Welcome to the landscape photography blog by Chuck Derus. Thanks for looking and for your comments!
Severley Clear
Tourists love clear blue daytime skies. Just ask any visitor heading out for a day of sightseeing after breakfast. They are usually giddy, exclaiming “What a gorgeous day!”
Photographers, not so much. We want clouds, especially colorful clouds. Photographers oftentimes describe those clear blue photographically frustrating skies as “severely clear.”
So, what do photographers do on severely clear days? They are often the perfect conditions for black and white photography. Generations of photographers have turned blue skies into deep, rich blacks in monochrome images.
For color photographers, you can minimize or eliminate the sky. And you can look for a sun star or the moon to add visual interest and weight to your composition. Also, you can pair it with a complimentary color such as yellow. Finally, you can head for the shade and shoot into the sun.
The Shot
In April of 2024 I was in Argentina’s Patagonia region with my friend and fellow photographer, Jon Christofersen. A 24-hour travel delay caused us to miss our first photo shoot near the small mountain village of El Chaltén.
But we arrived in time for the next morning’s photographic opportunity. We took the 2.5-mile hike with an 1,100 elevation gain to the gorgeous Mirador Fitz Roy overlook with the Andes Mountains in the background.
It was a challenging relentless uphill trek for me. I swear I heard my Apple Watch ask, “Are you trying to kill yourself?” 😊
Arriving, we found ourselves facing severely clear conditions. I headed for the shade looking for ways to minimize the sky. Luckily, there were three compositions that featured colorful fall foliage framing the mountains.
In addition, the sun was making its way down into the tree branches, creating the possibility for a sun star to add visual interest. And after waiting for a couple of hours, everything came together.
I tried three framing compositions featuring a sun star, but this was my favorite. After taking this shot, I simply enjoyed watching the sun drift downwards to the jagged horizon of the Andes Mountains. After sunset, we began the hike back to the hotel and enjoyed a hearty dinner.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus
Mexican Hat
In the southwest corner of Utah, there’s a distinctive 300-foot-tall rock formation. A 60-foot in diameter, 12-foot-thick sombrero-shaped orange rock perches precariously atop a puny pedestal of shale and siltstone.
It resembles an upside-down sombrero, leading to the name Mexican Hat.
This uniquely named formation is the result of different rates of erosion and weathering. The softer layers of shale and siltstone eroded faster than the overlying more resistant sandstone cap. Such formations are usually temporary in geological terms, and continued erosion will eventually topple the Mexican Hat.
If you want to visit, the formation is in the northeast edge of the town of Mexican Hat, Utah. The town is on the San Juan River at the northern edge of the Navajo Nation's border. The population was 20 in the 2020 census.
The Shot
In the Spring of 2023, my friend and fellow photographer Jon Christofersen and I were in Mexican Hat for drone photography. We launched our drones next to this formation to a destination about a mile away.
After successfully completing our dawn drone mission, we put in a fresh battery and decided to explore this unique feature. Early morning light still warmed the rocks, and the nearby San Juan River flowed in the distance.
After taking several orbits around the Hat, I decided that this composition pleased me the most.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus
Perspective
“A good photograph is knowing where to stand.”
In this quotation, Ansel Adams is talking about perspective. Positioning the camera differently impacts the viewer differently.
I’ve been known to lay face down in the mud, stand on my tippy toes on a boulder, or position my camera inches above the water to gain perspective. Until the advent of drones, obtaining an aerial perspective was financially out of my reach.
In 1858, Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, better known as Nadar, took the first aerial photograph. He worked from a tethered balloon over the French village of Petit-Becetre. These initial photographs haven’t survived. But his pioneering spirit laid the groundwork for today’s aerial and drone photography.
By Honoré Daumier / Adam Cuerden
The oldest surviving aerial photograph was taken by James Black and Samuel King on October 13, 1860. It depicts Boston from a height of 2,000 feet.
Other platforms followed balloons. Kites were first used for aerial photography in 1882. Then in 1909, an airplane was used to film a short movie over Rome. The use of aerial photography aboard planes rapidly matured during World War I.
There were other attempts to make aerial photography more affordable and accessible.
www.amusingplanet.com
In the early 1900s, German apothecary Julius Neubronner was using carrier pigeons to deliver medications from his pharmacy to a nearby sanatorium. He had the brilliant idea of creating a tiny camera to strap to the breast of his pigeons. With a bit of tinkering, he built a 75-gram miniature camera (the legal load limit for pigeons) capable of taking 30 exposures. His images were so impressive he was granted a patent.
In 2013, SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd., better known as simply DJI, introduced its first entry level consumer drone. Now, nearly everyone can take to the skies with a camera. And 90% of those cameras are DJI drones.
The Shot
In 2023, my friend and fellow photographer Jon Christofersen and I headed for the Utah Badlands for a week of drone photography. Arriving a day early, we had a chance to return to an area of eroded sandstone mounds near Page, Arizona informally called the Teepees. We were there in 2008 on one of our first landscape trips.
From my 2008 trip to the Teepees
This time, I took to the air with my drone looking for a different perspective. I was aimed straight down at the Teepee mounds scouting for a pleasing shape painted with the light of the setting sun.
After a few attempts, I thought that this image would cause the viewer to pause and wonder just what the heck they were looking at.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus
The Wonder Theatre of the World
The Wonder Theatre of the World
We live in a world of relentless hype. “All sizzle and no steak” seems to be the norm. But there are exceptions.
In 1921, Abe and Barney Balaban, together with Sam and Morris Katz hyped their new downtown Chicago Theater as “the wonder theatre of the world.” 104 four years later, visitors still stand in awe of its grandeur.
A. J. Balaban and his brother-in-law Sam Katz founded the Balaban and Katz (B&K) theater corporation in 1916. Along with their brothers, they eventually owned 28 theaters in the city of Chicago and over 100 others in the Midwest. B&K operated them in conjunction with the Paramount Publix chain.
The Chicago Theater near the intersection of State and Lake Streets was planned as the flagship of their empire, and they spared no expense. Cornelius and George Rapp, renowned for their opulent movie palace designs, were the architects. The final construction cost was $4 million ($69 million in 2025 dollars)!
When it opened On October 26, 1921, the 3,880-seat theater was a frenzy of activity. Poet Carl Sandburg, reporting for the Chicago Tribune, wrote that mounted police were required for crowd control. Opening week featured First National Pictures The Sign on the Door starring Norma Talmadge.
Besides movies, other attractions included a 50-piece orchestra. A 26-rank Wurlitzer Theater organ featured the "Poet of the Organ," famed organist Jesse Crawford. B&K’s strategy of enticing movie patrons with a plush environment, top-notch service, and something new called air conditioning was copied nationwide.
By the 1970s, economic and social changes slowed business for the new owners, the Plitt chain. In a 1983 leap of faith by famous producer Lou Volpano, stage shows came to the Theater. According to Volpano, "When I first scouted the location, there were bullet holes in the picture sheet and they were showing Shaft, but it was so magnificent a venue I knew it'd be a hit."
For the next two years, stars such as Liza Minnelli, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, Bob Hope, and Sarah Vaughn graced the stage. In 1984, the Chicago Theater Preservation Group purchased the theater and adjoined Page Brothers Building for $11.5 million.
The group attempted to maintain the venue as a picture theater but failed. The doors closed on September 19, 1985. The last films screened there were American Ninja and Teen Wolf. Demolition was a possibility.
Fortunately, the Chicago Theater Preservation Group renovated the buildings in 1986 at a cost of $9 million. It was beautifully restored to its 1930s appearance with a seating capacity of 3,600.
The grand reopening on September 10, 1986, featured Frank Sinatra. Since then, countless stars have performed on its stage. The Theater is currently owned by New York's Madison Square Garden Entertainment, Inc.
The Shot
If you live in or visit Chicago, sign up for a tour of this majestic building to experience the golden age of movies. And it is a magnificent space to attend shows.
I recently toured the building with the Chicago Streets and Beyond photo Meetup group. I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.
The marquee.
A peek through the staircase leading to the balcony.
A view from the balcony. Notice the “ghost light” on the left of the stage. A ghost light enables you to navigate the Theater to find the lighting control console and to avoid accidents. A popular theatrical superstition holds that every Theater has a ghost. The lamp is there to keep them away. The ghost light is often a union requirement.
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The lobby ceiling.
A view of the lobby window from the second floor.
The B&K coat of arms. Pay attention to the yellow film stock at the bottom and the film reels forming a frame around the coat of arms.
The staircase to the balcony.
Backstage, there’s a tradition of performers signing and/or decorating the walls. You get one guess to name this artist.
One of my favorite entertainers, Carol Burnett.
Johhny Mathis is still performing at age 89!
“Thanks Chicago” from Dean Martin and the Rat Pack
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus
My Close Call
Spring has the potential for ferocious storms. April 1-4 of this year was no exception. The southeastern United States was pummeled by torrential rain, high winds, damaging hail, and deadly tornadoes.
I signed up for a very last-minute storm chase and spent those days primarily in Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. Starting in Denver and ending in Oklahoma City, our group of eight drove 2,686 miles over four days pursuing supercells with tornadic potential.
Despite following numerous supercells with tornado warnings, funnels either never developed, were wrapped in rain and invisible, or occurred in the dark of night.
Our toughest day choosing a location was April 2 near Memphis, Tennessee. Conditions were favorable for violent storms with an astonishing 60% potential for tornadoes. Since there are very few Mississippi river crossings, our leader Roger Hill had to decide whether to chase in eastern Arkansas or western Tennessee.
Roger chose western Tennessee. There were several promising discrete storm cells forming there, while nothing was happening in eastern Arkansas. After chasing a half dozen supercells with tornado warnings that never produced, we called it quits after sunset.
The next day, we chased southwest Arkansas and northwest Louisiana. Storms formed southwest of us near Ida, Louisiana and a tornado warning was issued. But as they approached and crossed the front into wet, cool, stratus cloud-filled skies, they petered out.
There’s not much in Ida, Louisiana.
An interesting city promotion in Ida, Louisiana
On our last day, Roger had another difficult call between northeast Texas and the Little Rock, Arkansas area. The models looked better towards Little Rock to produce isolated supercells, so we sped in that direction.
Nearing Little Rock, several supercells emerged in northeast Texas, and we turned back around. We intercepted a violent supercell between Texarkana and Douglassville, Texas. A tornado was reported, but it was buried in heavy rain and invisible, so we kept our distance.
The Shot
Chasing in the southeast is challenging because of the trees and valleys. To be safe and to take pictures, you need an unobstructed horizon to see what’s coming.
Fortunately, we found a clear and rewarding view of a supercell at Wright Patman Lake near Texarkana, Texas. We piled out of the chase van to the shore. What a sight!
We stood looking directly into the inflow notch. The structure was breathtaking. A “stacked plates” rotating mesocyclone was glowing green from backlit rain and hail. The storm’s base with an extremely low wall cloud was to the right and partially shrouded by pouring rain.
And the electricity! We were treated to several minutes of spectacular cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. Just moments after this photograph was taken, lightning struck the lake directly behind us AND in the trees to the left of us.
It was past time to leave! I’ve never seen a van fill up that quickly.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus