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Search every verified Greg Johnson interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Greg Johnson, a storm chaser and photographer based in Regina, Saskatchewan, discussed his approach to capturing extreme weather images during a 2016 presentation. He described his truck as having been inside the largest tornado ever recorded, in Oklahoma in 2013, and stated that his goal is to get as close as safely possible while prioritizing the ability to tell the story. Johnson noted that he recently switched from DSLR to mirrorless camera technology, citing advantages in focusing and high ISO performance, and said he shoots in JPEG with wide apertures and high ISOs, emphasizing that "the moments are the ones that matter" over technical perfection. Johnson also addressed safety and economic motivations for his work. He distinguished between taking risks and being reckless, noting that his team uses a bulletproof truck, real-time Doppler radar, and meteorologists. He said that in media sales, being first to market with breaking news footage is critical, and that a single photo can "make our season and pays for our year." Johnson added that after a tornado, his team has set up triage stations and performed search-and-rescue, keeping cameras in the truck until people were safe, and that they call 9-1-1 and Environment Canada before pursuing footage.
“Our truck that you can see over in the Sony booth has been inside the largest Tornado ever recorded on earth — it happened on May 31st of 2013 in Oklahoma — and that's too close.”
“Our goal is to get as close as we can safely and more importantly — and this is a very important distinction — it's one thing to get the story, it's one thing to get the shot, but it's a much more important thing to get out to tell that story and to share those images.”
“I shoot JPEG, I shoot wide open apertures exclusively — 2.8 or better — I shoot high ISOs; the images that stand out for people are not always the most technically proficient but the moments are the ones that matter.”
“I've recently switched to mirrorless camera technology from DSLR — the camera is a fraction of the size and I would never go back now because of some of the advantages I've seen specifically in focusing technology and in the high ISO.”
“There is a difference between taking risks and being reckless — we drive a bulletproof truck with a roll cage, we've got real-time Doppler radar, a safety officer and some of the best meteorologists on planet Earth; we don't treat what we do in a reckless manner.”
“When it comes to media sales I have at the maximum a ten-minute window — first to market with good breaking news footage wins the game — and if that breaking news footage happens to come from an iPhone they're going to buy it from the iPhone.”
“Greg, why do you have to get so close? — Mom, it's an economic reason: a photo like this makes our season and pays for our year; the video footage is what made us the most money from this.”
“We phoned ahead to the authorities and said this is what's coming your way; they fired the fireworks off early and emptied the park — we suddenly turned into part of the link in the chain of Emergency Management and the first calls we make are to 9-1-1 and to the Environment Canada storm reporting line.”
“When we arrived after a tornado hit, we set up a triage station, did first aid and search-and-rescue — the cameras stayed in the truck because the human component supersedes everything; only after people were safe did we start documenting the storm.”
“If you walked into a store and were buying a camera for the first time my advice would be: the best camera in the world is the camera that's in your hand — moments are important, not so much the tech.”
Professional Storm Chaser and photographer Greg Johnson discusses his experiences capturing images and video of storms ...
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