|
"We
don’t have to climb mountains or reach the poles to be explorers, we
just need to push past our own fears and head off into the unknown,
that’s where the adventure is"
George
Kourounis is a world-renowned storm chaser. Originally from
Hull, Quebec, his efforts to film nature’s worst weather conditions
have taken him all over the Globe, usually directly towards places
that most normal people are fleeing from. Whether it’s a tornado
outbreak in Kansas, a monster hurricane in the Carolinas or forest
fires in British Columbia, he’s usually in the middle of the action
with his camera rolling. His efforts have been seen around the world
on broadcasters the likes of The Discovery Channel,
National Geographic Explorer, BBC-TV, CNN. A few of his major
intercepts include: 10 tornadoes in a single day as well as all four
of the major U.S. land falling hurricanes in 2005, including the
devastating hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. While he
filmed the storm, the city around him was disintegrating in the
incredible winds.
In
January 2005, George brought his camera to the remote Danakil
Depression in the harsh Ethiopian desert and was lowered 60 feet into
the smoking crater of the active Erta Ale volcano. He spent a half
hour filming on top of the freshly hardened surface of the lava lake
wearing a protective heat suit, making George first person to have
ever filmed from the inside of three of world’s most fearsome forces
– Inside a tornado, from the eye of a hurricane and inside an active
volcano.
“There
is very little of this Earth left to explore. The North and South
Poles have been reached. Mount Everest is the scene of regular traffic
jams on the side of the mountain during climbing season. I like to
think of myself as an explorer that goes to new places in this world
when they are under extraordinary circumstances. When the harshest
storms are lashing the area or when the mountain is spewing molten
rock. These are the new frontiers of exploration in the 21st
century.”
|
|
