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    Family Pose For Portrait, Awesome Lightning Strike Takes It To The Next Level

    Weather photographer Kelly DeLay got more than he bargained for when taking a family photo in front of a supercell storm in Guymon, Oklahoma.

    Intrepid stormchaser Kelly DeLay took his family out on the road with him for the first time and snapped a rather special shot.

    DeLay told BuzzFeed UK: "We got lucky... It took us eight hours to chase [the storm] down. We were a safe distance from the strikes, about 10 miles away – it looks closer than it was. We had about 10 minutes to get in, take the shot, and get out before the lightning, wind, and hail reached us."

    The weather photographer, who hails from Dallas, Texas, had been planning the outing for months. He says he always knew he wanted his family in the photo, preferably with a storm in the background.

    Up to that point, DeLay had never chased storms with his family before. "The structure of this supercell was incredible," DeLay told us. "We had amazing light and lightning far enough away that I felt comfortable enough to get my family outside for a family portrait. I've been photographing storms and lightning for years. My wife trusts my judgement."

    DeLay's family portrait was the final photo in the five-year Clouds 365 Project, which saw him capture stunning shots of clouds every single day.

    "I started the Clouds 365 Project on 1 July, 2009, as a commitment to do something creative every day," DeLay says.

    [The project] has taken me to places I never dreamed. It has drawn me into open fields where, awe-stricken, I've captured rare and wonderful phenomena – like supercells that produce grapefruit-size hail, anvil-crawler lightning, double rainbows, and every variety of clouds – with my lens.

    The stormchaser shot over 82,000 images for the five-year project.

    He found himself spending up to two or three hours a day studying weather patterns, scoping out the best vantage points, and shooting and editing his images.

    I've never been struck by lightning. I have been in an electrical field several times, where your hair stands on end and you need to get indoors or inside a vehicle ASAP. I don't go outside when there are positive cloud-to-ground lightning strikes close by. Do I fear it? I do have a healthy respect for lightning. I think it would be foolish not to.

    "Clouds 365 Project has made me a better artist, and a better – happier – person."