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Extreme Weather

The Microcosmos of Winter: How I shot ice crystals in sub-zero temperatures with an extreme macro lens

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In the “Microcosmos of Winter,” I wanted to show never-seen-before footage of a soap bubble that starts to freeze. I previously tried to film this two years ago with my Sony 90 1:1 and Raynox DRC-250, which only allowed me to shoot at about 2X magnification. However, the weather in Germany at that time was simply too warm for it to work.

Two years later, and with suitable cold conditions of -10°C, I was ready to try again. This time, I was armed with my Laowa 25mm, which has a 5:1 magnification, allowing me to shoot extreme macro detail.

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Powerful image of Storm Eunice wins 2022 Weather Photographer of the Year

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The Royal Meteorological Society has announced the winners of the 2022 Weather Photographer of the Year competition in association with AccuWeather.

Like every year, there are so many awe-inspiring photos that will just take your breath away. But you know the drill – there can be only one winner. This year, it was Christopher Ison for his dramatic, powerful image Storm Eunice. And since there are plenty more amazing images awarded in different categories, let’s check them all out and enjoy them together.

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Astronauts capture terrible beauty of Hurricane Ian from International Space Station

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It must be a strange feeling being up in space and witnessing potentially catastrophic events back down on planet earth. The sensations of both awe and impotence simultaneously could be enough to wreak havoc on your mental health.

So spare a thought for the astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) this week who have released stunning footage of Hurricane Ian seen from above.

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Caught on camera: Lightning strike hits storm-chasing photographer’s car and disables it

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With the advancements in tech, the proliferation of relatively inexpensive camera equipment and the ever pervasive advancement of social media and YouTube over the last decade or so, storm-chasing has become a big thing. Once a task only pursued by scientists and the absolutely insane, it’s now become pretty normal. For a storm chaster who goes by the name Pi (and More Pi on YouTube), though, this trip was anything but normal.

While looking for tornadoes in Iowa, his car (which he was inside) was struck by lightning and completely disabled. It also fried one of his in-car cameras. Fortunately for us, he had his own cameras recording and the whole event was also captured on camera from the vantage point of his friend, High Risk Chris, in a separate car.

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Incredible drone footage shows the devastating power of Kansas tornadoes

For those of us that don’t live in locations that are prone to tornadoes, it can be difficult to imagine what they’re really like. Sure, many of us saw the 1996 movie Twister, but that’s just a movie, right? Surely it’s not that bad in real life? Well, this footage, apparently shot with a lowly DJI Mavic Air 2  by Tornado chaser Reed Timmer shows that yeah, they’re pretty bad.

I suppose it makes sense that you’d chase tornadoes with a relatively inexpensive drone like the DJI Mavic Air 2. After all, they can be so unpredictable with wind speeds so insane that your drone could be whisked away in an instant, never to be seen again. You wouldn’t want that to happen to a $10K drone! The tornado captured here is said to have had winds of between 136-165 miles per hour and you can see what it’s doing to the houses in real-time.

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This drone survived inside a category 4 hurricane and this is what it saw

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I always find videos of storm chasers fascinating. The things that will make them turn around and go in the opposite direction to everyone fleeing harm’s way and actually seek out imminent danger is something that I find simultaneously admirable and baffling. But it’s an incredibly dangerous job, and it’s not always possible to put actual humans in the path of a category 4 or 5 hurricane. So, enter the drones.

This Saildrone actually survived inside a category 4 hurricane, and the footage it captured is pretty amazing. It’s apparently the world’s first video from inside such a severe storm at sea. Warning: may cause nausea.

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Nashville CCTV camera in the path of a tornado records the whole thing and survives

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When we see tornadoes on video, it’s often from at least some kind of distance. Perhaps it’s very far away from somebody who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Maybe the view is a little closer, from the camera of a storm chaser. But it’s rare that we get to see a tornado from the inside. The cameras often just don’t survive.

One brave little CCTV camera in Nashville, Tennessee, however, not only captured the view from inside the tornado, it actually managed to survive, and Metro Nashville PD shared the video via Twitter. Yes, I called it brave, I gave it personality. This camera deserves a medal or something.

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This rear cap protects your lens from extreme temperatures and humidity

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We all want to protect our precious gear from extreme conditions. Well, at least if we want it to live a long life and serve us well. And there’s a lens cap that can be your ally on this mission. It has a built-in hygrometer and thermometer to let you know if the humidity and temperature are too high for your lenses. And to be honest, it’s so weird that I just love it.

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Fuji lens found after four months in the wilderness, rain and extreme temperatures, and it still works

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It looks like Fujifilm takes weather sealing of its lenses very seriously. Steve Boykin of 35mmc recently lost a Fuji XF 23mm f/2 lens during a hike in the wilderness, firmly believing that he’d never find it. However, he did find it four months later, which is pretty incredible on its own. But what’s even more unbelievable that the lens is almost intact and it still works perfectly fine!

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A storm chaser sent a drone after a Tornado and the footage is amazing

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Extreme weather is always a fascinating subject to study and photograph. As dangerous as it can be, there’s something very intriguing and beautiful about it, not to mention incredibly impressive. Mother nature has a lot of power at her disposal.

One thing a lot of people try to film or photograph is tornadoes. And chasing them can be extremely dangerous. So, why not send a drone in to do it for you? Brandon Clement from WXChasing sent a drone after a Tornado near Sulphur, Oklahoma, and the resulting footage is just amazing.

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