Daniel Ruf

Reflections

"You have to dream before your dreams can come true." A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

It is with great sadness that I report the Summerwind Gallery in Arnolds Park, Iowa will not reopen this coming summer.  The gallery director did not specify any reasons, but I know that the summer of 2018 will have a hole in it for me.  The gallery director was top notch and for the two years that it was open it was a huge success for my photography.  It is sad to see such a needed person and gallery disappear from our community.

So, where do I go from here?  My mind at this point is a blank, but blank spaces are meant to be filled and I'm waiting for that proverbial door to open for my next experience. I no longer am represented by any gallery, but that doesn't necessarily concern me since I was looking for a gallery when Summerwind Gallery came into my life. "Bert" was an exceptional gallery director and I say that with the experience of treading through many galleries.  As I've mentioned before, when my wife and I travel gallery hunting/visiting is about second on the list behind scouting for scenery.  We've found that the galleries that we have enjoyed the most were run by people that were truly interested in the customer.  They spent time getting to know us, exchanging ideas, and gathering information. We found that to be paramount at the Summerwind Gallery.  I wish "Bert" continued success with her art and future.

Moving on...the above image was taken on a beautiful morning with much frost and fog. The camera was a Canon 5D Mark IV, which I have fallen in love with.  The image was processed in Adobe Lightroom and converted to a black and white (it was pretty monochromatic to start with) in ON1, which is a filter in my Adobe Photoshop CC program. I also used a painting program, very lightly, to soften some of the effects of B/W processing. Just a matter of taste.

Subtle scenes like this, in my opinion, find real depth and mood when converted to black and white.  I have always been a follower of Ansel Adams, especially since attending one of his Yosemite workshops back in 1977.  I've also found the work of John Sexton, an assistant to Ansel way back when, to be extremely inspiring as well as my instruction from Tony Sweet.  Add to that the works of Andrew Wyeth, an artist that I followed when I was wading through college art classes, and all of this makes sense.  All of these artists could squeeze life into compositions, that others might pass by, with their own versions of creativity.

Thank you all for visiting this site and a reminder that Spring is just around the corner.  I'll let you know when I find a gallery!

New Places

"The opportunity is often lost by deliberating."  Publilius Syrus

The one thing I like the most about traveling to different geographical areas is not only the opportunity to see different scenes, but the adjustments I have to make in my approach and thoughts about the differing unfamiliar scenes.  

On a recent trip to Houston a friend of my wife took me around to several different places on the coast near across from Galveston, Tx.  In these sort of situations with someone else at the "helm" I'm less inclined to spend a lot of time in the process of shooting so as not to keep others waiting, but I still hate to pass up "no brainers" as far as photo ops.

The blog scene is one of several around this wharf/dock area, but one of my favorites.  It was an HDR five shot episode with my Nikon D300, handheld.  I was lucky that there were some beautiful cloud structures to break up the sky, which gave the composition some added strengths.  The captures were processed in Photomatix with more editing in NIK programs.  Finally I used Snap Art for adding the oil painting effect...in fact I used several painting options to get the effect I was looking for.

Even though we've never lived on or near salt water areas I've seen enough travel advertising and art work from those areas to know that I really would like to spend time around these areas.  This would include very early morning or late afternoon shooting in all sorts of weather as well as a lot of searching.

I wish you all a good week to come and thank you for continuing to support this space with your attention.

Sic 'em Bears".  The 2015 Baylor football season starts its conference run next weekend.

For more views of my work visit;

http://500px.com

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

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

Summer Wind Gallery, Arnolds Park, Iowa

Fog Feast

"Every moment of light and dark is a miracle."    Walt Whitman

We've had a number of foggy mornings during the past week which has made for some interesting location hunting to find situations that would not only reveal the beautiful nature of "wet air" but also the softness of the light.  Having worked in a number of differing atmospheric conditions I find that fog presents the most elusive as one never knows the duration or the locations that it might take place.  On this particular day it was extremely thick and found in every location I visited including this area near Gull Point State Park.  Yet, on some days one might find it only in areas of topological depressions such as valleys and sink holes while on other days it might just be in lake areas.

This particular location is one that I pass on any number of days as it is a typical slough area with calm water and the occasional visiting egret and other waterfowl.  On this day the fog gives a nice separation of the foreground tree from the background landscape as well as a quiet mood, which to me is inviting for restful thoughts and appreciation of the natural scene.

The editing work was accomplished in Adobe Photoshop CS6 while the digital painting option was worked through with the help of Alien Skin's "Snap Art" and Topaz "Simplify".  By using the digital painting method I felt that the details were more muted to simple surface areas of color as well as lights and darks.

When I have the opportunity to work in foggy conditions it's a joy to be surrounded by the richness of colors as well as the soft qualities of light.  The pace of the world seems to slow a bit while creative opportunities open one door at a time.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my site and please come back and tell others as well.  Have a great weekend. You can enjoy looking at my work at A Piece Of Work in downtown Spirit Lake as well as the Side Street Gallery in Arnolds Park and Arts On Grand in Spencer...all in the great state of Iowa, or, if you're in Minnesota check out the Lanesboro Arts Center in Lanesboro, which is a beautiful town rich with activities.

Sic “Em Bears. Go Baylor!

For more views of my work visit;

A Piece Of Work, Spirit Lake, Iowa  http://www.apieceofworkinc.com/

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/

Ramping Up

           "There are no rules for good photographs.  There are only good photographs."  Ansel Adams

Activity at the lakes are starting to hit high gear with people pouring in to enjoy the fourth of July weekend and all the recreation that can occur.  I took to the street and park areas looking for scenes and actions related to the tourist season that might make for interesting and reflective images of the times.  The blog image was captured with my Canon 5D II and processed in Photoshop CS6.  I also used Nik Viveza, Alien Skin Snap Art and Topaz Simplify plug in's to get to the final image.  The hard part was waiting for the right combination of people to arrive on the bridge as well as the right water entertainment to go under the bridge.  The lighting was intermitten harsh and overcast, so that was also part of the equation at capture.

Recently I became aware of a video online  http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Landing/black-and-white-printing-tutorials-expert-interviews.do  that is a discussion by master photographer, John Sexton and his working relationship with the major master,  Ansel Adams.  It's a 4 part conversation pertaining to photography and only 2 of the sessions have aired thus far.  As some of you know I was able, year ago, to attend an Ansel Adams Yosemite workshop and had a "change of life" as photography goes.  Adams was a master craftsman when it came to photography and the final print and if I took anything away from the sessions it was that photography and all that it contains is a craft and requires a great deal of work and skill in learning.  I don't believe the learning is ever done, but reaching different skill levels is achievable in a lifetime.

While Adams' marvelous approach to his work was of great help in my journey in photography, it was also great help in my less glamorous work with livestock as a farmer.  As my dad repeated to me when I was young..."anything worth doing is worth doing right", Mr. Adams just made more eloquent when I was older and paying more attention.

Enjoy this holiday weekend and remember our troops, both those with us and those that have moved to higher ground.

Go Baylor...Sic 'Em Bears.  Less than 57 days to an awesome football season!!! 

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

A Little Twist

"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang the very best."  Henry Van Dyke

Back in August I was out shooting some lakeshore subjects in the early morning when a group of gulls were making their way through for some morning "fishing".  I took the opportunity to take some bird shots using my Nikon D300s with a 20 - 300 zoom lens attached.  It wasn't until I was doing some file cleanup and "treasure hunting" that I found this capture and decided to spend some time making some adjustments.  The thing that attracted me the most was the backlighting coming through the birds wings and along the top line. 

The first issue to handle was a very distracting background of beach front "clatter".  The bird was absolutely lost in the maze of color and shapes.  In Adobe Photoshop CS5 I selected the background and applied a vertical blur which simplified the background while not losing some of it's design features.  Since it was an early morning shot the color temperature was rather cool so I tweaked that to be a little warmer and then, with NIK Color Efex Pro 4 added a Glamor Glow adjustment.  Using the Brush tool that is part of many NIK products I painted the bird with a Soft Focus adjustment as well using a low opacity brush.

My final layer adjustment was with Alien Skin's Snap Art 3 with which I applied a oil painting adjustment at about a 50% opacity.

The more I view the "final" results the more I think the line of blurred objects at the bottom of the background add a little boyancy to the bird giving it a floating quality, which I think worked rather well in this situation.

Thanks to all of you that have followed my blog and continue to come for a visit.  Please feel free to comment on the work seen here and also click on the tabs in the right to visit other sites that I find to be very energizing.

Also, a big shout out to the Baylor Football team for their impressive win over UCLA at the Holiday Bowl.

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 Down

                       "Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."  Albert Camus

A couple of weeks ago I was in Ft. Defiance State Park struggling to find something of a seasonal nature, and with the creek dry and the trees stripped I was not too happy.  I was at a point of finishing my work when I happen to look down where I found, between my feet, the subject that has become this weeks blog image.  In a world of brown I found some color and an arrangement that was pleasing.  I'm not often successful at setting up a leaf still life so this find was a "diamond in the rough" for me.

The image was shot with my Canon 5D and processed in Photoshop CS5.  I did a slight bit of detail work in Nik Color Efex Pro 4, a little color punch in Nik Viveza, a very light Fly Paper Texture layer and then a final process in Alien Skin Snap Art to convert the image to an oil painting.  My next move was to reduce the opacity of the Snap Art by about 30% to let the original details creep back in.

We all get caught up in viewing the world from the human perspective of 5 feet off the ground when sometimes the best view is straight down. 

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

They're Back!

"I paint objects as I imagine them, not as I see them."  Pablo Picasso

The "summer people" are back...those people that come from near and far to recreate in and around the lake area of our town.  Many see this added population as an inconvenience, but it's wise to remember the influx of dollars that come with them.  The life and welfare of all is benefited by their presence no matter how long the lines at the stores are.

It hasn't always been easy for me to accept this, especially since I've spent much of my adult life living in a rural area, but this year I have made it a purpose to try to make more images of life in our "summer" town...including its "ornaments".  Funny thing is that I'm having some fun in the process.

The blog image, taken with a Nikon 300s, is of one of the iconic places of our area, the walking bridge between East and West Lake, also know as the Spine Trail Bridge.  The hour was late and the sun was fading, but the two people on the bridge seemed fascinated with the view.  I wanted a capture that would reveal the pleasantness of the two individuals along with the chaos of a fleet of boats going under the span.

The image was processed in Photoshop CS5 with further work being done in Topaz software.  Finally, I used an oil painting effect found in Alien Skin Snap Art, but adjusted the opacity to allow a bit of the original image to come through.

It's summer at the Iowa Lakes!

Thank you all for visiting 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

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 Gathering

"All the art of living lies in the fine mingling of letting go and holding on."  Havelock Ellis

For sometime I've wanted to gather some of the memento's of our children in order that I might begin a series of still life images reflecting some of the things I remember most about their adolescent years.  The boys were heavily involved in sports and our daughter as well to a lesser amount.

A few weeks ago I put together a collection of baseball equipment as I glanced into my own past of sandlot baseball, baseball cards and green fields of the past.  I had a place in mind as the backdrop for the remnants and some days later I took on the challenge of making a thought reality all the while the games of the children drifting in and out of my memory.

This image has been processed in Nik software from an HDR capture with following work done in Nik Color Efex Pro 4 and then a couple of light texture layers from Totally Rad followed by a mild Snap Art 3 filter from Alien Skin.

I can still hear the admonition of my wife..."Don't you dare come into this house with those cleats on" and, as a result, the backdoor to our house was usually cluttered with various sports items of the season.

I can't close this post without a big congrats to the Baylor Women's basketball team and the coaching staff for not only winning the NCAA tournament, but also for becoming the first teams, men's or women's, to have a 40 - 0 season.  We are all so proud of their accomplishment's and the time and effort everyone took to finish "UNFINISHED BUSINESS".

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