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, travelled tens of thousands of miles, and I've seen countless storms, lightning strikes, and 11+ 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!
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.
