Daniel Ruf

Artisans Road Trip

"My first thought is always of light."  Galen Rowell

Tomorrow, October 1, will be full of preparations for Northwest Iowa's Artisans Road Trip (ART) with the kick off opening for me and others beginning at 4 p.m.  At A Piece Of Work, Inc. in downtown Spirit Lake, Iowa four artist will be participating in this three day event.  They are Anita Plucker, watercolorist extrodinaire, Avis Davis, also an outstanding watercolorist, Mike Houge, gifted photographer and all around good egg, and myself, Daniel Ruf.  Mike and I will be putting the finishing touches on our alcoves so that all is ready for opening night, which goes until 8 p.m.  During the 4 hours A Piece Of Work, Inc. will be having a reception for Ms. Plucker in the special exhibition alcove with gallery talk to follow. 

Thirty five artist in Northwest Iowa will be spending the three day event showing their wares and some will even be demonstrating their artistic skills in their workshops.  Mediums include everything from pottery and sculpture to painting and photography and all points in between and it is a real opportunity for travelers to make the stops, indicated on a provided map (www.artisansroadtrip.com), visit with artisans and purchase outstanding local art of the area while enjoying the fall scenes on the way.

The hours on Saturday and Sunday will be 9am - 5pm which allows travelers ample time during the three day festival to be a part of the sights and sounds of our artistic area.  In past years there have been visitors from as far away as Vermont to the east and California to the west, all taking part in the annual road show.

The above blog image was taken during my recent trip to Banning State Park and is NOT an HDR!  It was captured with a Canon 50D, 17 - 40mm L lens with a Singh-Ray Vari-Neutral Density Filter attached. Some simple work in Adobe Elements 8 ( I hear Element 9 is out) and then some concentrated work in Nik Viveza 2.  I'm headed back to Banning in two weeks or so with the  hopes of catching the tail end of the color show and visiting Jay Cooke State Park during this tour.

Thanks for stopping by and if you're in the area join us for the road trip...otherwise don't you dare miss the opportunity to enjoy the fall color where you are!

 

 

Stage Fright

"The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking."  Brooks Atkinson

This past week my good friend Mike Houge (http:/mikehouge.typepad.com) called me from Banning State Park in Minnesota to alert me that the fall color had arrived in spite of what the online "color" websites had been predicting.  It presented a dilemma for me in that I have camping reservations for that same park in about two weeks and now I was realizing that in two weeks it may be "poof" as far as the color goes.  Banning is a strong 5 hour drive north from where I live and this past Sunday was the only opportunity I had to get a peek at the fall changes with my camera.  It didn't take much coaxing for me to decide that I better make preparations for going north (not that going north ever takes a big shove, but for only one day...probably more like 6 hours...of work, the thought of passing did cross my mind.)

Sunday morning arrived and I jumped into the truck and started the long drive in a fairly excited state of mind, but when I hit the turn at I-35 to head north the butterflies started nesting in the pit of my stomach.  All the "what if's" start coming to mind about what was waiting for me.  I had only been to Banning once and did a minimal scouting effort due to rain, so I was really ill prepared mentally for this quick trip.  Of course this doesn't mean that on the best days such trips are always a bountiful explosion of outstanding images, but having some idea about the choice spots helps as well as does being aware of how lighting effects the lay of the land.

After five hours in the pick up I got out, grabbed my gear and began walking when suddenly the thought "Now what?" jumped into my head.  It wasn't much different than looking at that exam paper in college and the "empty" sign goes off in the brain.  Oh, yeah, I know that feeling well and this was no different.  It was then that Plan B was put into effect which is...keep walking and something will turn up.  As it so happens it did and who would have guessed that it involved my old favorite...WATER!  It didn't take long before I was standing in the middle of this stream and thinking "Heck, I'll be here all day and never have to move".  Well, I did have to move, but it was like fishing in a newly stocked trout stream where every cast is rewarded.

I don't know about other photographers, but stage fright is one of my greatest hurdles until the creative switch finds the "on" position.  It certainly helps when Mother Nature is yelling (there's that yelling again) "Look at me!"  From that point it's about settling in to a routine, remembering that there is more than one lens in the bag and don't forget the verticals.

So, ten hours of driving for 6 hours of bliss is not such a bad thing and I can't wait to see Banning State Park in a couple of weeks.  Right now I've got the Artisans Road Trip to get prepared for which opens on Friday, October 1 and goes through October 3 and then another photography workshop. 

Thanks for visiting and slip into some comfortable walking shoes and go enjoy the fall color.

For more views of my work visit;

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

"Art On 16th"  http://www.hankhallarton16th.com

Artisans Road Trip www.artisansroadtrip.com  

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

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UFO'S

 

"A landscape, like a man or woman, acquires character through time and endurance."  Edward Abbey

A couple of days ago I was driving my sister-in-law to catch a shuttle for the airport and on the 2 hour trip we talked a good deal about her passion, quilting.  My sister in Texas is also a quilter and because of these two generous artists our house has it's share of beautiful quilts to keep us warm on cold days and nights.  I've become very fond of the artistry of quilting and regard it as a fine art which often reflects the elements of true craftsmanship.

During the discussion we both were laughing about the residue of our crafts that are in a closet or some corner of a computer and she said that she calls these items UFO'S...Un - Finished - Objects, which struck a me as odd until I had time to think about the phrase on the way home when it came to me that much of art, or the varying concepts of art, are UFO'S, waiting for a new idea or technique to try, mold, or influence a "finished" work or work in progress.  With my photography many of the pieces that finally make it to a gallery have been the result of trial and error, re-shooting, re-visiting, or new software techniques which bring the image to a closing point.  In some cases the closing point has turned out to be a resting period until I revisit and tweak once again.

And isn't this all true about life?  How we all are an unfinished vessel honed into a finished product as we pass from one life experience to another. Some choosing to beat a life experience to death while others choose to gather the seeds, grow, and move on, something that I am slow at learning.  It has become my belief that all experiences, bad or good, prepare us for the next turn in the road, the next meeting, the next incident of the Journey.

The blog image is of Wolf Creek Falls in Banning State Park near Sandstone, Minnesota and while our meeting was brief due to inclement weather, I plan on being back in October for the fall festivities.  Very little work was needed to bring this to the "final" stage, but who knows what the final stage may be.  The overcast lighting presented excellent lighting conditions for the shot as well as a saturation of colors to give the foliage a stronger presence in the scene.

Thank you all for visiting my blog site and enjoy the summer with family and friends.  I've enjoyed the long evenings on the front porch watching the "fire flies", listening to the Robins and gazing at the colors of sunsets.

For more views of my work visit;

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

"Art On 16th"  http://www.hankhallarton16th.com

Artisans Road Trip www.artisansroadtrip.com  

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