State of the Arts Blog

Photographer Camille Seaman chases storms to capture “lovely monsters”

As a Shinnecock Indian, photographer Camille Seaman was raised with a deep awareness of her connection to the environment.

Eventually her dual loves - nature and photography - combined into a career documenting glaciers, and then storms.

Lovelymonster
The Lovely Monster Over the Farm, Lodgepole, Nebraska. June 22, 2012 19:15 CST. / Photo: Camille Seaman

Seaman recently shared a selection of her storm photography at a recent TED conference.

Storm chasing is a very tactile experience. There's a warm moist wind blowing at your back, the smell of the earth, the wheat, the grass, the charged particles... What really excites me about these storms is their movement, the way they swirl and spin and undulate...  As I stand under them I see not just a cloud, but understand that what I have the privilege to witness is the same forces the same process in a small scale version that helped to create our galaxy, our solar system, our sun and even this very planet.

lovelymonster1
The Lovely Monster Over the Farm, Lodgepole, Nebraska. June 22, 2012 19:15 CST. / Photo: Camille Seaman

Seaman calls the storm clouds "lovely monsters." You can see more of her images here.

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