Don't Miss The View

"Even if you fall on your face, you are still moving forward."   Victor Kiam

It's no secret to my wife that I have my share of bad habits or failings since I manage a repetitive use of any one of them on a daily basis.  My mistress, photography, also brings up the subject frequently, but in this case I usually am more mindful of the instruction.  One thing that consistently has control is this notion of being so focused on a destination that I miss the the entire journey and a good case in point is when traveling.  If I'm bound to get to Duluth, or any other place for that matter, the estimated time of arrival is carved into my brain and all attention is focused on this one achievement, except, of course, those necessary stops at the McDonald's drive thru.

I've found that this also takes hold when camera work is completed.  If it's been a successful shoot my brain will have a pretty good idea of the "highlight" shot or shots (if I'm so lucky to enjoy the plural form) and when I gather my excited self in front of the computer it is the chosen direction to find the particular capture, process/edit it and pronounce the yeah or neah of the scene.

As many of my posts have mentioned the winter weather here in Northwest Iowa....well, it just isn't.  The brown skeletal scenery is still missing the white blanket of winter and the beauty that it leaves for us to enjoy.  In order to curb the frustration my usual solution is to read about photographic processes, organize my file system or do still life photography. 

The blog image is an example of what's wrong with my "get there at all cost" approach as it applies to my editing process.  I found this in a file of work from about 2 years ago and I can actually remember the trip since I was in a mode of wanting some shots of the wind generators that have taken over our landscape.  How or why I passed this capture on the way to the editing process I will never know, but it is proof that one should at least view the journey, or in this case the body of work, that gets recorded.

Thank you all for your generous tolerance.

SIC 'EM BEARS!

My book "Places I've Been, Things I've Seen" and new book "Take What's Given" can be purchased online at-  http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1868649

For more views of my work visit;

"A Piece Of Work", Spirit Lake, Iowa  http://www.apieceofworkinc.com

Lanesboro Art Center, Lanesboro, Minnesota   www.lanesboroarts.org

BetterPhoto.com   http://www.betterphoto.com/Premium/Default.aspx?id=251674&mp=V

http://500px.com/pigs4u

Comments

[Mike Houge]

Awesome landscape Dan-thanks for sharing.

[Darin]

I could not agree more. I have been taking part of a photo "contest" (I look at it as an opportunity to share my work, get feedback and view the great work of many others) through TPT called Capture Minnesota since the end of December. Being able to upload 20 images a week has forced me to go back into the archives and see what else I have that has since been forgotten or buried in the files. It has been fun to go back, remember times and trips and edit some older photos - even ones I took before I went digital. Another nice landscape shot, Dan.

[Daniel Ruf]

Thanks, Mike. I appreciate you taking the time to visit and comment.

[Daniel Ruf]

It's great to set goals or have contest oriented events to keep the creative spark going. I'm sure you'll do well. Thanks for your comments.

[Debt Recovery]

Wow deniel. Its amazing looks. I really cant imagination this types of views. So thanks for share this fantastic post.

[Daniel Ruf]

Thanks for the kind comments and for visiting my blog site.

[promotional lanyards]

You have done fantastic work denial. This picture looks amazing. I done have word for this natural picture.