Remembering the TWISTEX Team: Paul Samaras

Sharing more information about Paul Samaras is a bit more difficult. From my personal knowledge I can tell you that Paul was 24 years old at the time of his death and he was an amazing photographer, and the link to his photography page above displays some of his artistic skill. To give you a little bit more information on Paul, I would like to share an excerpt from the National Geographic article that I referenced in the last post.

Paul Samaras
Photo provided by: National Geographic

"Paul Samaras had been born on the same day as his father, 31 years later. When Samaras’s two daughters, Amy and Jennifer, were young, he had taken each of them out on a storm chase. Amy became noticeably scared when a fist-size ball of hail cracked the windshield; her first chase would be her last. But young Paul took to the experience immediately. He had inherited the Samaras passion for photography, and it was quickly apparent to everyone else on the TWISTEX team that the shy, scruffy-bearded younger Samaras possessed a creative gift that they lacked."

This is all I could find about young Paul after doing some internet research. I was lucky enough to be pointed in the direction of a few friends and acquaintances of Paul's: Kayla, Melissa, and Tony Laubach. Everything that they told me about Paul, in our short conversations, is very useful and gives much insight into who Paul was. 

Paul was an introvert, being very quiet and shy around people that he didn't know well. Despite being shy in person, Paul had a fantastic sense of humor online. His talent didn't stop at photography, but it extended into animation and videograhpy as well. I was told that Paul started to get a little bit "bored" with plain photography so he branched out and tried the videography, which proved to be more of a challenge for him. Since the Discovery Channel was no longer with the TWISTEX team, it's a thought that maybe Paul branched out for that purpose, to try and capture their experiences in the absence of the their cameras. He was largely self-taught in the terms of photography and videograhpy, but the photographers that he crossed paths with out in the field probably offered him some advice.

Photo taken from Paul's photography page

Through the course of the day, I have been told by three different people that Paul was a very humble young man and that even though it was obviously there, he would rarely show outward excitement. "He was a good guy, very genuine, and had a great passion about him" states Tony Laubach. Whenever he would get a compliment about his talent, whether it be his art or his photography, he would always play it down. He never liked to take compliments. Paul's talent for photography was unrivaled by many other photographers, but he would never admit it. There would be many times when Tony Laubach or Ed Grubb would be talking about some photos they took and they would just go and look at what Paul had done. He would casually show them his shot and Tony and Ed would essentially turn their cameras off. "He captured us in ways that made us look like heroes with his video and photography and was well on his way to becoming on of the best in the field", recalls Tony of Paul.

Paul loved animation. As a matter of fact I am told that a few of his favorite animated movies were Wall-E, Tangled, Wreck-It-Ralph, and How to Train Your Dragon. He also had an interest in many aspects of WWII, such as fighter planes and weaponry that was used during that era. Kayla went on to tell me that Paul had an affinity for music too. He enjoyed many different types of music ranging from score composers to today's mainstream music. 

Paul loved his cats and he loved his family. He grew up with two sisters (Amy and Jennifer) and he seemed to be close with them. Family meant the world to Paul and he never spoke ill about them. One direct quote from Kayla was this: "I suppose some people are able to fit in with nature in all its forms, Paul was one of those people. Mother Nature always seemed to show off for him, whether it be in his art, or just random run ins with various creatures from day-to-day. He had a kind heart...He was always realistic, but never failed to be uplifting when others needed a kind word. He was a dear friend and genuinely caring, and I can say that there aren't many people in the world like him." This to me says so much about Paul. It gives you an insight that you might not be able to see otherwise. There is no website on the internet that can let you see into Paul's passionate soul, that it why I want to sincerely thank Kayla, Tony, and Melissa for sharing a little bit about Paul with me today.

Photograph by Paul Samaras

I would like to close by sharing this short paragraph that Kayla had sent me today during our conversation. I feel that this pretty much sums up perfectly what I was trying to get at by starting this project and I feel you all would benefit from reading it as well.

"Paul's life was cut short, as were the lives of his father and Carl Young. The loss that the world has experienced from their passing will be felt for many years to come, and not just by their friends and family, but by the field of science. Paul was to document their journeys, to offer insight into what TWISTEX did, and hopefully pair his footage with any data that they managed to collect. They had a passion for getting close to Mother Nature, but not for thrill seeking, for furthering the world's understanding of dangerous storms and how we could better prevent needless deaths caused by them each year."

Stay tuned for a new TWISTEX post soon!