Daniel Ruf

Past To Present

"A Picture is the expression of an impression.  If the beautiful were not in us, how would we ever recognize it?"  Ernst Haas

My college art professor, James Green, was also my employer, as I was his weekend yard keeper and all around handy man.  One of the vivid memories about his yard is that his cottage was surrounded by fragrant Lily Of The Valley, and since then I have been rather fond of them.

In the past few years one of my early Spring rituals has been to find a suitable cluster of these flowers to photograph, but I've come up empty handed until this past week.  Quite by accident I was walking through a wooded area trying to energize my creative spirit when I came upon a few lily plants along the trail side. 

While the lighting was, I thought, very contrasty mid day lighting, as I laid down on the small path my viewpoint improved dramatically.  As I've always told class participants, a change in elevation can make a dramatic change in photographic options, I was quite pleased with the new viewpoint.  Specular high lights developed in the background as well as a better point of view for the flowers.  The camera; my Nikon D300s with a 28-300mm Nikkor lens and a lens extender, which turned the lens combination into a macro lens.  WIth this came a softening of the background as well as the highlights causing the flowers to be "front and center" in the composition.

Later, in the editing process I decided to do a digital watercolor of this image with the help of the Alien Skin Snap Art software and my own use of Photoshop CS5's digital brushes.  While this is one of my first attempts at using the digital watercolor palette I'm pleased with the outcome.

While shooting this scene my mind fluttered back to the afternoons that I spent digging, weeding and tending to Mr. Green's gardens.  It also reminded me of the hours of patient tutelage that I gained while attending his class or tending his yard.

"Mentorship" is so important in a persons everyday life, whether it be a second grade teacher, a workshop instructor, or trusted friend.  It accelerates and empowers growth in all of us to propel us ahead on life's journey.

Thank you all for joining me at this blog site and I hope that Spring has been as enjoyable for you as it has for me...a time of growth and expression.

Sic 'em Bears!  Headed toward the Big 12 baseball championship!

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

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

Foggy Days

"The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work."     Emile Zola

The temperate weather in our area has brought a number of foggy days and fortunate opportunities to find the usual, unusual.  The blog image occurred at  the end of a morning shoot when the fog was actually beginning to drift upward to dissipate, but one last call occurred as I passed over this creek on the way home.

The capture was processed in Nik HDR Efex Pro and then further in Photoshop CS5 with touches using Nik Color Efex Pro 4 with its U Point technology as well as the brush tool to help strengthen the barns presence.

In the past year I think I've seen my approach softening a bit by being a little less heavy handed with different software approaches.  At the same time I've enjoyed the increased use of the creative choices available with not only Nik software, but also Topaz, Alien Skin Snap Art and Totally Rad textures.  My approach has been to use any of the aforementioned elements to enhance rather than cover up as I feel an image in need of a "band aid" is more worthy of the digital waste basket.

Of course this developing process (no pun intended) has occured over many years and has been influenced by reading, internet access and workshops and making a monumental amount of learning mistakes...bless everyone of them!

Thanks to all that frequent this site and please take the time to visit the links on the right to see the work of some real masters and friends.

My hopes are with the Baylor women's basketball team as they take up the challenge of the NCAA Final Four.  Sic 'em Bears!

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

Offerings

"I think if you shake the tree, you ought to be around when the fruit falls to pick it up."

Mary Cassatt

The last few days our part of the world has been fortunate enough to experience a few days of fog and, to paraphrase Dorcas Lane of "Larkrise To Candleford"..."Fog is my only weakness", I've been out exploring a lot of different nooks and crannies.  On the day of the blog image I found an area of ground fog, while on the road, and was pretty excited since it was a perfect background to a farmstead that I've wanted to capture for a long time.  The perfect sunrise colors made it all the better so I made a hard right turn to find a set up location to wait for the "announcement" of the colors.

The image was processed through Nik HDR Efex Pro, then Photoshop CS5 and finally some touches in Nik Color Efex Pro 4.  Color Efex provided the Tonal Contrast correction and also the use of the Split Neutral Density Grad Filter which are two favorites and with the brush tool in the software filter allows the opportunity to paint the effects on the image.  The Nik brush tools and the U-point technology are great to use for those subtle touches throughout an image.

While working on this piece it wasn't too difficult to remember past mornings on the farm...out early to start chores, then in for a hardy breakfast at about 9 a.m. and then back out 'til noon.  While the days were long and full there was always a sense of pride in the American Heartland that went with the work no matter how compelling the day.

Thanks for visiting the site and don't forget to stop to take a deep breath...Spring is here, my friend.

A big shout for the Baylor men's and women's basketball team for having won their way to the final eight of the NCAA tournaments.  We're so proud.

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

Farming Memories

"You can't wait for inspiration.  You have to go after it with a club."  Jack London

The kind of things I find while traveling the country roads can be funny and the blog image is one of these.  When I saw this old tire leaning against a fence post my first thought was, since I'm a retired farmer, somebody had a really bad day.  I've been there and remember some occasions when the tractor is running fine, the field is smooth, and the weather is beautiful...and then a tire blows.  If this happens on a car it's a big deal, on a tractor in the middle of a field it's a day cruncher.  Not only is it a struggle between man and a "beast" the repair gobbles up time and time has a premium price during the summer.

Luckily, with camera in hand, there were some beautiful clouds to form a background to this knarly subject and positioning was the next subject at hand.  High, low, left or right...finally my right hand dominance played into the decision.

The image was captured for HDR processing in Nik software with some minor adjustments in Photoshop CS5 and Nik Color Efex Pro.  As with a lot of my work the "tweaking" continues, but I know that this shot will probably never hang in my gallery space at A Piece Of Work in Spirit Lake and it will probably never leave the confines of my computer, but sometimes a person has to take advantage of those interesting stories that present themselves.

Kind of like life, don't you think?

Thanks for joining me here...see you next week.

Sic 'em Baylor Bears!

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

Refining

"I don't really have studios. I wander around, around people's attics, out in the fields, in cellars, anyplace 

I find that invites me."

Andrew Wyeth

A few days ago my good friend Mike Houge (www.mikehouge.typepad.com) joined me at a heritage site near his home that is a collection of farm home and outbuildings including a barn.  Up until now snow has been a fleeting memory this winter, so we've had to entertain ourselves with subjects that don't include drab backgrounds.  There were a couple of areas in this barn that solved those issues and we set up shop for a long afternoon of photography.

Even though we were in the same area of the barn at one point we both were occupied with different subjects and were either mumbling to ourselves or trading "pot shots" at one another.  At some point I realized, from the activity and mumbling, that we were each refining our approach or vision relating to our particular subject.  This got me to thinking about how much we both have changed our approach and creative vision over the years that we've know one another. It's my belief that a lot of this is an occurance of time spent with photography, or any medium of art for that matter, including sitting in front of a computer defining our own visual concept of a subject. 

In my work experience, whether it has been machining parts for a large company or dealing with the everyday demands of livestock farming, time and knowledge have determined the approach and results with respect to all my endeavors, even personal growth (the last being the one of most demand!)

The blog image resulted from an afternoon of excitement...first when I saw this cluster of horse collars and then when I began to invision the possible outcomes.  Image capture was with a Canon 5DII with processing taking place first in Nik HDR Efex Pro, then Adobe Photoshop CS5 and final developments coming with Nik Color Efex Pro 4 and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

Thank you all for making the stop at this blog site and I hope that you have gained some insite about the thrill of photography.  Please feel free to comment or ask any questions.

Sic 'em Baylor Bears!

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

Look Up

"My best work is almost unconscious and occurs ahead of my ability to understand it."

Sam Abell

A snow system has finally reached Northwest Iowa and it is finally beginning to look a lot more like winter here.  With it being mid-January I can smile knowing that March and the sites of Spring are closer than if this storm was occurring in November, as is the case in many years past.  Finally the browns are covered and I now have a new palette to work with.

The blog image is from a couple of weeks ago when things looked and felt springlike and the cloud formations were absolutely incredible in the morning.  This is an HDR panorama that required 12 captures using Nik HDR Efex Pro to develop the 4 HDR images and then, using Photoshop CS5, a 4 image stitch to accomplish the final panorama image.

As I set up at the location I was captivated by the varied cloud formations that were moving across the sky.  It really reminded me of times when I've been traveling through the northern or western plains where the land, as well as the sky, has this immense breath taking feeling that overwhelm an individual.  In this case it's good old mid-western Iowa, where, even today, we can find such wide open vistas where clouds, not corn, can be king.

Looking up can reveal surprising tapestries...if we remember to raise our eyes from their normal human positioning by tilting our head back.  It is then that your mouth will fall open whereby both neck and facial muscles are exercised to a fuller extent.

Thank you for joining me today and please feel free to comment.

SIC 'EM BEARS!

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

Finding Your Thrill

"...you can't always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need..."

Rolling Stones (Jaggar/Richards)

Recently I was checking out a favored blog site http://www.ianplant.com/blog/2011/12/21/photographic-quotations/ and came upon a favorite quote by the writer that simply defines the challenges of photography.  I wouldn't have guessed that the Rolling Stones would be the source, since their work is way out of my musical orbit, but then again, maybe the quote is also a reminder about being in such ruts!

The blog image is just one of those situations when the search wasn't yielding anything that was exciting to me until I found myself at a location near us that got my attention.  Yes, it's just a bunch of boats and, yes, it's not a landscape and, yes, there are no flowers, but sometimes one does have to "take the ride that is available or walk home empty handed".  In this case I liked the colors, the lines, the reflections and went with the opportunity.

The image was captured with my Canon 5DII using a neutral density filter on the lens so I could achieve a really long exposure to "smooth out" the ripples in the water and gain a stronger reflection.   It is an HDR capture that was processed with Nik's HDR Efex software in Photoshop CS5. 

If there is just one important lesson that I learn almost everytime the camera comes out is that flexibility is often the best tool that a person has in their arsonal of creative vocabulary.  It's also a pretty good tool for living life!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a marvelous holiday season.

Sic 'em Bears!

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

 

 

Hats?

"Making the simple complicated is commonplace;  making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity."   Charles Mingus

My home away from home in Texas is my sister's house, which is a comfortable log home with a lot of character.  When I make my way to the upstairs bedroom where I stay I always pass this scene of hats and have always promised myself that I would take the time, someday, to work with this still life setting.  Finally, on a recent trip, I managed to get some time when the house was quite and void of grand kids running about and I couldn't resist any longer.

The room is naturally dark with it's rich wood interior walls and also from the canopy of trees that protect the house from summers raging heat.  Lighting was problematic, since I had only a modular flash at my disposal, so I decided to "paint with light" using a table lamp.  My experience with painting with light once again proved what a nice lighting alternative that this can be since it not only blends, but also evens out the lighting, which this scene needed.

After processing in Photoshop CS5 I made a few adjustments in Nik Color Efex Pro 4 and then worked on changing the reflection in the mirror as it was really complicated with background distractions.

While working with the scene I couldn't help but review that "hats" that all in our family wore from our father and mother to my wearable, useful collection of farm "toppers".  Much to my wife's concern, I continue to wear a number of "baseball" style hats that covered my head during my farming career, along with my assortment of t-shirts.  It's a reminder to me of the benefits and challenges of farm life.

Thank you for visiting and feel free to comment.

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

Opposites

"A work of art that did not begin in emotion is not art."

Paul Cezanne

Wisking down a road in northern Minnesota brought me to this tempting little eye catcher as I topped a small hill which immediatly caused me to swerve to the shoulder for a better look.  It was horribly windy, which at first seemed to be a real downer, but having a better look and being intriqued by the combination of a rigid steel dump truck that was sporting an antique set of bed frames was a little too much to dismiss.  The solution for the wind situation was to just let the wind do it's thing so as to become a backdrop for the solid subject.  I used a Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter which alowed me to slow the shutter speed to about 6 seconds giving the wind a chance to do a creative blur with the background trees.

The capture was processed in Photoshop CS5 and the further work was done in Nik Color Efex Complete with Tonal Contrast and then Polaroid Transfer.  The gritty nature of the truck against the softness of the background seems to really harmonize well together with the bed ends being the exclimation point. 

As in life opposite combinations that confront us can come together for a fulfilling result...it's just a matter of sitting back and letting "nature" take its course while rejoicing in the unexpected.

Thanks to everyone of you that stop at my blog space and a shout out to all the great Baylor people that are part of this community.  Sic 'em Bears.

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=V