Daniel Ruf

Around The Corner

"No Winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn"

Hal Borland

An early winter thaw has given rise to bare roof lines and rich black earth peeking through the thin blankets of snow that have survived a week of warming temps.  The downside to this energetic weather is that things look pretty dead and ugly while we all wait for the first green sprig to push from the earth.  It is nice, however, to be relieved of the piles of snow that have surrounded our house and to see our roof again...meaning I can quit worrying about the strength of our rafters.

The blog image today is from a hill top farm near the small town of Peterson, Iowa, and was one of the final captures of a long day of searching with my friend Mike Houge (check out his newest work at www.mikehouge.typepad.com ).  The scene had changed by the time the truck had stopped and we had set up for the shot since the setting sun found a mass of clouds to hide behind.  What I liked about the shot was the long leading fence line with an old faded barn at the end and the slight bit of magenta color that was bleeding from the sunset.  I processed the image in Photoshop CS5 with Nik HDR Efex software, dropped in a Fly Paper texture for the sky (painted it out of the foreground and barn area), tweaked the contrast, lightened areas of the fence line snow drifts and the barn and that was it.  I found that the Fly Paper texture really helped add some interest to the sky area, which needed some help, yet still retained a bit of the magenta lighting of the original capture.

Waiting for Spring is going to be a struggle since I've scheduled 3 days to photograph Sandhill Cranes at the Rowe Sanctuary, an Audubon Society facility, near Kearney, Nebraska (http://www.rowesanctuary.org/).  It's a great opportunity since the sanctuary has built blinds along the Platte River that photographers can rent for their own photo experience.  Most of the time the birds are within 30 yards of the blind and give the photographer great shot selections of incoming and outgoing birds in flight.  The main requirement, besides the fee, is that the occupant of a blind is taken to the blind at 4pm and must stay in the blind until pick up the following morning.  A warm sleeping bag is a must, but snoozing among the cranes is pretty fantastic.  The cranes are only in the Kearney area for about a month, so blind time is at a premium.  The Rowe also has other viewing opportunities for those that are passing through.

Thanks to all that stop by to visit my blog and happy shooting.

    My new 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

Taking Flight

"Be like the bird that, passing on her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings. "

Victor Hugo

My second year with the Sandhill Cranes at the Rowe Sanctuary near Gibbon, Nebraska was invigorating, but not without its problems.  Of the two nights in the blind provided by the sanctuary only one morning involved the glorious light of sunrise.  The other two sunsets and one sunrise were totally clothed in clouds, or near so, and photography became a skill of trying as many options and tricks as I could muster to get some results.  The scene above was later in the evening with the last of the cranes coming to the Platte for the evening.  I used a high ISO of 1600 and had the benefit of a little fading sunlight sneaking through the cloud cover to add some color the the background clouds and also some light to the under side of the wings of the cranes.  I found that the use of the Topaz plug in and some localized blur helped to cut down on the noise in the image as well as using the in camera "noise reduction" aids.

When I first saw the image in my editing software I couldn't help but have a feeling of wonder about what it must be like to have the ability to fly and, with little effort, float in the heavens and look down on the earth without the encumbrance of a skin of steel surrounding ones self.  Flying without the fear of falling out of the sky due to some mechanical malfunction and being in total control of ones motion is the one freedom that man will never realize in his present human condition.

A couple of days capturing the beauty of flight with the Sandhill Cranes gives the photographer a real insight into the aerodynamic controls that the cranes use to take off, land and glide in their aerial world.  With long spindly legs, a watermelon shaped body and long skinny neck they look out of place and somewhat clumsy on the ground...especially while doing their characteristic "crane dance".  Airborne, however, all the pieces fit and provide a choreographed ballet of grace and weightless being.

I was in and out of sleep during the night, but was lulled by the rushing river and calling of the cranes during my time awake.  Surrounded by the warmth of my sleeping bag there was great comfort in the "alone-ness" of the dark night, serenade in the background, and bits of moonlight slipping in through the joints of my plywood blind by the river Platte.  The comfort of peace was all around and it was refreshing.

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

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

Artisans Road Trip www.artisansroadtrip.com  

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Trippin'

"A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art."  Paul Cezanne

When the outer world doesn't cooperate with photographic opportunities then I always go grab a batch of flowers from some local florist and start shooting.  It's a method I've used many times to keep the brain cells oiled and even sparkle a little bit.  It doesn't have to be flowers, it can be hub caps, bottle tops or dripping water, but whatever one chooses after a few minutes it will become the new challenge.

While I've been in my cranky mood of late I have also received a few junk mail advertisements about photo excursions or voyages with different photo workshop groups.  I look at the catalogs, like looking at a Christmas wish book, but the prices are so out of sight that I would have to get a couple of day jobs to get a low rent cabin on one of these junkets.  I never really could figure out why the big expense until I really looked at one of the "come on" photo ops...a well set table of fine silver with people dressed to the "nines" while clinking champaign glasses.  Then it hit me...this is not my idea of a workshop or photo op.  I think the price would slide downward a bit if someone rented an old Russian (no offense intended) fishing boat, loaded it with sleeping bags and canned spam and headed to the prime location intended.  And the workshop would entail being up before dawn with tripod and camera in tow in search of opportunities.  After about 10am it would be editing time, group discussions and chasing the learning curve before heading out at 4pm for some great evening shots.  The bed roll would see us crawl in at about 10pm, but only if we could withstand not looking at the evening shoot results.

I'm headed to the Rowe Sanctuary to photograph sandhill cranes this weekend and this will be my second opportunity in as many years to do this shoot.  I'm excited, probably just like I was last year, and I'm nervous, just like I was last year.  You know...the anticipation thing, but the thing I'm looking forward to the most is falling to sleep at night while listening to the chatter of cranes outside my photo blind.  Nothing better, except for maybe the times I've heard wolves howling in the north country.

The informal table in my 6 x 10 foot blind will be set with the finest cuisine...some cheese sticks, a few canned vienna sausages, bananas, water, crackers, etc.  All high on the food triangle!  The point is I'm not interested in food, mattress size or room service, but the moments that will make this experience one of the bookmarks of life...and of course a few good shots wouldn't hurt either!  There were some good images from last year, but I'll not soon forget watching my first "crane dance" or the sunrise on a Platte River that was covered in cranes.  Those mental images are as sharp now as they were last year and I'm so glad that I checked off one of those bucket list items by heading to Nebraska.

My advice when you get done playing with the flowers?  Dream a little and then get your map!

Thank you all for taking the time to visit my site and for any comments you might offer.

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  

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Latest News

Last Saturday an email brought the news that I had two images find their way into the finals of The Nature Conservancy 2009 photography contest.  This is the second year that I have entered and I was pleasantly surprised by the news.  The Sandhill Crane shot at the left was one selection and was taken at the Rowe Sanctuary near Kearney, Nebraska this past spring.  It was my first opportunity to be up close and personal with these magnificent birds and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  Due to some travel plans this spring I was afraid that I was going to have to miss the chance to go the Kearney again this year, but, due to some changes in dates, I am going to spend a weekend peeking out a porthole in a blind along the Platte River.  I can hardly wait to get there and renew some of the relationships I made during last years visit.

The picture on the right was the second finalist and is an old favorite from Ft. Defiance State Park in Northwest Iowa.  This park is kind of a hidden pearl for my friends Mike, Bob and myself, and we all get down to the creek bed on many occasions.  It is my hope that the contest would bring new impetus to some state funding for up keep and maintenance to our parks. 

The road to the grand prize is now up to a "peoples choice" selection which throws a whole new twist to the final selection process.  If you would like to vote for the finalists go to the following link

http://support.nature.org/site/PageServer?pagename=vote_xx&autologin=true .

Organizations like The Nature Conservancy spend a great deal of money and effort to save and preserve the wild areas of the world and I'm happy to be involved with such an outstanding group.  With the economic demands on the private sector I'm sure that non-profits are feeling the pinch in every area.

During an internet search the other day for works by Dewitt Jones I happened to come on a link on MySpace that I was unaware of and if you follow the link below I think you'll what you find.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=43381348

Every once in a while a little inspiration is a good thing, and while I found Jones through his photography prowess years ago, he is also well known for motivational lectures in the corporate world.  After listening to this talk I can see why.

Thanks to all of you that take the time to visit this site and your support is really appreciated.

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

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

Busy

Last weekend my wife and me took the opportunity to see our daughter-in-law and granddaughter in Omaha while they were there for a family wedding.  I hadn't seen the squirt for sometime and it was a delight to see her bigger, faster and sillier than before.  She's a child of wonder and takes notice of everything and everyone.  We spent one day at the zoo, which is a pretty remarkable place, and had dinner in old town, but all too soon it was Monday morning and time to take them to the airport for their flight back home.

Last year we were in Lincoln for the Baylor vs. Nebraska game and I believe I reported in a blog segment how really nice Lincoln was, as well as the people.  Well, Omaha isn't much different.  I was really impressed by the foresighted architectural, especially when it comes to how they have integrated natural scenes of prairie/pioneer life through parts of the city.  One area in front of the hotel there was a huge pool of water with fountains, but also with recaptured geese flying over the pond.  The artists were creative enough to extend the vision of geese beyond the pool by attaching a small cluster over a light stand just in front of the hotel as a continuation of a natural event that still occurs today...just not in downtown Omaha.  Anyway, it was a really interesting effect as were the odd sculpted bison that one could find along various sidewalks.

This week has been a whirlwind as I have been preparing work for the Pearson Lakes Art Center's "Art In The Park" which starts tomorrow.  I feel as though I've been parked in front of the printer all week, with occasional visits to the outside world to complete some matting and framing for hanging items.  Luckily it's all done and I will be somewhat prepared when I set up tomorrow morning.  Event's like this, although exhausting in preparation, allow me to look at the body of photographic work that has collect over the last few months.  I'm pleased with what I saw, but know that each new image is a new direction in the growth of my art, which makes it exciting and refreshing to move on.

Next week I'll be off to Lanesboro, Minnesota to install some work in the Cornucopia Art Center, where my work was juried in this past month.  It's a nice artist town with "old town" main street and shops and eateries to spark the tourist that frequent the area.  The town is nestled in the rolling hills of Amish country and has a refreshing, soothing atmosphere.  I'll be completing the finish work on the images for the gallery this week, glitches permitting.

In a couple of weeks I'll be headed for far North Dakota for a shoot of the area.  I hope to slip into Canada to one of the interesting provincial parks nearby my campsite and then swing by Itasca State Park in Minnesota on my way home to see the headwaters of the Mississippi River.  Hopefully I won't be disappointed and my camera will be overworked before returning to the homestead.  It will be good to get away, but, as is the usual case, there will be weeks of editing and printing to follow.

Before I end this babble I have to share an interesting event that I have not seen in all the times that I've wandered through zoos.  We wanted to make sure to make the feeding of the polar bears at the Omaha zoo so Madison could see the bear enjoy a nice, huge watermelon as part of the fiesta.  Over time I have reasoned that zoos definitely have a special place in our world, and while those of us that have a fondness of wildlife are moved by the fact that zoo animals have to give up a free roaming nature, I also am reminded that there are many animals that walked this planet that have succumb to the most horrible of human natures.  So, I take some relief that zoos have provided a safety net for some...but not for all. 

Anyway, as I was saying, as we closed in on the bear environs, which included a large pool I was overcome by joy when I saw this single bear doing one of the best Olympic backstrokes that I'd ever seen.  On top of that, he seemed to be fully enjoying the trips around the pool and as he would swing by the group of people looking through the large glass area, he'd give them a good, long passing look in total amusement.

  

Thanks for stopping buy and joining my journey.

For more views of my work visit:

 

"A Piece Of Work", Spirit Lake, Iowa

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

"Art On 16th, Spirit Lake, Iowa

Artisans Road Trip www.artisansroadtrip.com

"CR Gallery", Milford, Iowa

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