Gregory Thompson is an Atmospheric Scientist working at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO. He maintains a (boring) work-related web page as well as an exciting series of web pages containing Real-time Weather Data for anyone interested in viewing weather data.    Greg grew up in Charm City-Baltimore, Maryland, received a Bachelor's Degree in Meteorology from Penn State in 1990, received a Master's Degree in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State in 1993, and has been employed at NCAR since 1993.    Greg has been taking photographs since going away to college but didn't get the photo bug until he took a class with PSU professor Dr. Craig Bohren (author of Clouds in a Glass of Beer). The class required students to photograph weather phenomena and write essays describing the photo'd subject scientifically.    After graduating from PSU, Greg was further inspired by the spectacular displays of nature in Colorado. Combining his formal training in Meteorology with his self-taught photography skills, Greg started to chase severe thunderstorms upon arrival in Colorado. Every Spring/Summer Greg forecasts the locations of severe weather, then drives to the forecast location in search of the predicted storms. The ultimate achievement is seeing (and photographing) a tornado spawned by a "supercell" thunderstorm but many of his best photos were taken on days when storms did not produce a tornado.

Greg uses Pentax gear only including: 645N (6 x 4.5 cm) PZ-1P K1000 Optio430 Digital (4 megapixel) SMCP-FA 645 45 mm f/2.8 SMC-FA 20-35 mm f/4AL SMC-FA 28-80 f/3.5-5.6 SMC-FA 70-200 mm f/4-5.6 SMC-FA 100 mm f/2.8 macro SMC-M 50 mm f/2.0 Besides the occasional use of a polarizing and/or graduated neutral density filter, he does not use filters. A tripod is a must for the frequent low-light conditions of storm scenes and all-around steady shots. See my photo tips page for more details.    Greg's photos have been published in these places: 2003 Farmer's Almanac Weather Calendar Fall 2002 cover of Cow Country magazine March/April 2001 cover of Weatherwise magazine 1999 Weather Guide Calendar Science Spectra magazine January/February 1997 cover of 911 Magazine Storm video has also been shown on The Weather Channel

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