Daniel Ruf

Autumn Passage

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

Yesterday morning I visited the edge of East Okoboji Lake to watch another sunrise break the sky into multiple shades of color when I noticed the remaining leaves of summer that were backlit by the morning light. It was a reminder that Autumn was fading fast and its colors dwindling. In just a few months this landscape will give way to an iced lake and a white covering of snow. With this in mind I spent the rest of the day capturing every hint of color that I could find and rejoiced in each gift found.

Thanks for visiting my web blog and enjoy the remains of color that Autumn is giving to us

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

AHHHGGGGGGGGGGG!

"Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, allowing us to do things more quickly and efficiently. But too often it seems to make things harder, leaving us with fifty-button remote controls, digital cameras with hundreds of mysterious features and book-length manuals, and cars with dashboard systems worthy of the space shuttle."  James Surowieki

This past week I had a Dell laptop computer that is approximately 13 years old that I use for running my Epson printers. A few years ago I had to add an external drive as storage for thousands of photos in order for the computer to pick up speed and allow me to spend less time waiting for things to process. Recently the Dell people warned me that the battery in my computer was toast, but I could still use my computer as a plug-in device. Some weeks later I got another reminder that Dell would no longer support my laptop. After all of this drama the Dell finally showed signs that it was coming to crash time, meaning the purchase of a new laptop was near.

I own a MAC monster which I do much of my photo editing. When the MAC arrived several years ago I spent the first 2 weeks threatening to throw the thing out on the street and then driving over it.  The set up and learning process was mind numbing for my 69 year old brain and Apple doesn't make learning simple, IMO. During it's aging I've had my computer person beaf up all the the internal devices in the MAC and I have also added 3 external drives over time to keep the MAC at a steady pace during my use. 

My choice for a laptop was an Apple MacBookPro as I wanted to keep things simple. In the following week I spent more time with my computer person than I care to admit, but the beginning was my contact with the Apple service people and trying to follow their instructions over the phone...an Apple product as well.  They were very patient and kind and I was somewhat pleased with their efforts, but still was going through brain trauma. 

Following my phone experience with Apple along come the questionnaire from Apple about my satisfaction with the tech connection. I was fair and balanced in my report, but did suggest that Apple should have a book of instruction that came with the computer. I'm sure they have their reasons, but even the auto setup provided on the computer was flawed. Heck, my wife just got a RugDoctor vacuum and it came with a book and all my Canon cameras have come with "health" sized books that have been very helpful.

I'm sure you're board by now as I'm tired of writing, but lets just say that the digital age "ain't" what they promised and it's cold hearted in it development and processes.

Pray for me.

Thanks for joining me

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Morning Lights

    

"Photography is about putting the pieces together." Daniel Ruf

This morning was all about patience and putting the pieces together. I changed positions several times, yet as I walked away to my truck to leave for home I turned and found this setup.  My last position was about 10 feet to the left. We can have the best lenses and camera money can buy, but if you don't move your feet you might miss the best shot of the day.

This blog image was taken with my handheld iPhone and its wide angle lens. The clouds and rocks demanded the wide angle approach and both subjects compliment each other. 

While I was driving in search of the right spot for the sunrise at 4:30 a.m. and using "The Photographer's Ephemeris" app I came to this lakeshore spot and realized that the sunrise was less important than the nice cloud formation that was taking place. 

The black and white version.

 

It's continues to be a learning journey no matter how old you might be.

Thanks for visiting

Thank you for dropping by...go plant another tree

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Wild Weeks

"There's never on sunrise the same or one sunset the same." Carlos Santana

This last couple of weeks the sunrises and sunsets have been really over the top for color. The above scene is an East Lake morning that started really slow and dull and then went on steroids. I'm not sure what atmospheric conditions are creating these phenomena, but it has been entertaining.

The docks are out and the geese are headed south, except for those that seem to find a hole in the ice and stay through the winter.  The weather has been such that the lakes have been covered with thin ice off and on with the warming spells. It's really been an unusual autumn for us.

Thanks for visiting and have a great Thanksgiving

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Sometimes Waiting Is Good

"It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary."  David Bailey

Once again standing at the docks waiting. Thoughts of leaving for another location or giving up and heading home made me even more impatient. Thoughts of staying and waiting made me crazy. Ansel Adams once said, when someone asked him about waiting for the right light, if I wait here something maybe happening over there...or words to that effect. 

While I waited for the light and color I was hoping would arrive, I became more impatient. To me the effort was going to be unrewarded and time is ticking. I turn to the truck and grab my gear and, ever so slowly, the faintest of pink hues begin to gather on the edges of clouds. As the pink begins to yield to warmer tones I knew, once again, that waiting was the right choice and I was meant to be in this exact spot.

Thanks for visiting. Come to the Pearson Lakes Art Center to see my work in the walkway. Always changing, always for sale and, hopefully, always easy on the eyes.

I once again have a Facebook presence with a business page...Daniel Ruf Photography.

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center  lakesart.com 

500px.com

 

 

 

Morning Gifts

"Nature is so powerful, so strong.  Capturing its essence is not easy - your work becomes a dance with light and the weather.  It take you to a place within yourself."  Annie Leibovitz

The is a scene patiently waiting for a couple of kids and the splash of skipping rocks. It's also a scene that put a smile on my face as I parked my truck at this familiar boat ramp and began setting up camera gear. It was waiting for me, this regular friend that I find in different places is a welcome sight after getting up at 5:00 a.m. and wandering along shorelines looking for opportunities. Each morning or evening is never the same, a little more color here or a bank of wispy clouds there, but always a welcoming surprise.

Thanks for stopping by...Summer is moving past at what seems to be lightning speed and Fall peeking around the corner. Take the time to breath in these times of quite solitude, camera or not.

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center  lakesart.com  Also on Facebook for up to date activities

500px.com

Waiting............

"No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world." Robin Williams

...for summer, but a nice spring would really be a relief from our Iowa winter. The blog image should be a good reminder of the summer that is ahead, but a nice spring would be a good start after our long Iowa winter.

This shot was taken early in the morning along Brooks Beach at the public dock. It was another lesson of patience for me as I had the idea that this particular morning was going to be a special sunrise time. From my bedroom window I can see enough sky area to the east that I can tell if the clouds have possibilities. It was a low wind morning and I was off to find a spot that would work.

As I was setting up the color was starting to show, but probably about 1/2 hour to kickoff time. I have a great iPhone app called TPE that will give me the location of the sunrise on the horizon from my location, and with the iPhone compass I can be really accurate about setting up my camera and tripod. Can't live without this stuff.

As sunrise approached the color was getting really nice, but not the best and then the sun hit that first crack in the clouds and everything went downhill. Too much light, bleached out colors and second guessing dominated my thinking. Luckily, though, several minutes later I got a reprieve and the nice magenta colors I was hoping for skipped across the bottom of the clouds adding some detail/color at the upper level between the trees.

Shot taken with a Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 24-105 mm L lens.

Another lesson about how waiting is the better option compared to giving up and leaving. Oh, and the ducks as a foreground interest didn't hurt even if they wouldn't sit still to pose!

The Truth....Exhausting!

"Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did."  Newt Gingrich

I'm still wading through work from several years ago as I wait for the ugly  "tweeter" months of winter/spring to move on.  At this time in NW Iowa things are not to inspiring, with gaping holes in the snow, melting ice, bare trees and all the other stuff that goes with the passage of winter.

While filing through my 2012 work I came across a batch of RAW files that were from the North shore of Minnesota, a place I love, but have been absent from for several years.  I remember this particular run of work because of the cloud bank in the background and the glowing sunrise was approaching its limit.  I found a spot on the rocky coast where I could set up my tripod and being shooting the crashing waves.  Just far enough to be concerned about my camera gear, but not too far to losing some of the reflective light on the waves and in the waves.

As I looked through a hundred or so images, many with no white caps, some with white caps almost off the page, some not very noticeable, shallow waves, late waves, late shutter release, early shutter release, front wave covering the back wave, no wave, and on and on, and all the while thinking "just one lucky wave, one lucky click".

The blog image finally showed up deep into the session and I'm sure that my reaction time had improved from the beginning while everything else fell into place, but I kept on trying according to the remaining images after this one.

During and after all the editing and finishing touches I was once again taken back to the time of wave watching that transpired and the thrill of the chase. Sunrising, light changing, and beautiful waves, one after another, putting on a grand show.

Thanks for stopping by and here's to Spring...The geese are coming through in waves and some guy standing on the ground, eyes up, watching every marvelous "V" that goes by.

Other Times

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

The gallery season in our town is at its end with only the "Artisan Road Trip" coming on October 14-15 left to close.  That being said it's now time for me to concentrate on works for Our Iowa Magazine and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, as well as combing files from the past for any "gems" I may have missed.  Since I do this during the down season each year I still manage to find something that surprises me after a little bit of "handling" in the editing process.  It makes sense since the art of digital photography is constantly changing with new techniques,tools and individual approaches or developments.

The blog image, however, is from this year and is the result of a trip to the west coast, a place I've seen only once when my wife and I were fortunate enough to know someone that lived in Carmel, California.  This scene, however, is from the Oregon coast and a place that I couldn't get enough of even considering that it rained most of the time we were there.  To me it had it all; the waves, clouds, reflections, rocks, etc.  Plenty of subjects, too little time.

As when I worked for the Forest Service in my youth and traveled many trails with a great sense of peace that comes with being in nature, standing on the beaches of Oregon and California was no different. The early morning light and the constant sound of waves was my best way to get into a rhythm of creativity.  It was so mesmerizing that I needed to constantly remind myself to look for different angles, change lenses, take a step one way or the other, etc.  I found my peace in these places.

As we head into the Fall season I hope you all take the time to experience the natural gifts of changing color and scenes and share with others.  Thanks for visiting my site.

Other sites where you can find my work:

http://500px.com

Summerwind Gallery, Arnolds Park, Iowa http://www.summerwindgallery.com

Why Wait?

"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious."  Albert Einstein

Waiting....a term that I am very familiar with as it is an essential part of my photography.  Patience is a word that is as equally important as it requires me to focus on the things in front of me and not on other distracting ideas that are rolling through my head.  Patience is the reason that I continued to wait for the blog scene develop, even though my impatience, only minutes ago, had me walking this beach in Carmel, California, searching for a composition.

Waiting, patience and impatience, therefore, are all elements of the photographic arts and are all lessons of life that I continue to learn.  A little curiosity can't hurt!

Thank you for joining up with me at this site.  The Summerwind Gallery opens for the summer season on May 17.  I hope I can see you there.

Other sites where you can find my work:

Google +

http://500px.com

Summer Wind Gallery, Arnolds Park, Iowa http://www.summerwindgallery.com