Photographer Jeff Wizniak snapped this photo of a tornado that hit the Blaine Lake area on July 8, 2022. (Submitted Photo/Jeff Wizniak Photography)

By Derek Craddock

SURREAL PHOTOS

‘Holy cow’: Sask. photographer captures his first tornado near Blaine Lake

Jul 9, 2022 | 4:00 PM

A Saskatchewan photographer could only describe it as surreal as he witnessed something he had never seen before.

Photographer Jeff Wizniak has taken many photos of storm clouds, lightning and hail, but a tornado was a shot that never reached his portfolio.

That all changed on Friday as Wizniak found himself close to the tornado that hit the Blaine Lake area.

Environment Canada confirmed that tornado on Friday afternoon and three that touched down near Paynton.

READ MORE: Meteorologists confirm tornado in Blaine Lake during Friday’s storm

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Wizniak didn’t think he would photograph a tornado that day as he was out with a couple of friends witnessing the storm.

Before he knew it, the storm intensified, and a funnel cloud was in sight. That’s when Wizniak acted quickly to get some photos of the natural phenomenon.

“The adrenaline’s going, you’re so excited. I don’t even know what I was pressing on my camera. I was just pointing it, hitting that shutter button, and hoping I’ll come away with some photos.”

“In the moment you’re all excited and just snapping buttons, but then when I got home and looked at the photos I went, ‘wow, that’s absolutely incredible.”

The photos have gone viral on social media with hundreds of shares on Facebook and over 4,000 likes on Twitter for just one of the photos.

Thankfully Wizniak and his friends didn’t get too close to the twister and drove away about 10 minutes later.

Still, the hobbyist photographer was overwhelmed by the pictures he captured and what he witnessed in the skies.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a tornado and it was very special in the fact that it was beautiful. You have these fields of canola and you’re staring at this thing. The best way I would put it would be kind of surreal. When you look at the grand scope of the clouds, you just go ‘holy cow, this is just a steamroller’ it’s an incredible ball of energy.”

While Wizniak is not a storm chaser by any means, he now has a newfound appreciation for that work.

“In those circumstances, these storms form very quickly and you’re kind of at the mercy of the skies so I can appreciate those who know how to do it without sustaining damage and doing it safely.”

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock