Welcome to the landscape photography blog by Chuck Derus. Thanks for looking and for your comments!
Best in the World
Best in the World
Have you ever dreamt about attending a world championship? A competition where attendance is free and you can meet the athletes? Your dream is coming true.
Naperville’s Nike Park is the site of the Ashley Whippet World Series Invitational on August 30 and 31. It’s a unique opportunity to see the world’s finest dogs going airborne to catch Frisbees®. The details are at World Championships
You may wonder how this sport came about. Check out my prior post on the event at Zenfolio | Chuck Derus | Disc Dog
The Shot
Last year I tested the capabilities of my new camera. The autofocus is so good that it locked on and maintained focus on a dog’s eye running full speed across the large field. And the ability to capture 30 images per second meant I had a much better chance at catching the peak of the action.
This image was my favorite from a pleasant afternoon of watching athletes who truly love their sport.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus
Morton
Morton
Occasionally, tornadoes invoke powerful memories and emotions. Their impact is so powerful that a single word can evoke them. Storm chasers are already referring to the June 5th, 2025, tornado near Morton, Texas as simply “Morton.”
In the early afternoon of June 5th in West Texas, all the ingredients for severe weather were present. But the cap, a layer of warm air sitting 3,000 to 7,000 feet above the surface, was inhibiting severe weather. In the late afternoon, rising air finally broke the cap and an explosive storm developed.
This National Weather Service (NWS) satellite view shows how quickly the massive supercell dominated the sky. CODNEXLAB-GOES-East-local-Clovis-truecolor-22_36Z-20250605_map_noBar-20-1n-1-10.gif (1600×900)
The storm produced eight tornadoes. Our storm chasing group intercepted the storm and witnessed its first tornado near Lingo, New Mexico.
We chased the supercell as it continued, strongly rotating and producing more tornadoes as it moved East-Southeast into West Texas.
The storm was a beast with a radar signature that looked like a hurricane. The NWS radar clearly indicates the storm’s rotation with the “eye” being the location of this Friday Photo’s tornado. 4b3c186edd7e38af1df314c10310152d (632×433)
The Shot
North of Morton in Cochran County, Texas we stared dumbfounded at the sight of a massive wedge tornado kicking up huge clouds of red dust. We pulled over, jaws dropping, while we photographed this beast. The NWS determined that it was nearly a mile wide with winds of 125 mph (EF-2). It also produced hail up to 5 inches in diameter.
Today’s still image doesn’t do it justice. Check out Tom Trott’s short video clip of this monster at https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxTFJ74aCjU-qYVTcKbJrCmR4QrwH7eWvV?si=Neu1x207grQuPCL_
After this intercept, the storm was pulling away from us too rapidly to catch up for more photography. Thankfully, the city of Lubbock was largely spared. There were no fatalities and only 2 injuries associated with this event.
Missing out on the other tornadoes from this storm didn’t matter. The memories and emotions of this sighting will last a lifetime.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus
High Plains
High Plains
The Wyoming landscape is diverse and dramatic. The west is dominated by the Rocky Mountains and their front range. Prairie grasslands make up the eastern half of the state and are referred to as the High Plains.
Prairie comes from the French word "prataria," meaning meadow. It was coined by French explorers and trappers during the late 18th century to describe an endless “sea of grass.”
The High Plains prairie exists because the mountains to the west cast a rain shadow. Scant rainfall favors the establishment of grasslands over forests. Drought tolerant grasses thrive there. They also recover quickly after a fire, unlike shrubs and trees.
The estimated 30-60 million bison that formerly roamed the prairie also fashioned the prairie ecosystem. These giant herbivores created an ecological symphony shaping the landscape for thousands of years.
Bison grazing patterns created a patchwork of vegetation heights and densities. Also, wallowing (rolling in the dirt) creates depressions that collect water supporting unique plant communities. Finally, bison carcasses provide critical nutrients to scavengers and the soil. They profoundly influence biodiversity.
In the 19th century, westward expansion, commercial hunting, and deliberate extermination campaigns reduced the population to fewer than 1,000 bison by 1889. This decimation was partly strategic – by eliminating bison, the U.S. government undermined the independence of Plains Indian tribes who depended on them.
The absence of bison allowed woody vegetation to encroach on grasslands, altered fire regimes, and diminished habitat diversity. In the 19th century, Wyoming settlers arrived in search of new opportunities.
The state’s climate and geography posed challenges for farming, but high prairie gave way to fields of wheat, barley, and oats.
Carpenter is one of the 176 towns and cities in Wyoming. It was formed in 1907 with a population of 15. Located on a now defunct branch of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, it’s currently home to 215 people.
The Shot
On June 2, a supercell was approaching Carpenter. The wheat field in front of us was the reason for stopping there. It held promise as a foreground.
The inflow of wind into the storm was fierce, nearly blowing us over from behind. In the far distance stood a white building that would soon face the brunt of the storm.
I chose a slow shutter speed to allow the wheat to blur in the wind, conveying a sense of what we were experiencing. The eerie green glow in the sky portended the arrival of hail and copious rain.
As I stood there, I tried to imagine what it looked like 150 years ago. The foreboding sky would have been balanced by an equally impressive massive herd of bison beneath it.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus
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