George Kourounis (2015)

Ha, That's a good question. I guess technically, I don't "catch" them at all, just photograph them.

That would be AWESOME! I'd LOVE to go into space. I've done some of the training (zero gravity flight, centrifuge training) but the opportunity has yet to come up. If Elon Musk or Richard Branson are reading this.... I'm available.

We're at the cusp of something big... "Affordable" space travel and I'd love to be right there, watching the Earth from orbit.

Being in the middle of Hurricane Katrina was harrowing. The storm surge flooding was 28 feet above normal high tide. I had to shelter in a steel reinforced parking garage. The wind was so strong, I couldn't stand up in it.

I've never witness it in person, but many animals have senses that go far beyond what humans have (such as an elephant's ability to detect infra-sound, frequencies lower that 20hz) that we humans can't hear. It's conceivable that some animals could detect things that we cannot.

There've been a lot of "close calls" over the years. I think the most frightened I've ever been ahas when I was bitten by a bat in Kitum Cave in Kenya. The cave is known for Marburg Fever (similar to Ebola). One of thecae's bats bit me, and I didn't know if I was going to catch the virus. The bats in there have been known to carry it. If you get it, there's 50%-90% chance of death by liquefying organs. Not fun. I didn't catch it, but still had to get rabies shots.

Awesome. I love hearing things like that. The Atmospheric Sciences program at York University seems to be the popular choice in the Toronto area.

Study hard, love what you do, and make your passion your career.

So far this season...
Hmmm... Favourite = Returning to Marum volcano on Ambrym Island, Vanuatu. It is one of the most breathtaking places on the planet. The lava lake inside the crater is so violent & difficult to get to that getting up close is a real accomplishment.

Least Favourite? I loved ALL the locations we filmed in this season (so far, we still have a few more to shoot)... The bugs in the Amazon were vicious, man-eating monsters. a constant irritant that wasn't dangerous, but made everything so much more difficult.

As for the bucket list.... LOTS! - Japan, China, Mount Erebus in Antarctica. It is the southernmost active volcano in the world.

As a kid, I was always interested in science & nature. When I got older (and more foolish, some would say) I started to combine my love of exploration and nature with photography. I chased my first tornado in 1998 and I've been returning to Tornado Alley every year since. Seeing nature's display of power is very humbling and awe-inspiring. I never want to see a town get hit by a damaging storm, but if it happens, I want to be there to document it & show the world what's happening.

I've never been to Santorini (yet). My father is from Greece, and I've been there a few times, but never to that beautiful island. I'd love to see it. Take some pics and send them to me on Twitter.

The volcano is dormant right now, but if it starts to wake up, I'll probably be close by.

Thanks so much.

Anywhere in history... Hmmm. Witnessing the Big Bang would be fascinating... Hey, you said any time in history, right? Perhaps witnessing the asteroid impact 65 million years ago that took out the dinosaurs. That one event paved the way for mankind and was so significant for so many species.

My resume?...
Tornadoes chased = Unknown, probably around a hundred or so.
Hurricanes/Tropical Storms = 18
Active Volcanoes = About 20 or so.

I don't keep score, I just keep pursuing Mother Nature.
(thanks for the badass comment, you made my day)

Cyclone Pam was such a monster. Luckily for Tuvalu, it didn't hit them directly. Vanuatu on the other hand felt the full brunt of the category-5 storm. I had just been to both nations just a few weeks before the storm. I wasn't there when it made landfall, but there really wasn't a lot that the locals could do, other than get to higher ground and seek shelter. Stay away from the coastlines and ride it out. A storm that strong is difficult to survive, especially near the water. If the same storm had hit Tuvalu directly, it would have been catastrophic.

Thanks. Yes, it was an extremely intense experience. I've now been down inside that crater (Marum on Ambrym Island) three times. Will I ever get that close again? Yep, absolutely. The heat is so intense that without my protective heat suit, I couldn't have stood there for more than 5 or 10 seconds. It was beyond anything your oven could produce.

I actually melted my videocamera a little bit. The lens hood started to warp and melt. Luckily I moved it in time and it still works. http://www.ibtimes.co.in/canadian-man-takes-incredible-selfie-inside-active-volcano-photosvideo-608838

I love Iceland. We filmed there a few years ago, and it quickly became one of my favourite places. I wish I had been able to go to the most recent eruption there, but it just never worked out for me, schedule-wise. The geology of Iceland is so unique. It's the only place where the mid-Atlantic Ridge come up out of the ocean. Iceland is slowly splitting apart and when the volcanoes there erupt, they tend to do so spectacularly, with fountains of lava.

"Angriest" place?
There are lots of "Angry" places, but the Danakil Desert in Ethiopia comes to mind. I was there on an expedition in 2004. It is the hottest inhabited place on Earth. It is incredibly dry, and has a lunar-landscape of volcanic rock. There's volcano there that's been active for decades, and the Afar nomads who live in the region have a reputation for being hostile to outsider, including murder and castration (not in that order!). The whole area is along the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea and there is constant tension between the 2 nations.

Don't book a vacation there any time soon.

I remember when the movie "Twister" came out. It was fascinating & It was aligned with my interest in nature, photography and adventure. I hooked up with a team of experienced storm chasers in Oklahoma in 1998 and chased with them for a couple of seasons before starting to do it on my own. I learned a lot. Now, I guide with the same group and we take "normal" people with us. If you are really interested, you can check out

It can be dangerous, of course, but we take pride in our safety record. Nothing worthwhile comes without risk, and we try to minimize it, but we still like to get close. It's a fine line sometimes.

Last season, we had a close encounter when a tornado started to form right beside us and it heaved a piece of irrigation equipment into our windshield. Scary!
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrU73suW508

In many places, yes. California is in the middle of one of the worst droughts on record, Vanuatu and the Philippines have both recently been raked by category-5 storms. These are just 2 examples. It really does depend on where you are, but generally speaking, as the atmosphere continues to warm up, the number of events at the extreme ends of the scale will increase. This means more drought for some, more flooding for others. Increased ocean heat also provides more fuel for tropical storms and hurricanes. One other thing to consider is population density. As more people sprawl out and occupy more area, they now become bigger targets for natural disasters.

I do a lot of speaking at schools, but I don't think I've ever done one at a school near Grand Rapids.

Thanks so much.

Well, I'm no archaeologist, but it seems to me that historians already have figured most of these things out. There's no credible evidence of any ancient "advanced" civilizations that I know of.

Hot!...
Well, yes, of course it is hot, but the biggest danger actually comes from falling rocks. Inside a volcanic crater, especially an active one is not a place that is conducive to life for very long. You get in, do what you have to do, then get out as quickly as possible. There are tremors and earthquakes, the smell of sulphur gas is choking (a gas mask is required much of the time) and the whole scene is surreal.

The heat is not that intense until you get up close, then it gets REALLY intense.

Nope, wasn't me.