Robins man has electric passion for catching perfect storm

  • Published
  • By Geoff Janes
  • Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  Some folks might say that Edward Aspera Jr. does not have the common sense to come in from the rain.

But he will tell you, he does not mind. When you are a storm chaser and your passion for photographing Mother Nature's fury takes you around the country with camera equipment, a portable weather radio and steely nerves, it just goes with the territory.

Mr. Aspera, who is 47 years old, has been chasing storms since 1986 when he was serving in the Marine Corps in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

"I've just always been interested in storms," said Mr. Aspera, an audiovisual specialist with the 78th Air Base Wing here. "There's just something about a good storm that gets my adrenaline flowing."

It was an easy transition for Mr. Aspera to go from his job as a combat photographer in the Marine Corps to taking photos of lightning. The subject matter could be just as deadly.

As a Marine, he shot photos of every weapon system in the Marine Corps inventory -- and in many cases he took stop-action photographs of munitions in midlaunch.

"Sometimes I had to photograph the weapons from the front-sight angle," he said. "To do that, basically I had to set the equipment up in front of where the weapon was being fired."

Mr. Aspera said there was a lot of down time and that was when he became interested in the storms rolling across the Texas plains from 50 miles away. He turned his lens toward the sky, and a passion was born.

He said he constantly increases his knowledge of storms by reading as much as he can, watching the Weather Channel and surfing the Internet. Although most of his knowledge has come from the greatest teacher of all -- experience.

Even after 18 years, he said he is still learning. He has honed his skill mostly by using different documentation techniques; it is all trial and error. But he said it is also intuition.

"It's kind of like you get where you can feel it in the air when a storm is coming," he said.

When they do, it does not matter what time of the day or night, Mr. Aspera will chase a storm 100 miles to get the perfect photograph.

"Yeah, there have been times when I've gotten up in the middle of the night to the sound of thunder, and the first thing I'll do is turn on the Weather Channel," he said. "I've loaded up the car and chased a storm all the way from Warner Robins to the Alabama border."

Working in teams is the safest way to catch the perfect storm, Mr. Aspera said.

"While I'm concentrating on taking pictures, the other person is paying attention to the Global Positioning System, listening to the weather and making sure the storm isn't getting too close," he said.

The father of two said that although he tries to operate as safely as possible, there have been times when he has gotten a little too close for comfort.

"There was once -- here in Georgia -- where I was waiting and waiting,” he said. “And then when the lightning finally struck, I watched it go across the sky above me. I was at the wrong place at the right time; it was too loud and too close. I knew it was time to move. There's nothing worse than standing out in that environment with a metal tripod and lightning going off."

Although some may think chasing storms is about getting right in the middle of it, Mr. Aspera said it is safest to be a good distance behind or ahead of it.

"You don't want to be trapped right in the middle of the storm," he said. "The idea is to capture the storm on film, not become a victim. Nobody wants to be a human lightning rod."

Lans Rothfusz, meteorologist in charge with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Ga., said it is not the safest of hobbies, and NWS officials do not recommend it.

"It's no different than going scuba diving with sharks," Mr. Rothfusz said. "If you don't know how storms work, it can be dangerous. Now if someone has been doing it for years, and understands weather, that's one thing. But, most storm chasers are meteorologists."

"So, why do I do it?" Mr. Aspera said. "I do it to educate people -- mainly school-aged children. The idea is that through my photography, I can show them what causes the sound and what lightning really looks like. If I can cure their curiosity by showing them what's out there, then I've achieved my goal.

"I also do it for the bragging rights," he said. "If I can catch it on film, it's like I own it. Lightning strikes are like snow flakes, no two are the same, and each picture has a life of its own."

Since moving to Georgia from Texas a few years ago, Mr. Aspera said he has monitored storm tracks in the region and has scouted the best places to set up when a storm is approaching.

Mr. Aspera should not have had a problem finding storms to contend with, said Kevin Turner, a meteorologist technician with the 78th Operational Support Squadron here. With cold fronts moving into the area, there are a lot of storms from February through May. In the summers, there are storms almost every afternoon.

Even with an abundance of storms, the Georgia landscape makes it one of the hardest places for the chase, Mr. Aspera said.

"I've been storm chasing everywhere from California to Texas to New Mexico to Indiana," he said. "It's a lot better in those places because you can see the storms from a long way off. Here it's harder. With the trees and everything, the window of opportunity is much smaller."

This has not slowed him down. While most people think they are being sensible making the most of indoor activities during a storm, you can bet Mr. Aspera's common sense is telling him the chase is on. (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)