BILLINGS — The Q2 Storm Spotter workshop in Billings drew dozens on Thursday night, but for one local photographer, the event highlighted a passion that goes far beyond watching the weather.
Listen to a local storm photographer share his story:
For Neal Hines, the sky is not just something to watch, but it gives him something to chase.
For more than eight years, the Billings photographer has spent his summers tracking thunderstorms across Montana, capturing large supercells and dramatic cloud formations that many people never see up close.
"Some people describe them as they seem alive, like they're monsters in the sky," said Hines. "When I see beautiful storm structure, I get pretty excited. I haven't been scared in a long time out there.”
Hines, who works as a professional wedding photographer, said that storm chasing is his hobby, but it's one that demands time, patience, and persistence. What began as simple curiosity has grown into a full-fledged pursuit.
"I just go out and have a good time, photograph thunderstorms, make art. It's an adventure," Hines said.
He traces that interest back to a long drive through eastern Montana while listening to the audiobook of "Into the Storm" by Reed Timmer. Passing through the small town of Biddle, Montana, Hines recalled a scene from the book describing a supercell storm rolling over the hills.
"I was looking at that same hill, and I was imagining the storm," he said. "I was like, 'Maybe I want to go check this out. Maybe I want to get in my car and look at these things.' That was the beginning of the journey.”
Now, his process often starts long before any storm forms with studying forecasts, tracking weather patterns, and driving for hours in search of the right conditions.
"Usually, the day kind of goes like I'm just stressed out the whole day, like will it come to be? Will I see anything?" said Hines. "Then once it starts coming together, I get happy … It's almost like when you forecast these things, it's almost like you're bringing them into fruition. I think it's going to be this, and then you start to see it. That's just a great feeling."
Hines focuses on photographing storm structures that can stretch miles into the sky. While he says the experience can be slow, it's an adventure worth the wait.
"It's a slow process, but I love it," he said. "You just don't think that nature can do these kind of textures."
That passion is what brought Hines to the Billings Public Library on Thursday night, where he spoke as part of Q2’s annual Storm Spotter training alongside meteorologists and the National Weather Service.
The event draws dozens of community members each year to learn how severe weather forms, how to identify it, and how to stay safe.
“This is a lot of fun. We've been doing this for ten, twelve years," said chief meteorologist Ed McIntosh. "Half the people here are the type that will head to the basement when a storm develops. The other half are the type that run outside with their camera.”
Hines falls squarely into the second group, which is why McIntosh said it made him a natural choice to present.
"Neal takes it to the next level because he's the kind of guy that not only will run out with his camera, he'll get in his car and go to where the storms are developing,” said McIntosh.
The storm spotter training emphasized safety and awareness, but it also tapped into a shared fascination with the ever-changing sky, which is a feeling Hines knows well. For him, storm chasing is about more than the final photograph. It's about stepping into an unpredictable world and watching it unfold in real time.
“Some of the worst storms can be some of the real beautiful things in nature, too," said McIntosh. "There's a constant flux in that change and what's going on, and just the influence it has on everybody's life is really just interesting.”
“It's fascinating stuff. I'll use somebody else's words, if you've ever seen the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, to go out and see something epic and strange, it's just the desire to do that," said Hines. "I don't have any words for it. I just find it beautiful.”
