Daniel Ruf

Hitting The Steet

"Most Photographers would feel a certain sense of embarrassment in admitting publicly that within them they carried a certain sense of wonder, yet without it they would not produce the work they do, whatever their particular field."   Bill Brandt

A couple of weeks ago our town put on the "Cruise - In" event where people that restore or "soup up" cars have the opportunity to display their talents.  About three blocks of Hill Avenue pavement is lined with some of the most incredible car art than one could imagine with "oldies" background music and food to make it all the more special.  The blog image is a result of an hours worth of shooting (not nearly enough), but I had to work at the gallery and my time was limited.

Ideal background for each car is limited to store front type scenes, but this car, which belongs to a neighbor, was in such a nice setting that it was a must to get a capture. The capture is 5 frames meant for HDR processing in Photomatix and was made with my Nikon 300s.  I had to do additional blurring in Photoshop CS5 to minimized the background signage as well as add a Fly Paper texture to give a more antique look to the scene.  The process of painting out the aforementioned additions from the car was the final process.

This event has always been a great opportunity to make a hard turn from the direction of my usual work and usually results in a few "eye poppers" intertwined among the landscapes and still life work that I normally persue.  A little spice is always nice!

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

People, Too?

"There are many teachers that could ruin you.  Before you know it you could be a pale copy of this teacher or that teacher.  You have to evolve on your own."

Berenice Abbott

Yes, I too can photograph human beings,  but I try to capture a special moment and I usually am more comfortable around family.  In the case of the first blog image the family was in San Antonio to atttend the Valero Alamo Bowl and we happen to be walking along the beautiful River Walk.  My daughter and granddaughter were on the other side feeding the pigeons, a task that my granddaughter loved to do, and, with the backdrop of the various store fronts, the right pose presented itself.

My daughter has a surprisingly deep affection for our two granddaughters, which I find incredible considering the trend of a lot of today's young adults.  Yes, she is absorbed with her Ipod, her job and friends, but when it comes to her niece's she is a first class auntie and I'm so proud of the affection she gives towards the girls.

The capture is from a Canon 50D, processed in Photoshop CS5 and then worked in the Topaz B&W Effects plug-in.  I used a transparency filter to bring a little faded color back into the image and then added a slight blur to the entire scene.  With a layer mask I then brought some of the original color back into the primary subjects and the pigeons.

In this second scene at a court yard inside the Alamo area I was hoping to get a capture of the beautiful lighting in this fountain area, but finally went with the smallest amount of "human intervention" that would work.  This was processed in Photoshop CS5 with Nik HDR Efex and then converted to a black and white using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 which emphasized the lighting as well as the textural qualities of the scene.  Again, using a layer mask, I brought back a hint of flesh tones in the young girl.  I'm really glad that I didn't walk away from this scene and decided to wait for an opening when the crowd melted away.

I often surprise myself when I do these types of portrait situations since I spend a large part of my time searching for grand landscapes, clear waters or summer skies that are void of appearances by people.  I guess, when one really thinks about it, people probably have more of an influence on our lives compared to our surroundings which can define the person that one becomes.

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

"Gray Skies Are Gonna Clear Up......"

The skies have been gray for about two weeks and we've been pelted with snow off and on for most of that time, so, having all the gray images I need, I've been watching a lot of tutorials, including how to navigate Photoshop, when I came upon this picture that I had forgotten about from Van Alstyne, Texas.  I was reminded at different times that this picture was in my file, but one thing led to another and by the time I'd get back to the computer from some other "engagement" the thick haze of forgetfulness would have set in and.......nothing. 

The town of Van Alstyne is an interesting little town where some of my family lives and is very reminiscent of a town of the 30's or 40's if you could blank out the cars and trucks from the 21st century.  Old town buildings, the court house and a railroad track running through a side street were enough to get me excited and go hunting for a picture or two.  Along this side street was a wall with a tattered American flag painting and dabblings of graffiti in various places.  While I was walking down the street toward this canvas of color a cowboy (or just an old guy with a Stetson) happen to cross the street and I couldn't believe such an opportunity for a western type image could be taking shape.  He stopped, looked intently at the wall and I just started capturing images.  Of course I was mumbling to myself, "turn more to the left" or "step more to the right", but before I knew it his interest in the wall vanished and he moved on down the street.

As it is, I'm glad he didn't turn toward me and his stance is a non-verbal gesture of indignation at the closeness of the graffiti to a cherished symbol, the grand old flag.  I don't know what he was thinking, yet I could almost here his words "why do kids do this" or something to that effect, or maybe I was just being reminded of what my father or mother would have said in the same situation.

I did a little post process work on this in the digital darkroom and gave it a touch with a Topaz plug in filter to enhance the texture and that was about it.  The more I look at it the more excited I get about making a full print of the image and I get a real hankerin' for some good Texas barbecue at the same time.

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