Daniel Ruf

On To Spring

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall."                                              
Henry David Thoreau

Since the shortest day of the year is behind us I thought I'd start thinking positive thoughts about getting closer to Spring.  In case you readers get too carried away with that thought I also enclosed a blog image that will bring you back to reality.  

This will be a short note to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a wonderful 2015.  Can you believe that?  It doesn't seem very long from the last days of 1999 when we all wondered if our computers were going to blow up from confusion when the year clock flipped to 2000.  I remember that I woke up to switch on my computer just to make sure the numbers were right.

The blog image is from the Triboji area of the lakes region of Northwest Iowa.  I'm not quite sure of the reasoning for location name....I just snap the shutter.  The fog, however, was luscious and helped to cover a clutter of boat hoists and docks that normally reek havoc with shooting during the year.  The fissures in the ice were calling along with the cool gray tones, and the warm toned grasses on the island. By the way this capture was done with an iPhone.

I have been doing a fair share of reading about photography and found that the ebook "More Than A Rock" by Guy Tal is a treasure.  A lot of words of wisdom and superb writing as well as photographic images.  Along with reading I've continued to do a good deal of editing, re-editing, trashing, critiquing (myself), throwing out, and editing some more.  Artists visions are ever changing as well as their approach which keeps the wheels turning.  Never stop looking, going back to favorite places and searching for the new.

Best to all during this holy time of Christmas...love the time with family and friends.

The Baylor Football team is headed to the Cotton Bowl.....what a fabulous year it's been. 

"Sic 'em Bears".

For more views of my work visit;

Arts On Grand, Spencer, Iowa http://www.artsongrand.org/

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

Side Street Gallery, Arnolds Park, Iowa  www.okobojiimages.com

http://500px.com/pigs4u

 

Thanks And Giving

            "Art is not about the production of things, it's about the expression of things."  Guy Tal

The enclosed quote comes from Guy Tal's most recent ebook, "More Than A Rock", and has been really enjoyable and informative about art and photography.  He's a brilliant writer and photographer and I've enjoyed the reading thus far.  The book is offered on his website, www.guytal.com .  

The blog image is from the trip east and is taken from the Blue Ridge Parkway as we were on our way to North Carolina.  The abundance of Fall color was enough to stop, but the incredible clouds finished the composition as well.  The back lighting really helped to bring out the color of the scene as well as the cloud and landscape definition.  Watching the colors and contrast change as the sun peaked in and out of the clouds was like adjusting a really strong polarizer that was covering one's eyes.

I know that I've often written about the people and events in my life that are responsible for what I'm doing today as a retired farmer turned photographer and how thankful I've been for there gracious help and tutilage.  Teachers, parents, and friends have all "conspired" to help develop my insights as a person and photographer.

I'm also very greatful for making some of the right turns AND some of the wrong turns that have led me to a precise spot at a precise time or even a different spot than I had planned.  Even the above scene would have been totally different a day or two either way.  

As far as the giving portion of the title...I can only hope that I've returned at least a portion to others as has been gifted to me by so many.  It's easy to forget to give the simplest helpful words or efforts to others as we go about our busy lives, but so important to those that pass through our daily lives.

At this point I wish you all a very wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.  Be merry, reach out and hug.

Sic 'em Bears...Great job with Oklahoma State...now to finish business.

For more views of my work visit;

Arts On Grand, Spencer, Iowa http://www.artsongrand.org/

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

Side Street Gallery, Arnolds Park, Iowa  www.okobojiimages.com

http://500px.com/pigs4u

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19338959@N06/

Review

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined."  Henry David Thoreau

For those of you that are hard core photographers I have a couple of sites for you to visit that I think will be rewarding and maybe even put a little thrill in your day.  First, I would suggest that you click on the Guy Tal link at the right and then go to his blog site to read his "Course Corrections" post.  It's well written, covers a lot of the curves and hills of this think called fine art photography and is just good reading.  He's one of the masters and makes some excellent points. 

Two other masters, John Barclay and Tony Sweet, also linked in the upper right, also have blogs that are posting their work from a workshop they had in Cuba.  Their work is beautiful and is an artistic journey of the area from their perspective as very fine photographers.  It will be good viewing and give you the opportunity to see how others handle the craft of fine art photography.

As for this blog post the image is one of my still set ups at an old barn at the Peterson Park Heritage site near Ingham Lake.  Both me and my good friend Mike Houge have traveled there often just to stretch our creative muscles and enjoy the lighting of the morning.  As you can see it's nothing fancy, but it is a joy to play, develop, and design.  This sort of thing can be done in your house, in a corner, with ambient light or artifial light and when the weather stinks.  You'll be surprised at how the time flies when you get involved in the creative process.

Go Baylor...Sic 'Em Bears

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

 

 

 

Losing Silence

The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders.

Edward Abbey

While doing some reading on The WIlderness Society website I came across some data that was put together by the U.S. Forest Service.  It stated that the U.S. loses 6,000 acres of open area per day to such uses as industrial, residential and agriculture.  When I computed the figure over a years time I figured that in 369 days we destroy the equivalent of the entire acres in Yellowstone National Park.  I was wondering about these figures because I've begun to think about a natural resource that we are losing along with those acres...Silence.  The loss of trees, rivers and wildlife is huge in each of those 6,000 acre, but those acres, in many cases, are replaced by things that make noise or provide a platform for things that are noisy.

In a discussion today with my friend Mike we were relishing in the fact that one of the things that we liked most about the art of photography...or at least nature photography...is the connection that we have with the places that we photograph.  Unlike many artistic endeavors that are created in a man made studio, the outdoors is our studio and with that comes all the peace that comes with these location shoots.  And peace doesn't mean the absence of sound, for the very sound of the wind through the pines or waves sliding over a sandy beach give us a sense of peace.  As we stand behind our camera our view of the living image is enhanced by the sensations that surround our being, including the peace.

As luck would have it, Guy Tal, www.guytal.com , discusses these treasures that are a part of making an image on his blog today.  The hiking, the camping, the searching, the finding and all the other dots on the map of creativity in between, become part of the process of making an image.  The capture of the image becomes much more than pushing the shutter release, it becomes an internal record of a sense of place and peace.  Our hope is that our internal image becomes visual to the viewer.

I'm beginning to believe that the benefits of nature photography are as much psychological as they are artistic for I know that when I exit a forest I am better for the travel in this sanctum.  The question is...how long will it be before we no longer have these quiet places or no longer realize what we've lost?

For more views of my work visit:

 "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