In September of 2025, my work is generating the most income it ever has in my career. Yet, I'm being forced to shut down my successul operation, against my will, due to one cause alone: 95% of that revenue is being stolen by piracy and copyright infringement. I've lost more than $1 million to copyright infringement in the last 15 years, and it's finally brought an end to my professional storm chasing operation. Do not be misled by the lies of infringers, anti-copyright activists and organized piracy cartels. This page is a detailed, evidenced account of my battle I had to undertake to just barely stay in business, and eventually could not overcome. It's a problem faced by all of my colleagues and most other creators in the field.
I decided to sign up for a Photoshelter account earlier this month, and finally got around to configuring my first few images (my catalog page is here). I have traditionally stayed away from the online stock photo agencies because most of them are geared to amateurs who are willing to sell images for nothing (as in absurd amounts like a dollar or two each). However, there are a couple of pro photographers/observers that I respect that have had some good experiences with Photoshelter. Add to that the fact that the site allows you to charge professional rates, so I decided to give it a try.
On to the subject of lightning. You may have seen a few of these videos floating around the internet lately. Tom Warner of ZT Research in Rapid City, SD has been involved in capturing lightning video with a 7,200 frames-per-second camera. The results are jaw-dropping. I could replace an entire page describing how lightning works by just posting the link to Tom's videos - nothing else I've ever seen shows the processes so clearly. Tom has posted a few of his videos on YouTube, here are my favorites - keep in mind that what you see here happens in nature in the blink of an eye!
After seeing this stuff I'm not sure I have much motivation to shoot any more lightning footage until I have that camera. All of my lightning video seems boring now. At around 70 grand, I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon though.
Web Site Design and Internet Marketing by CIS Internet
From Dan: Please Read
To my regular readers, I offer my apologies for this heavy-handed notice. Unfortunately it has become necessary, so please bear with me!
Please don't copy/upload this site's content to social media or other web sites. Those copies have been a critical problem for me, seriously harming this site and my photography/storm chasing operation by diverting traffic, viewers, engagement and income. "Credit" and "exposure" does not benefit this site or my operation, rather they threaten my ability to cover my operating expenses. Please read my full explanation for this notice here.
Before continuing, check each box to agree to and acknowledge these two statements:
Click this button to finalize this acknowledgement:
