About Me
Hey! I'm GK Naill. I'm a photographer and storm chaser located in Northern Colorado.
All throughout my life, I've been fascinated by weather. My aunt and cousin both love storms, and they have been chasing for a while; in fact, my cousin is who got me interested in storms. I remember my interest first peaked when I was younger at a family member's home, where we got hit a tornado warned thunderstorm (although we luckily didn't get hit my the tornado, just the storm). I don't remember the exact date, but it was in the early 2010s.
After that day, storms were one of my favorite things. Although I was never able to go on a storm chase, I would always love whenever I got to see a storm outside or when we would get hit by a storm (because storms are cool!).
My first vivid memory of a tornado was on May 20, 2020, when a couple of landspouts happened a couple of miles to my east. They were mostly stationary and weaker dust whirls, but they were formally recognized as actual landspouts by the NWS.
Around a year later, on June 7, 2021, there was another visible landspout around 20 miles to my south. This landspout was fairly long-lasting and had a very clear structure. This was my first time seeing a significant and photogenic tornado.
Leading Up
On July 27, 2022, I had my first experience of a supercell heading right for my house. This storm had a rotating wall cloud with some scudding heading right for my house. This was my first so-called "close encounter." Thankfully, the storm began to dissipate before we were hit.
Another year later, I had my first ever "storm chase." On June 22, 2023, it was going to be a normal day. We were heading down to Denver to have lunch with my family, and my storm-loving aunt and cousin were there. When we were there, I saw something on radar, however we didn't think much of it. That storm quickly intensified and dropped a rain-wrapped EF-1 tornado over Highlands Ranch, Colorado. It was a close and quick chase, and it was my first experience of going on an actual "chase."
Today
Since then, I have gone on many more chases. I have been to many states, traveled tens of thousands of miles, and I've seen countless storms, lightning strikes, and 13 (and counting!) tornadoes.
On my site, you can explore my complete portfolio of recent photography, shop my prints, and read stories about my chases. Thanks for reading about me!
What I Use
My main camera is the Nikon D850, with a whole collection of lenses (my main lens is the NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4). I also have 2 GoPro Hero 13 Blacks, 1 GoPro Max 2, and 1 GoPro Max for capturing storm footage. I use the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite on my MacBook Pro for photo/video editing. Inside the vehicle, I use an Anker Solix C1000 and a Starlink Enterprise dish for power and communications. Pivotal Weather is my website of choice for accessing weather models, and RadarScope is the app I use for radar while on the road.
Press Bio
GK Naill is a Northern Colorado-based photographer and storm chaser with a lifelong focus on the plains’ severe weather. What started as a childhood fascination has grown into a dedicated pursuit of capturing the structure of supercells and tornadoes. To date, Naill has traveled tens of thousands of miles to document 11+ tornadoes and countless severe thunderstorms. By combining on-the-ground experience with a deep understanding of GFS and HRRR forecasting models, he aims to capture the raw, visual power of the atmosphere. His complete portfolio and print shop are located at gknaill.com.
