Welcome to the landscape photography blog by Chuck Derus. Thanks for looking and for your comments!
Glorious Light
Glorious Light
Light, subject, and composition. When all three are present and working together, the result is a memorable image. If one element is missing, a photograph usually fails to rise above the level of a snapshot.
Usually, the three components are distinct. But sometimes the light and the subject become one and the same.
Crepuscular rays are miles-long parallel columns of sparkling, sunlit air highlighted by the darkness of adjacent unlit voids. Dust, aerosols, small water droplets, and the air itself scatters sunlight and makes the rays visible.
The apparent divergence of the rays is an optical illusion. It’s like a road “narrowing” in the distance. The Atmospheric Optics web site (Atmospheric Optics) explains it nicely.
As interpreted by our brains, light rays, caused by the shadows of clouds a, b, and c, appear to converge in the sun (from atoptics.org.uk).
In reality, the rays and shadows are parallel in this view from space (from Reddit.com).
The Shot
On June 7, near Amistad, New Mexico a supercell was in its early stages. We stopped for a look, waiting for it to grow into a powerful storm.
I focused on the storm until the adage “Always look behind you” popped into my head. Behind me was a backlit supercell with gorgeous crepuscular rays. I simply stared for a minute until I realized I needed to take a picture. The glorious light was the subject.
I’ll be on vacation next week, so the next Friday Photo is August 15.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus
One in Nine!
One in Nine!
Those are the odds of finishing the meal. But it’s not just any meal; this is an extreme challenge. You have one hour to consume a 72-ounce sirloin steak, baked potato, salad, roll, and 3 shrimp.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. A cherished storm chasing tradition is treating yourself to a steak dinner after seeing a tornado. And if this happens near Amarillo, Texas, you’ll be headed to the Big Texan Steak Ranch.
Photo from the Los Angeles Times
In the 75 years of the restaurant’s existence, nearly 100,000 optimists have taken the challenge. The reward? If you can eat everything in one hour or less without standing up or throwing up, it’s free. If you fail, it will cost you $72 (but the doggie bag is free).
Eight months after opening in March 1960, Big Texan founder R. J. Lee hosted a 1-hour steak eating contest featuring 12 hungry cowboys. The reward consisted of bragging rights and a $60 prize.
The winner devoured 4½ pounds (72 ounces) of steak, a baked potato, salad, a shrimp cocktail, and a roll. Inspired by the mighty meaty feat, Lee laid down the challenge to every restaurant guest. “Anyone that can consume the steak challenge winner’s eating accomplishment in one hour gets it for FREE.”
When you see it, you immediately wonder why anyone would take on the challenge!
Photo from the Big Texan
Every challenge has record holders and the Big Texan is no exception. The unofficial record for all animals, including humans, is held by a lioness in 2012 who devoured the meal in just 80 seconds.
Humans are a bit slower. The record was held for years by Joey Chestnut, a fierce competitive eater and the 2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog eating champion. His time was 8 minutes and 52 seconds.
On May 26, 2014, he was bested by 125-pound mother of four Molly Schuyler. Molly polished off the meal in just 4 minutes and 58 seconds. But wait, there’s more! She asked for seconds and ate her second dinner in 9 minutes and 59 seconds.
She returned to an eating competition at the Big Texan on April 19, 2015. Her opponents, football players and professional wrestlers, didn’t stand a chance. She ate her first meal in 4 minutes 18 seconds, besting her own record by 40 seconds.
She then proceeded to consume two more meals for a total of three meals in twenty minutes! Molly was about to start on a fourth, but the Lee brothers called “Calf rope!” She earned $6,000 in prize money and a place in the Guiness World Book of Records.
Molly Schuyler from Ohama Magazine At the Big Texan June 3
The Shot
On June 3, we broke another storm chaser rule. We went for a steak dinner at the Big Texan despite not spotting a tornado. With some trepidation, we entered the packed restaurant and waited 45 minutes for a table.
At the Big Texan, June 3
While we were there, six men attempted the challenge. Only one finished. You can live stream the gluttony at Live Stream – The Big Texan in case you are interested.
The happy winner June 3 while we were there.
We had bad luck June 4 and wondered if breaking the rule would keep us from spotting a twister. But on June 5, we encountered 5 tornadoes near Morton, Texas. Today’s Friday Photo is the first of those funnel clouds.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus
Bending Rule Number One
Bending Rule Number One
Tornadoes are fascinating. When I met my first storm chaser in 2016, I immediately asked her about her encounters with twisters.
But chasers often grow to enjoy a spectacular supercell even more than a tornado. These breathtaking behemoths of the sky can be astoundingly photogenic.
A tornado is a rotating column of air from the ground to the cloud base. A visible funnel depends on condensation that may or may not form before the tornado dissipates. Oftentimes, a tornado is visible only by a mere rotating cloud of dust on the ground.
An unimpressive tornado near Morton, Texas June 5. You can see the dust cloud on the ground but no funnel.
And the light associated with tornadoes is often unfavorable. A dark funnel cloud may be hard to ascertain against an equally dark background. Or they may be wrapped in heavy rain and invisible. Good light that can make or break a tornado image only occurs about 5 percent of the time.
However, great supercell images are much more common.
The Shot
We follow the rules while chasing. And the number one rule is “No photo is worth your life.” So, we maintain a safe distance with one or more clear escape routes.
On June 7, we were near Amistad, New Mexico chasing a supercell. It was the subject of my June 26 Friday Photo featuring a supercell, a bolt of lightning, and the late afternoon sun.
We were traveling to get ahead of the storm to avoid an approaching hail threat. And not just any hail. This appeared to be 3-inch hail by radar.
As we motored down the road, a magnificent sight began to emerge. The transilluminated supercell to our right was something words could not describe. I heard the leader mumble “We shouldn’t stop, but…”
I think we bent the number one rule. Seconds later he told the driver to pull over and the photographers to quickly take pictures (“No tripods!!!”) and to bug out immediately when told to do so.
We rejoiced in the supercell sight of a lifetime for about two minutes. During that time, an ominous rumble increased in intensity.
It was hail roar, the sound of millions of hailstones grinding into each other tens of thousands of feet above us. Once we felt the first drops of rain, we heard “Get in the van now!” and we raced away to safety.
After reviewing the images on our tiny LCD camera screens, we realized how fortunate we were to have witnessed one of nature’s best shows.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus
The Mothership
I was speechless. Words failed me.
On June 7 near Amistad, New Mexico, I stood transfixed by a glorious supercell. Backlit by the setting sun, it dominated the sky.
Sheets of rain on the right were transilluminated yellow by the setting sun. And in the middle were the rotating layers of the mesocyclone updraft. Finally, there were contrasting clear blue skies on the left.
Shades of green peeked out between the rotating layers, the harbinger of copious hail heading our way. Thunder reverberated across the open land, punctuated by the occasional cloud-to-ground bolt of spectacular lightning.
And all the while, a herd of cattle to our left was oblivious to the approaching danger.
I attached a sensor to my camera that opened the shutter when it detected a lightning bolt. Then I just stood there, being in the moment and soaking in the experience.
Most of the bolts the sensor detected were cloud-to-cloud and invisible. But then a magnificent cloud-to-ground strike occurred, and I knew I had captured my best image. Not long afterwards we were directed back to our vans to avoid the hail approaching us.
It’s family time for two weeks, so the next Friday Photo will be July 11.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus
The Supercell
It’s a beast. Supercell thunderstorms can produce copious hail, torrential rainfall, strong winds, fierce downdrafts, and even tornadoes. While they are the least common type of thunderstorm, they are the most ferocious.
All thunderstorms require lift, forcing air upwards to the point of becoming positively buoyant. Also, instability (atmospheric energy) is required for the air to rise. Finally, moisture (typically mid-60s dew point) is necessary. So, what’s the additional ingredient needed for a supercell?
It’s wind shear. Wind shear is caused by differences in wind speed and direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Shear can induce a storm’s updraft to begin rotating, forming a mesocyclone, the signature feature of a supercell.
From Mesocyclone Diagram
Mesocyclones begin with horizontal rotation. Winds from two different directions and speeds (the red arrows) at two different altitudes create shear, imparting rotation (the green arrow) to a parcel of air. Then, a strong updraft (the blue arrow) begins to tilt the rotating parcel of air progressively vertically, creating a deep, tilted rotating updraft (the mesocyclone).
From Wikipedia
In an ordinary thunderstorm, rain and cold air falling through the updraft chokes off the updraft, killing the storm.
Tilt pushes the hail and rain ahead of the updraft. The unimpeded mesocyclone can continue to fuel the supercell for hours.
Tornado Alley
Tornado Alley is the hotbed of supercell and tornado activity. This part of the country hosts the perfect convergence of the jet stream, cold dry air and wind from the north, warm dry air and wind from the southwest, and warm moist air and wind from the southeast.
Shear, lift, instability, and moisture are abundant in the Spring and Summer. Tornado Alley is now centered further east due to climate change, and winter storms are more common.
From https://kristanwevvie.pages.dev/pmllvwy-tornado-alley-2024-ymvvzcp/
The Shot
As you know from my last Friday Photo, I’ve been away chasing storms for 11 days. On June 2, my first day, we began chasing storms in the Wyoming/Nebraska area.
At 5:30 pm we set up near Merino, Colorado. Next to me on this storm was experienced storm chaser and timelapse expert Tom Trott from London, England.
His timelapse of this Friday Photo’s supercell approaching our position is at https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxvlWNYSfLD3UndHgR9a1yOtd5TKQ0YbAR?si=8P9oW2tBAcGDWzKv It ends just as we needed to “bug out” due to approaching hail, rain, and high winds. Thanks for sharing, Tom!
Of the many pictures I took of this beautifully structured supercell, this one with a lightning bolt is my favorite. While it didn’t produce a tornado, standing in awe of nature’s fury is an equally rewarding experience.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus