PSPhoto's 2009 Storm Chase Highlights (2 DVD set)

[Scott McPartland]

Hi everyone!

My 2009 highlights DVD is currently at the printers being duplicated and will be available on or around October 14th. Just wanted to put the word out a little early in the event anyone was interested in purchasing a copy when they become available.

Total running time is 122 minutes. I decided to make this a 2 DVD set (each DVD being a little over 1 hour in length) due to the fact that I didn't want to compress it too much to fit all on one disc. So, you're basically getting 2 DVD's for the price of one.

I will be selling them for $20.00. Here's a link to the trailer and cover artwork:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EckVQkYrSUs

Cover Art:
http://www.SevereWeatherVideo.com/2009_Highlights_Cover.jpg

Here's a rundown on what events are covered on the DVD:

-Spring 2009 chaser get together in the Florida Keys!
-Fabricating our new driver & passenger side window hail guards & chase vehicle preparations for storm chase 2009
-June 5th Dalton, NE Supercell
-June 7th Pawnee City, NE/Oregon, MO Supercells & Hail
-June 8th Ham Radio Installation/Chase Preps Wichita, KS
-June 10th Sublette, KS Tornadic Supercell
-June 11th La Junta/Las Animas, CO Supercells & Hail Storm
-June 13th Silverton, TX Tornadic Supercell
-June 14th Ulysses, KS (Haskell County) TORNADO!
-June 15th Pratt County, KS Gustnado Fest & large hail
-June 16th "Laundry Day" lighter moments
-June 17th Beatrice, NE Supercells & Aurora, NE Monster TORNADO!
-Photo slideshow

If you are interested, shoot me an email at smcpartland@psphoto.com and I will let you know as soon as the DVD is available! All the best!

Scott McPartland

[Bryan Stokes]

Scott,

I don't know if you remember, but I met you on the dirt roads outside of Dalton on June 5th. (light blue Ford Explorer) And then the next day we ran into each other again on I-80 near Iowa en-route to a sun burn bust. I also noticed (on your post above) that you were at the La Junta storm on June 11th. I was there too, but at the birth of the southern storm as it traveled through Rocky Ford. It was close to producing, but just didn't quite get the job done.

Isn't chasing the craziest thing in the world? Meet someone on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, and then run into them again the next day over 500 miles away.

At any rate, you're a super-nice guy with one of the best hail-guards I've ever seen! It looks like you had a very successful 2-weeks on the Plains. Looking forward to your video...
(email request sent)

Thanks,
Bryan

[Scott McPartland]

Hi Bryan!

Yes! Absolutely I remember :D What a LOOONG day that was! Dave and I drove from western PA the day before, all the way to Topeka, KS. Then on the morning of June 5th, we drove from Topeka all the way to where we ran into you guys near Dalton! Ughhh, and we still were 45 minutes too late for the La Grange tornado! Well, that's how it goes sometimes I guess, lol.

It was great running into you guys that day and I remember we chatted for quite a while on that dirt road before going our separate ways. You guys were awesome! Super nice as well! And yes, lol...to run into each other again the following day in Iowa was hilarious! What a bust day that was. But I actually had a lot of fun shooting the breeze with everyone on the side of the road for like 4 hours getting a sunburn before calling it a day.

June 11th was great as well, lots of great hail that day and Dave and I had a nice opportunity to test our our new driver/passenger side hail guards, along with our other ones.

Thanks so much for the DVD request! I'll shoot you an email as soon as I get em' back from the printers. All the best Bryan and I hope to run into you again next season!

Scott

[Rocky Rascovich]

Hey Scott: I would be interested in purchasing a copy of your video... but could you include your trip to the top of Pikes Peak where the altitude made you almost look like a smurf, and your crew had to rush you down the mountain so you could breathe again?? I would think that little excursion would be a good addition to the video:D

[Bill Hark]

DVD Review


I thoroughly enjoyed watching Scott McPartland’s 2009 chase highlights Sunday evening. This two DVD set is a great collection of storm video from June. Scott, chasing with Dave Lewison and at times, Mark Robinson and Charles Edwards collected some beautiful storm video. The main event is the long-lasting June 17th Aurora, NE tornado that basically follows them down Route 34. The tornado is high contrast and is moving erratically toward them. Initially, there is this weird gustnado thing off to the side of the main tornado. The entire development of the tornado is shown. I love the close-up shots of the tornado as it appears like rotating curtains. They also are able to get footage (slightly lower resolution) as they are retreating eastward due to a roof mounted “dome cam”. Scott includes radar and damage shots. There is another video of a nice slender tornado from June 14th. These two tornadoes would make the DVD set worthwhile by themselves but there are several other chase days with amazing storm structure, high winds, blowing dust, gustnadoes and big hail. There are a total of 8 chase days. The videography is better than average with interesting angles and framing. Most is on a tripod or dashmount and the small amount of hand-held video is very stable. The video quality is very good as Scott decided to break the 122 minutes of video into two DVD for less compression. There is Scott and Dave’s usual humor throughout the highlights. I liked watching Scott trying to convince Mark Robinson on June 16 to chase one more day (he does.) I also enjoyed watching the bonus section detailing the completion of their very innovative hail guard system using magnetic mounted clear shields. There is also a short slide show with gorgeous storm images. I definitely recommend getting this DVD set. This is the URL to his main site:
http://www.psphoto.com/ (http://www.psphoto.com/)



Trying to treat my SDS by watching lots of storm video. 2009 was a bad year for me and I am hoping for better luck in 2010. Disclaimer: I am friends with Scott but I believe I have been objective in the above review.

Bill Hark
http://www.harkphoto.com (http://www.harkphoto.com/)