Mark Humpage is a modern day adventurer, storm chaser and elemental photographer. His relationship with Mother Nature is volatile, dangerous and creates incredible photography. We put pen to paper to try and capture his inspirational stories – see part one here...

Why Extreme Nature?

Getting close to Mother Nature, feeling her breathe, her intense power and working a camera is hugely rewarding and challenging. Forget the rules; Mother Nature is unpredictable and no two scenes are alike...

Hanging from an open car window, in the dusty Plains of Tornado Alley, USA, attempting to capture a destructive tornado spinning at over 300mph in front of you... Bouncing along a muddy river torrent on a tiny inflatable craft as a huge tidal wave tears up everything in its path...Standing underneath a technicolour river in the wild arctic plains as the skies dance and come alive... My subject matter is awe-inspiring and motivation in itself.

Your career sounds fascinating. How did you get started?

It was not until the mid nineties that my camera intercepted severe weather. Fascinated, via documentaries, with tornadoes ravaging across the Plains in America, I yearned to learn more. This is where I found storm-chasing and became an active pursuer of everything extreme. I have been fortunate to witness and capture some of the most hostile natural weather conditions known to man, discussed by many, witnessed by few.

What is the most dangerous/frightening situation you have been in as a photographer?

I was out riding on a scooter on my first Northern Lights trip, with a videographer colleague checking out some 'shoot' locations. We got lost, hit 6ft deep snow and overturned the snowmobile. It took us 10 mins to claw out from underneath the snow and another 30mins to eventually drag it back on track. Daylight was fading and I had visions of an 'Alive' moment. Very scary.

Also, a few years back I was stormchasing, standing alongside a huge supercell (king of thunderstorms) at the side of the road. It was throwing out cloud to ground lightning bolts all over the place. I had my camera on a tripod (foolishly) when a bolt hit the ground within yards of me. It was like a bomb going off. My ears were ringing for a week. The camera-man caught the entire thing on camera. Boy it was close.

What is the most crucial factor in your line of work?

The most important factor is safety first. Mother Nature can and does kill. Homework is not optional but mandatory. If you don’t respect extreme elements they will be your first and last shoot. As with every subject matter, regardless of genre, knowledge is paramount. Aside from having the right camera equipment, logistical awareness is key. Timing, forecasting, positioning and reaction are the crucial ingredients to forging a relationship with Mother Nature.

You mentioned the Northern Lights earlier, can you tell us more about that?

Well, I was having some dinner on my first evening in Norway and noticed a clear sky, in stark contrast to the local forecast. I immediately left and drove out of the city under a starlight Tromso sky and sat and waited, gazing upwards. Sure enough over the horizon, streaks of green appeared. A river of colour strengthened and weakened as it passed above. It was not a particularly dazzling display, and only lasted an hour or so but I had witnessed the Northern Lights on my first evening. As it happened this was only the beginning. What I witnessed over the following few days was a truly spectacular and magical experience. Ribbons of colours flowed through skies, snaking and meandering from horizon to horizon. Sometimes in narrow streams and other times filling the entire sky. It started with greens and then came the entire spectrum, reds, pinks, yellows and oranges. The sky was dancing with colour, it was alive. I have never quite witnessed anything like it in my entire life. Oh how beautiful it was. I could have been on a Disney set, and felt so privileged to witness the contrails from Thor's chariot. Julius von Payer puts it perfectly - "No pencil can draw it, no colours can paint it and no words can describe it in all its magnificence”.

See examples of Mark's work at www.markhumpage.co.uk — and look forward to next season's edition of Ads@ to read the part two of his fascinating interview...