Daniel Ruf

The Others

"The one phrase you can use is that success has a thousand fathers, and failure is an orphan.

Alan Price

I've noted before on this blog site my gratitude for those that have played a part in my growth in the photographic art, whether artist, teacher or friend and the blog image is no exception.  As many of you know I'm a follower of the work and teachings of Tony Sweet and Susan Milestone, Tony's partner.  Their expertise, as well as that of many others listed in the upper right column of this blog, have been instrumental in my growth as well as the growth of many other photographers.

The concept for this particular image came from one of Tony's instructional DVD's "Flower Photography Artistry" that is available for purchase on his website. The image here is a combination of a flower in front of one of my prints from a while back.  The print was of a field of yellow coneflowers and had been blurred in Photoshop Elements as a creative measure.

After fighting the wind on several days in the attempt to capture some images of tulips around our house I decided that indoors shooting was going to be the answer.  Our tulip beds are new and therefore don't offer a lot of background color due to the sparse populations (this will be improved over the next few years with more plantings).  I had wanted to use the background print on several occasions and this became the appropriate time to experiment.

In this case the distance of the tulip from the background is probably double the distance of the tulip from the camera and the setup is catching soft ambient light from a window to the right.  As many of you know I really enjoy doing still life photography in natural light since it is such an exceptional light full of color and softness.

Since I was working with a recently purchased used Nikon D300s I also practice the use of the overlay program which is a fabulous in camera tool that I have high hopes for as well as other camera adjustments that come with this camera.  My thanks again to Tony for his advice and guidence in this selection.

While we all are affected in some way by those that pass through our lives it is often forgotten the role, however incidental, these wonderful "exclamation points" play in ones development.  To all those in the right hand column, as well as many others, a big thank you.

Sic 'em Bears!

Thanks for visiting and enjoy this beautiful Spring.

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

Developing

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home."   Twyla Tharp

Like any other endeavor in life photography is a journey of learning and developing and not only of oneself.  The process of drinking in the instruction of others enlightens the approach and vision of the artist provided they are willing to accept the challenge of growth in the medium.  Whether it is making a concerted effort to rise before dawn to catch the suns first rays or reading from piles of books and magazines on the night table, the development of a vision, approach and body of work is an unending, yet exciting journey.

Recently I was helping a friend figure out a way to process multiple digital exposures in their computer and it occurred to me that Tony Sweet ( www.tonysweet.com ) had put such a script in his book "Fine Art Digital Nature Photography".  I sent the friend a copy of the script and that was that.  Later during the day I was troubled about not having ever used the script which meant that I really had no idea of its complexity or results, but of course this is the instructions by master photographer Tony Sweet, right?

Later I challenged myself to try something new and the results are the two blog images taken as 10 multiple exposures of flowers that are around our house (another very good reason to have flower gardens as part of the artists habitat).  Anyway, the process was easy enough for me to understand and has been much more enjoyable than watching the "boob" tube in the evening.  All that is required is a little effort to get off ones backside, a good editing software, multiple exposures of just about anything and following the script laid down in the aforementioned book.

It really becomes an enjoyable lesson in using color, form and composition and, quite frankly, all of photography is pretty much a lesson about working with those three components.  Of course after one gets used to using this tool then they can really begin experimenting with camera movement, subject choices, etc.  The skies the limit!

While I could give you the page number in the book, it's my opinion that this is a cover to cover study of great ideas by someone that can reduce photographic skills to a consumable bite size for most any photographer willing to learn.  It's up to the reader to explore and maximize the potential.

Enjoy and thank you for stopping.

My book "Places I've Been, Things I've Seen" 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=V1

Cabin Coma

"I propose that if your objective in making artwork is to avoid conflict, or if your fear in making artwork is that people won't like it or it will be controversial or it will put you into a position of conflict, the only practical outcome of that avoidance of conflict is the procrastination to do work."

                                        Brooks Jenson - "Single Exposures"

It seems my cabin fever from last week has slipped into the comatose region on the heart monitor, so while spending time preparing notes and examples for my last workshop tomorrow I got involved doing some "abstract extractions" while sitting in front of the computer looking out at a dismal gray sky this past week.  The above is a triptych from an image I posted last week on the blog which I think turned out quite interesting.  While it's evidence that old dogs can be taught new tricks the exercise also reminded me that plunking around on the computer can be a way to freshen up dusty brain cells.

Teaching these workshops has been very exciting and, while the participants are both young and mature in age as well as ability, I found out that the differences blended together well and class members were eager with questions.  As with most adventures I'm involved with I do think I gain as much, if not more, from the experience of having conversations which engage ones mental apparatus. I know that the class preparation, notes and research have helped revitalize concepts and applications that I have let fade into the background.  From going through endless files of images looking for samples for discussions I found that I really, really do need to make more vertical images.  It is quite clear that I've been thinking too much along the lines of an upright hominid and not using all the formats provided within the rectangle viewfinder.

Just when I've pinched myself from falling asleep in one area, my eagerness to challenge some abstract compositions kick in and I start searching to re-energize some other area of my past photographic efforts.  Before long the clock on the wall says 11:00pm and I'm wondering where the night went, yet realize that the time spent was fulfilling and challenging.  As I begin to think about

 

putting the "sandbox" away I see another temptress that begs for a visit to the abstract and, not wanting to stop, I continue my experimentation for awhile longer.

Our vision of the world is exactly what we want it to be and I believe the same is true about our artistic vision.  We can be satisfied with our conventional view of what the camera (or the world) gives us, or we can challenge and activate our concepts and artistry.  Rain or shine, today a photographer is not chained to a camera and tripod as may have been the case during the film era.  I've spent hours in the darkroom and can say with enthusiasm, this digital thing is pretty cool!

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

Art Of The Vine Gallery http://www.artofthevinegallery.com

Artisans Road Trip www.artisansroadtrip.com  

http://www.betterphoto.com/Premium/Default.aspx?id=251674&mp=V1

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