LightningBuster - Hugo Lortie

About:

Personal

Born in Ville Saint-Leonard, Québec, Canada in 1970 and spent most of my life around Saint-Léonard, I consider myself a Montréal born a breed artist.I spent most of my life working construction specialised as a plasterer and storm-chassing/photography being my main hobbies.

Other than storm-chassing I am also passionate about bushcrafting, fishing, music and anything social or nature related. I love music, having seen Metallica in concert over twenty times as an example. You can also hear me play in the band 85e Avenue.

I love anything that can give me a rush: karting, storm-chasing, lightning, tornadoes; I am a confessed, incurable adrenaline junkie!

History

My passion for photography began in my twenties. But its in 1994 that it realy clicked when I took my first lightning bolt in photo. Since then storm chassing has brought me many scares and close calls but that never turned me off. Regularly staying less than 100 meters of a bolt strike on a tree or lightning rod for the best pictures. Sometimes being on roofs like "Place Ville-Marie" or friends appartment complexes can be quite hazardous but thrilling!

I took my first pictures of lightning downtown montreal in 2006. In 2008 I had another monumental shot with a lightning strike directly on Montréal's Olympic stadium's tower. What a night! The hunt had paid off!

2019 I celebrated my 25th year of nature photography with this new logo and website! Thanks to all the fans, friends and familly that encouraged me to continue.

Equipment

Cameras

I have always worked with Nikon equipment! I was on film from the 1990's all the way to 2009 where I switched to numeric and lever looked back. Going from a Nikon FE to a Nikon D3200. Souvent aussi je vais avoir une GoPRO et une caméra Kodak impérméable pour filmer ce que me manque autrement en photo. Parfois aussi pour enregistrer la rotation des nuages difficile à avoir autrement.

Tripods

My spider tripod: On the chase I dont have time to setup a full-sized tripod. I generally use this tiny tripod that I can trow on top of my car hood/roof to take a few quick shots. You have to realise that the storm is moving, and you have to move with it.

Lens

I use various lenses either Nikon or Sigma: for chasing 70-200mm (Nikon) and a 600mm (Sigma) will do for the Majority of my chases.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank the following people:

Everyone that believed in me over the years.
My friends & family
A special thanks to logo_beast9 for the amazing logo.
Nikon, GoPRO, Sigma, Kodak
A special thanks to the weather watcher program of environment Canada that keppps storm chassers and weather enthousiasts constantly involved in their efforts.
Photolab Yves Thomas
Lozeau
Hyundai Blainville
And finaly Fabrice Quenneville for making and maintaining my website over the years.

Hugo Lortie