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Tornado Aftermath
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Tornado Aftermath

by Tony Colvin

Gallery: Man & FaunaPosted January 17, 2011109 views4 comments
I took this photo from where my neighbors house used to be in NW Arkansas. My house and mailbox with mail still in it was fine, but 6 feet from my mailbox, my neighbors house was completely gone along with their lives. Nature can be devastating. In this image you can see a small part of it's destruction that only took seconds to wipe-out several homes, a fire station in the background, and a barn in the upper right.
I took this photo after we got a dozen people in ambulances, and 3 bodies taken care of.
I just picked up my camera and took some photos of the area with whatever my settings were on the last time I used it, I didn't even think to look. After checking later, it showed 70mm at 1/250sec at f10 and 100 ISO.
I've always wanted to get a shot of a tornado, but after this experience, I don't want to be anywhere near one.

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Gary McGhee on January 17, 2011 at 2:44 PM
Very sad affair Tony, sorry to hear about your neighbours. Amazing how lives can change so quickly.

Best wishes, Gary.
Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments
Comment posted by Hank Pennington on January 24, 2011 at 6:54 PM
Wow, Tony. Talk about a graphic view of tornadoes. Not living in tornado country, they scare me silly. Talk about nature at work!
Registered on November 1, 2003, 226 Posts, 1532 Comments
Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 30, 2011 at 8:02 PM
Extremely moving and it tells the story with no explanation needed. The addition of the person in the frame adds a lot as both a sense of scale and to add a personal element. I only wish that the feet weren't cut off. Glad to hear your house was fine - sorry about your neighbors. Tornado Alley is an unforgiving place.
Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on March 16, 2012 at 9:48 AM
Telling photo documenting the devastation Tony, glad to hear it passed you over..
I experienced 75 mph winds in Florida with tornadoes in the area.
So I understand where you're coming from :frown:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments