Daniel Ruf

Blooming Crazy

Once the Spring season begins it's "pedal to the metal" in order to capture all the natural surprises and we haven't even gotten into the tulip bloom and I've got about 80 new plantings that are just now peaking toward the sky.  It seems like everytime I take the walk down into one of our state parks something new has revealed itself.

The blog image is of a Trout Lily, which are just now showing up in the low lying areas in local forests.  They're only about 3 -4 inches in height and it takes some real shrinking to get a birds eye view of this delicate flower.  As I've told many, as they spy me proned on the ground, the view is better from down here!

As added amusement I've just recieved a notice from a local magazine that submissions are being taking for their Fall print.  Imagine that...we've just shaken off the snow (sorry, shouldn't have said that) and it's time to search the 2012 files for fall color.  I'm still waiting for the greening of the trees!

Thanks for visiting the site and I hope you all take time to smell the roses...or tulips.  Just get out in the Spring air.

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

 

Up Close

    "We all start in this medium because of the magic and the challenge is to keep it going."  John Sexton

I spent a few days this past week in Ft. Defiance State Park as the Snow Trillium's were beginning to bloom and having the time of my life.  I also spent most of that time laying on the ground for a more "up close and personal" view as I encourage many to do when working with floral subjects.  The view is better from the soils surface as well as the aroma of Mother Nature.  The blog image was also capture with the help of a Lensbaby lense attachment to my Canon 5D Mark II giving the soft dream like look.

The Snow Trillium is one of the first forest botanicals to break the surface of the ground and manages to compete it's two to three inch growth spurt in a couple of days with weathers cooperation.  The simple blossom is an indication that winters grip has been broken, even if only for a few days, as was the case this year.  A day later and another round of snow fell, but has quickly disappeared.

I've included a new link on the right side to a custom printing lab that I've just started working with.  My own Epson printer is limited to a 13 inch width so any image of larger size requires an outside printing source.  Gale Johnson of CDI has been a remarkable find and offers a personal service that is both reasonable in cost and exceptional in quality.  Check out his link and give his service some thought.

Thank you all for your continued support and enjoy those treasures that are pushing up through the earth...and those that surround us called friends.

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

Peace

                        "In all things of Nature, there is something of the marvelous."   Aristotle

It seems that our area of Iowa has caught it's 5 months of winter all in one month, but the good thing is that it might be coming to an end with last yesterdays 8 inches of snowfall and blizzard like conditions.  The good thing is that winter scene opportunities were extended for this photographer as my 2012 winter portfolio is very thin.

The above image is a blur created through the use of Photoshop and camera movement.  I often forget about using this creative tool, but once I get the chance I'm glad I have that option.  While it might appear to be a black and white it does contain some color, but still remains a monochromatic image.

After all that's gone on this past week I could stand in the peace of the place above for a long time wishing to never return to society.  My thoughts and prayers (seems so feeble) go out to all those affected by not ony the Boston bombing, but the West, Texas explosion as well.  While it is much simpler to accept the reasons of an accident like happened in Texas, I will never be able to understand (nor should I) the acts of violence on mankind. We are being surrounded by visuals of violence not only caused by extreme individuals, but also coming from our televisions, computer games, websites and social media.  As if this were not enough it seems that each year the violence in the media gets "ramped up" to increase viewer ratings.

The kindness and graciousness in our societies is slipping away the same as those precious areas of natural beauty and there are few places to run for cover.  One can still find a coffee shop in rural America where the talk is more about the Friday night basketball game or crop prices and less about our crumbling of our values.  And there are still small spots like the image above where one can reside, sit, walk and ponder the "truth" of life or tomorrows joys.

This quagmire that we find ourselves in is not, in my opinion, God's doing, a corporations doing, or a countries doing...it's our doing...or lack of doing.  It has less to do with who has guns or a political philosophy and more to do with the slippage of American values and the lack of respect and comfort with one another.

I wish comfort to all those affected by the trauma of this week and if you weren't affected by any of it, then I suggest you check your pulse.  We all need places were our hearts and minds can heal.  For some it's our home and family and for others it might be a natural place or church, but where ever it might be our world is in great need of healing.  Healing starts with a lot of Love.

Thank  you all for visiting.

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

Preparations

"Art is the signature of civilizations."  Beverly Sills

Somewhere I read that when flowers begin to finish their blooming it is a good time to bring out the camera, so the other day I had some purchased tulips that were beginning to fade and I grabbed my camera and headed to the basement for some practice.  I set up a few white pieces of foam core board and proceeded to do some hi-key work with one flash and a lot bouncing of light.  The blog image is the result of a couple hours of shooting.

As I looked through the viewfinder of my Nikon D300 I rotated the potted plant to find views that might have some merit.  In this case I thought it was interesting to see the inner parts of the flower (stamens) peeking through a "window" between two petals.

It's not the great outdoor, laying on the soft earth and peering into the lives of little things, but it keeps me out of trouble until we get the greening of the countryside.

Thank  you all for visiting.

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

 

 

Practice

       "Those who find beauty in all of nature will find themselves at one with the secrets of life itself."
                                                                 L. Wolfe Gilbert

During the last several days I've spent my time working indoors with flower setups in preparation for the natural outdoor floral occurances that should be coming soon.  Too me it's a whole different exercise in seeing and working almost in miniature.  It's also a time when I spend long moments with my nose within inches of the ground absorbing the aroma of the spring soil and Mother Earth.  Here in northwest Iowa there is a large "spring flush" of color and then things sort of slow down and the task becomes being at certain places at certain times for certain species.  Of course weather plays an important part in all of this as well as the warming spring light of the sun.

The blog image is brought to you by a grouping of daffodil's, well, one exactly...the others were watching in envy.  I "constructed" (liberal use of the term) a fairly large box where light from my electronic flash would be bounced around, thus avoiding shadows.  The background is a blurred print that I use for such occasions (I need to make more, but usually forget) that provides a complimentary "garden" feel of color and blur. 

I was about ready to fold things up when I decided to try a shot of the back of a daffodil and I'm quite happy that I followed my instincts, although I do stress in my beginner classes of the importance of working from several points of view from any subject.

Winter is fading fast, the lake is about to shed it's icy coat and it won't be long before the lush Spring greens will surround all of us.  Take the time to get out, walk, chase the kids, run the dog and enjoy this greening of the earth.

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

File Hunting

                            "Do all you can to make your dreams come true."  Joel Osteen

A couple of Fall's ago my friend Mike Houge, mikehouge.typepad.com , and myself made a trip to the Arrowhead region of Northeastern Minnesota to photograph around the Gooseberry Falls and Lake Superior regions.  I remember spending a lot of time at the site of the blog image trying to get a particular capture of this scene of which the hardest part was straddling this small portion of the Gooseberry River, which is downstream of the falls area. I can't even imagine what Mike was thinking as I tried to execute several "rubber legged" approaches to the situation.

When I got home it was one of the first files I looked for after downloading the results of this particular session, but was disappointed by the results and left the file as unworthy of consideration.  It seemed that the HDR exposure range was not good enough to render a final execution that I could appreciate.  It's not a new story, but a learning curve about the importance of not being too hasty when one is onsite and needing to fulfill the personal assignment.

The other day, as I was file hopping, I happened to realize that, judging by the file arrangement for the session, I had apparently walked away to do some other captures at the scene, and then returned for some final attemps.  As "luck" would have it I did made several other exposures which were indeed had appropiate outcomes for a final image.

This scene was taken with my ol' trusty Canon 50D, processed in Photomatix HDR software and finished with applications in Photoshop CS5, NIK Color Efex Pro and NIK Viveza.  The results are above and once again a reminder to myself that shooting sessions are never over and that file reviewing is a necessary part of digital photography just as it was with traditional film photography.  As artist, we are evolving in our approaches to our work as well as are the tools we use.  The more learning and research we do the more our approaches and tastes change, which will be reflected in our work.

Life is learning and change....and yes, about the journey.

Thank you for visiting...post a comment...it doesn't take courage to do so and will be appreciated.

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

Gifting

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."  Soren Kiekegaard

My daughter-in-law got me to thinking the other day after I started reading her new blog that I believe was encouraged by a group of her friends and it's called "Girls Gone Grateful". 
http://galentinesgiving.wordpress.com/the-givers/amanda/.

I was drawn to her site by a recent visit we had with her, my son and our extended family in Texas.  Since it was the first time she had met our grandchildren she brought some hand made aprons for catching artistic drips and spills, and also a book that had been her when she was younger.  If you go to the link above and then check out day one, you will see the unique results of the girls gone grateful.

It encouraged me to think more about the importance of gifting and how simple a gift can be.  In fact, if you read more of her blog and the writings of others that are part of this experience you might well realize that we often give personal gifts that we aren't aware of and those are the really special ones as they may not cost a lot in cash, but are touching and full of the grace that we need so much in the global society.

Gifting doesn't have to be rocket science or monetary, as with Amanda's precious gift to her nieces, and I think that gifts of a heart felt nature are the silver linings in our daily lives. 

Giving a gift from of the heart really affects both the giver and the receiver and if you really stop to think about gifts that each of you have given in the past you'll know what I mean and I think you'll  be reminded of the gifts longevity, especially on one's heart.

Thanks, for visiting and feel free to comment on this blog or share this link with others.

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

Come What May

                "Change is inevitable.  Change for the better is a full time job."  Adlai E. Steveson

A couple of weeks ago my friend Mike, www.mikehouge.typepad.com, invited me along on a little shooting trip after our area had experienced a nice snowfall.  He has already posted his results and I thought I'd get mine on board (I might still tweak it) to show that two photographers can achieve differing results from the same location of a capture.  Check out his interpretation at the site in the upper right.

The title of this post, however, refers to the recent announcement that the owners of A Piece Of Work (APOW), Inc. are looking for a buyer for their gallery.  This nice downtown gallery in Spirit Lake, Iowa has been a home to many local artists for about 5 years and I will be sad to have to find an alternative if the gallery has to close.  It provided all of the resident artist with a great setting to show large collections of personal work, and that is hard to come by in our small town. 

The quote of this post is a reminder to all of us that we need to take a positive outlook about change in our lives.  In my case, upon the move of my wife and myself to the town of Spirit Lake after my retirement from farming, we just happened to move next door to the APOW owners without prior knowledge.  As a budding (still) photographer I was actively seeking a venue to display my work and that need was answered when I met Ken and Diane.  What was icing on the cake is that they have proved to be the best neighbors that we could ask for, which made it all the better.  Add to that the fact that Diane is a outstanding gardener and allows me access to photograph at will, is priceless.

Embrace change in your life and fear not...you will be rewarded in ways you'll never have imagined.

Thank you all for joining me and feel free to comment.

Go Baylor...Sic 'Em Bears.  Good luck to the Baylor men and women as they head into post season basketball.

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

Winter Fluff

"No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set yourself on a higher one."  Jessica Savitch

While we haven't gotten as much snow as those areas of Iowa that surround us, last week we did get a nice 6 inches of fluffy white stuff that made for some nice opportunities.  This particular blog image is from the lakes edge at Mini-Wakan State Park that is on the north edge of Spirit Lake.

I had been waiting for an opportunity to photograph the interesting colors of the ice slabes that develop with the expanding and pushing of the ice that covers this great lake.  As this particular tree has been one of my favorite subjects I decided to head here first to see if there would be snow covered rocks to go along with my hope to work the ice into the composition.

The ambient light was bright enough to give help with detail and form and yet soft enough that harsh contrast wasn't a problem and I think the color of the ice was much more stiking.  This was shot with my Canon 5D II and then processed through Photoshop CS5 followed by some work in NIK Viveza software.

For those of you that are avid photographers it's always good to remember to revisit your photographic haunts on a regular basis.  Lighting, seasons and weather can always give one new opportunities for success.

Thanks for visiting and feel free to make a comment or tell a friend.

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

Welcome Snow

        "I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order."  John Burroughs

It has finally happened in our little corner of Northwest Iowa...the snow has come and lingured for a while, and today we are enjoying another several inches to finally cover a naked earth.  It's been a long while since we've seen measurable amounts as we are having and the moisture is a welcome event.

The blog image was taken a week or so ago during a short blast of winter weather.  It was processed in Photoshop and then converted to a black and white with the help of NIK's Silver Efex Pro 2.  This software is one of the best on the market (IMO) and mimics a lot of the results from a wet darkroom, which I used to use many years ago.

Manuvering to the right position where one tree isn't blending with another was the difficult task and I even had to crop the left side of the original capture due to a merging that didn't make a lot of "eye" sense.  After working with the original for a while I realized that my eye was always being pulled to the left in an effort to make sense of two merging tree trunks and I had a feeling that they would be a problem.  As you can see from the final you can imagine that movement to the right or left would cause other such blending of tree trunks in the background.

Being out in the falling snow has a mellowing effect on a person and I hope you all get a chance this winter to do just that. 

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

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