began. Being there and watching.
A beautiful, sculpted supercell roams the plains of the Oklahoma Panhandle.
A powerful, EF4 tornado spins through the small rural community of Katie, Oklahoma on May 9th, 2016.
A powerful, EF3 tornado spins through the small rural community of Katie, Oklahoma on May 9th, 2016.
A beautiful, elephant trunk tornado touches down near Connorville, Oklahoma on May 9th, 2016
A tornado developed in the rain of this supercell and slowly emerged as it moved in the completely opposite direction from the storm itself.
A shelf cloud passed over minutes before, leaving in its wake low hanging clouds that looked as if you were staring up at a crashing wave in the ocean.
A gorgeous supercell hovers over the farmlands near Ackerly, Texas
Three bolts strike in the hills north of where Highway 90 crosses the Pecos River.
A supercell slowly begins to die out near the town of Benjamin, Texas.
