MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM — Professional storm chaser Greg Johnson will be in Moose Jaw on Feb. 3-4, teaching a two-day digital photography workshop at the Moose Jaw Wildlife Federation and sharing some of the knowledge he's built over a career of hunting tornadoes.
"Man, I've had an interesting photography career, because I've spent the last 15 years specializing in storm photography," Johnson told MooseJawToday.com. "I travel in the spring and summer throughout the United States and Canada, and I essentially chase storms, which I know sounds ridiculous, but it's a living!"
Johnson, who is based out of Regina, spends the storm off-season teaching photography and has shared his tips and technical knowledge with thousands of students. He promises "ah-ha" moments that will help amateur photographers realize the hobby as an art form.
"I host photography tours across Canada, and I teach workshops on how to use a camera, so that's why I'm headed to Moose Jaw," Johnson said. "There's two really important parts to photography, and they use different sides of the brain. When it comes to the technical bits of using a camera, the ones and zeros and logic of it, that's very different from creating art and interesting images that people will care about.
"The problem is, if you don't understand how the camera works, then you can't make the camera do what you need it to, to create that art. So, my workshops are all about helping you to understand your camera, get the technical bits out of the way, and then inspiring people to get creative with that knowledge."
The workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Saturday and Sunday of the workshop, held at 1396 3rd Avenue NE. The cost is $375 per person, and participants will need a mirrorless or DSLR camera.
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Johnson will also host a free public presentation on storm chasing and storm photography at the Wildlife Federation on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. He will share some of the incredible — sometimes near-death — experiences his career has given him.
For the especially enthusiastic, Johnson takes his teaching to the next level , with destinations including Tanzania, the Yukon and Alaska, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia.
"I've got so many good memories, let me think," he laughed. "Well, I take a group every year to the Yukon and Alaska, and we photograph grizzlies and the night sky aurora, and those are pretty amazing experiences. To see people react to seeing the aurora in person for the first time, or seeing a grizzly bear up close, is incredible.
"I also take a group to Newfoundland every July, and getting a chance to see icebergs and whales and puffins in their natural habitat is pretty cool, particularly with people from the Prairies who don't see the ocean very often or at all."
Johnson said some of his most personally meaningful experiences have come from being close to the devastating power of tornadoes.
"In 2014, I got to witness the first and only time ever recorded of twin EF4 category tornadoes — that's wind speeds in excess of 400 kilometres per hour. Two EF4 tornadoes on the ground at the same time, one on either side of the road.
"Being in that environment, where there is so much happening at once, and coming away with footage and photos where 10 years later, I still have documentary filmmakers and magazine articles using that footage and those images, I mean, I had a front-row seat to something no one else on Earth has witnessed. That's really one of the highlights of my life."
