Jim Reed
Jim
Reed was born in Albany, Georgia in 1961. Throughout his childhood, he was
fascinated by the conditions of severe weather, and how weather affects people
and the surrounding environments. Reed attended the University of Southern
California where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. Shortly
after graduating from USC, his professional career began as a filmmaker and
writer in Los Angeles. Reed found himself writing everything from TV
commercials and music videos to feature articles and motion pictures during the
first eight years of his career. Having been successful as writer early on, he
was taken back to his childhood love of photographing weather. He turned his
camera yet again on the sky after moving from Los Angeles to Wichita, Kansas.
Reed is known as one of the worlds most innovative and skilled extreme weather photographers and has been singled out as one of the most unique and distinctive amongst photographers today because of his approach to weather photography. He has witnessed America’s changing climate and record-setting storms for 23 consecutive years, comprising of tornadoes, blizzards, ice storms and floods. He has documented 19 hurricanes, and has survived 17 of these historic hurricanes including hurricane Katrina.
‘Storm Chaser; A Photographers Journey’ by Jim Reed is a book containing Reed’s most thrilling, beautiful, dramatic adventures to date, providing incredible images and the astonishing stories behind them. When reading this book I was incredibly inspired by his amazing work, definitely something I should take inspiration from. Reed describes how it feels to be inside the eye of a fearful hurricane, risking his life in most cases to create iconic images of extreme weather. I don't think I will be risking my life during my photography, but I do hope to recreate the intense environment. Reed has spent nearly two decades creating an award-winning distinctive body of work. Chasing extreme weather for twenty two years has been rewarding for Reed, but one thing that has majorly improved Reed’s weather tracking is the advancements in technology. Having tracked America’s weather changing patterns and collected all of the knowledge as well as seeing how destructive Mother Nature can be, he is now using his experience by getting on the policy side of things and sharing his expertise with government agencies. In his opinion, the climate changes are only going to become more powerful. Some of the climate changes he is concerned about now include droughts in various parts of the country and dangerous weather impacting outdoor events like sports and concerts. Having witnessed extreme weather for 22 consecutive years, Reed believes weather challenges are increasing and many storms are larger and have more energy. He advises everyone to "Get a weather radio, or weather app, be proactive - there's no excuse for being caught off guard, except for simply being inattentive or lazy."
“My first love is art: unusual colour, texture, fascinating shape. All of these elements come together…” This truly reflects his style of photography, the way he captures extreme weathers at their best.
Connections to my own work.
When reflecting upon Reed's work, I am inspired by the way he manages to capture the vibrant colours in the weather. It's not often that we are able to see such astonishing shots of weather. In England we do not experience this kind of weather, which makes the weather even more excited.
I could use photoshop to recreate some of his work, and perhaps using a jar, I could create a mini tornado.
Reed is known as one of the worlds most innovative and skilled extreme weather photographers and has been singled out as one of the most unique and distinctive amongst photographers today because of his approach to weather photography. He has witnessed America’s changing climate and record-setting storms for 23 consecutive years, comprising of tornadoes, blizzards, ice storms and floods. He has documented 19 hurricanes, and has survived 17 of these historic hurricanes including hurricane Katrina.
‘Storm Chaser; A Photographers Journey’ by Jim Reed is a book containing Reed’s most thrilling, beautiful, dramatic adventures to date, providing incredible images and the astonishing stories behind them. When reading this book I was incredibly inspired by his amazing work, definitely something I should take inspiration from. Reed describes how it feels to be inside the eye of a fearful hurricane, risking his life in most cases to create iconic images of extreme weather. I don't think I will be risking my life during my photography, but I do hope to recreate the intense environment. Reed has spent nearly two decades creating an award-winning distinctive body of work. Chasing extreme weather for twenty two years has been rewarding for Reed, but one thing that has majorly improved Reed’s weather tracking is the advancements in technology. Having tracked America’s weather changing patterns and collected all of the knowledge as well as seeing how destructive Mother Nature can be, he is now using his experience by getting on the policy side of things and sharing his expertise with government agencies. In his opinion, the climate changes are only going to become more powerful. Some of the climate changes he is concerned about now include droughts in various parts of the country and dangerous weather impacting outdoor events like sports and concerts. Having witnessed extreme weather for 22 consecutive years, Reed believes weather challenges are increasing and many storms are larger and have more energy. He advises everyone to "Get a weather radio, or weather app, be proactive - there's no excuse for being caught off guard, except for simply being inattentive or lazy."
“My first love is art: unusual colour, texture, fascinating shape. All of these elements come together…” This truly reflects his style of photography, the way he captures extreme weathers at their best.
Connections to my own work.
When reflecting upon Reed's work, I am inspired by the way he manages to capture the vibrant colours in the weather. It's not often that we are able to see such astonishing shots of weather. In England we do not experience this kind of weather, which makes the weather even more excited.
I could use photoshop to recreate some of his work, and perhaps using a jar, I could create a mini tornado.