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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.”
Professional Storm Chaser and photographer Greg Johnson discusses his experiences capturing images and video of storms ...
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