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This is where the storm started to get dreamy, though I was somewhat concerned for the waders.  Photo by Chris Kridler, ChrisKridler.com

The beaches have been under siege here in Brevard County for the past couple of days as ominous shelf clouds have swept over the sun-worshipers and surfers, harbingers of downpours and lightning close behind. I’ve caught photos in the past couple of days at Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach. In both places, some folks didn’t seem to be in a hurry to escape the lightning danger, which was high. I take a risk, too, when I stand on the beach to shoot a photo, and I’m well aware of it.

Today’s storm over Satellite Beach was especially beautiful. As dangerous as the lightning might have been, I couldn’t look away. See all the 2013 chase reports here.

Still need a beach read for this summer? My storm-chasing adventures, “Funnel Vision” and “Tornado Pinball,” are just $3.99 as e-books. They’re also in paperback. Check ’em out. (You can quite literally check them out of the Brevard libraries, too.)

Roll over a photo to see its caption, and click on any of the pictures to start a slide show of larger images.

The line approached Cocoa Beach Pier. Photo by Chris Kridler, ChrisKridler.com

Boundary collisions were evident on radar the afternoon of July 21, leading to storms, but I waited until they were well under way and a severe storm warning was issued before I headed out to take a look.

I stayed ahead of a pretty but fragmented shelf cloud from Merritt Island into Cocoa Beach, Florida. Shelf clouds always seem to reach their majestic maturity when they hit the beach.

Roll over a photo to see its caption, and click on any of the pictures to start a slide show of larger images.

I love a nice shelf cloud, and I’ve missed a few of them this season. Florida always has more, though, and I caught one this afternoon as a pretty line of storms rolled through Brevard County.

Storms set up in a line moving northeast across Brevard County, Florida, today. An outflow boundary was evident on radar, resulting in an undulating shelf cloud of varying drama. I stayed ahead of the line from Rockledge to Port Canaveral, snapping photos along the way.

Roll over a photo to see its caption, and click on any of the pictures to start a slide show of larger images.

I’ve never attempted a stop-motion film before, and that news won’t be a surprise to someone watching “The Chase: a silly storm safari.” It’s primitive, but it’s a fun first try. I just need to cultivate a great deal of patience before I try to shoot another one, given the painstaking frame-by-frame photography in each stop-motion clip.

The film is a combination of short video clips and stop-motion, all shot with my Nikon D7000. I set up the maps and toys, including several miniature storm-chasing vehicles, on our pool table and lit it well. I used shredded cotton balls to make the clouds, and a posterboard for the sky. Check it out:

Fireworks light up the night in Cocoa, Florida, on July 4, 2013. Photo by Chris Kridler, ChrisKridler.com, SkyDiary.com

I was lucky to get invited to an Independence Day party on a top floor of a condo overlooking the Indian River Lagoon and Cocoa, Florida’s excellent fireworks display on Thursday. Shooting fireworks is a lot like shooting lightning – you need a tripod and a camera you can put in manual mode so you can hold the shutter open for several seconds. But at least you know approximately where the fireworks are going to be.

Want to see more? Here’s a slide show. Prints are available.