Daniel Ruf

BRRRRRRRR

Winter in Iowa this year was a real challenge and in this month of April it still is poking its head in between warm days, when we get them. Even on a good day when I can head to the golf course I have to check the "chill" temperature before I decide my apparel for the day.  I also found out that Canon 5D Mark IV camera in the severe cold weather gets a bit slow and so do my "clicking" fingers.

As of today we are still waiting for a good rain so that the trees will start to put out new leaves indicating that they actually are alive. Landscape photography at this point is lacking a "warm" look and is not even worth the effort as cold winter scenes are not really popular in Northwest Iowa.

If we're lucky maybe the month of May will actually have a steady run of warm weather for both golf and photography.

The blog image is of Lakeside Laboratory which is about the best color I found in the white land. It's a laboratory that is real active during the summer with people interested in learning about the lake area natural habitats and wildlife and flowers.

Thanks for stopping by...Keep warm and safe.

More of my work can be seen at Arts On Grand in Spencer, Iowa and soon to be in the Pearson Lakes Art Center in the Okoboji area.

Enjoy The Leaves

       

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

One morning I was looking out a window looking at the autumn leaves hitting the ground and realized that the previous frost had done its damage and I needed to get out to gather what pics that I could before every leaf had hit the ground. I grabbed my camera gear and ran to the truck to start my sleuthing for the autumn views.

The trip was a lot of stops and starts as I would get out, set up camera gear, take the shot, gather the gear up and place it all in my truck and head to the next opportunity, if there was one.

After cruising up and down roads I started to head back toward the lakes areas for a different scenic view which turned out to be a good decision or listening to that other voice that does tend to show up quietly at times. As you can see in the blog pic above not only did I have some nice shadows to work with there just happened to be a dock and a person to create the attraction that was needed to complete the image.

My experience over the years have taught me that the best pictures are the ones that included a bit of a surprise to fill in the blank spaces.

Thank you  all for visiting my blog site and I wish you the most beautiful Christmas this year.

More of my work can be seen at Arts On Grand in Spencer, Iowa

Winter Entertainment

"Taking pictures is savoring life, every hundredth of a second" Marc Riboud

Iowa winters can be very "charming" if it involves a sunset or sunrise, otherwise it's probably one of the most difficult seasons to photograph. That being as it is I have a "bandaid" for the problem. 

During my senior year at Principia College I was required to develop a senior project that would be on display on some wall, in some building in the art department. I decided to do some sort of wildlife drawings or paintings which would involve my getting to know an artist at the St.Louis Zoo.  I can't remember is name, but the experience was a real heal to being able to finish my senior project.

Fast forward to 2022 and I find myself using these forgotten tools for graphite drawing to push myself through the winter months in Iowa. Like any other art or sport having a long layoff requires a long recovery time lean how to handle a pencil or brush to achieve an acceptable result, as above. It also takes a good camera and long lens to capture the subject as well.

I'm glad I've gotten back to using my finger, brain and camera to achieve a mental thrill over the Winter season.

Spring IS just around the cornerThanks for joining me here and you can view my work at the following galleries;

 Arts On Grand in Spencer, IA as well as the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji, IA.

 

A Journey Rejointed

"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots".  Marcus Garvey

When I walked out of my college commencement I had accomplished majors in both biology and art. James Green, my art prof, was the one that woke up my interest in art from years of sleep, which thrilled my mother. It didn't thrill her so much as it cost me another year of college debt. 

At first my  primary concern was acquiring a job, along with a million other graduates, and to continue my interest in painting and drawing. They seemed like obvious intentions yet as time went by they became less important as marriage, children and jobs became the main focus.

I remember sitting with my kids while they watched Bob Ross (it's all his fault) paint on t.v. It was interesting, but not compelling at that time. He was enjoyable and convincing to watch and his approach to painting was amazing.

Fast forward to about a year ago when my interest had become photography which allowed both my painting history and access to such programs like Lightroom, Photoshop, Snap Art, etc. to combine for interesting results. At the same time I could vividly remember my watercolor experiences in college and a yearning to "rejoin" were becoming more annoying as I continued to resist the calling.

Finally I took the whispers seriously and began to wander through various YouTube videos to learn some basics. What I learned was that my hands weren't steady with a brush and my concepts both confused and vague. At this point I realized I needed some hands on instruction. My first solution was to relate my secret (kept from my wife so I wouldn't be exposed to spouse pressure:) ) to a good friend and artist Judy Thompson, judy thompson watercolors.com, and began getting some needed education into the finer points of watercolor. As time went by Judy realized that I needed some hands on instruction, but we lived about 90 miles apart. Judy then pointed me toward a good local friend Anita Plucker, artworkbyanita.com , and things started to roll from there. Anita, like Judy, have amazing teaching skills as well as beautiful art skills. I've followed both for years and each has their own style and concepts.

The above digital image was my first choice for beginning to add watercolors to paper. It was a foggy scene from a few weeks ago, but was concerned about the difficulty.

I'm taking weekly instructions from Anita and this is the first exercise that is still in the process of finishing. Much like my photography and past experience with art I take time away from the painting, sometimes and entire day or two and then return to refine some concepts.

This new connection, I believe, has also affected my photography, whether it's taking a more refined look at my subject matter from the view finder or the final touches of the editing process.  

I'm realizing that I am enjoying my reconnect with brushes and paint.

Thanks for joining me at my blog and have a really inspiring summer....maybe even consider one of the courses at the Pearson Lakes Art Center or Arts On Grand.

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Looking for Spring

The "The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!" Ansel Adams

It's tiring to slosh my way through deep winter, then winter warmup, then almost out of winter, then hello winter, then almost spring, then WHERE IS SPRING! And that's exactly where we are right now in NW Iowa, knowing full well that we could see another freeze......or maybe even the flakes.

So, I'm looking for reminders of Spring or something close as I'm bored to death with pale grass, snow piles holding on and winds from hell. 

My files and files of images are always and uplift for downer times. Looking at them I can remember where I was and how it was. The image above brings back a foggy morning as I let my Boston Whaler float closer and closer to the subject as I point my 70 - 200mm canon lens toward the sunrise while steering with the other eye. Timing and place can make all the difference. If I were on dry land with my camera the scene maybe totally different and not as thrilling. We saw morning here in the lakes area when there was heavy fog around one lake and little around another. Treacherous driving and guessing became the "compass" of the morning.

 

The edges of the lakes are just starting to open along with the hope of Spring. Hunting for Pasque Flowers at a local preserve is the beginning of opening the mind to Spring. Missing this by just a few days can mean the difference from a clear sharp looking flower to dull limp petals.

Enjoy the coming Spring and thanks for following my blog site.

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

"It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it."

John Burroughs

We've had many days of frosty/foggy mornings this past couple of weeks up here in NW Iowa and it's a gift for a photographer. Its importance in an image comes forward once the sun throws it's bright rays on the frost laden trees. I've spent a lot of time waiting for the foggy skies to clear so that clarity comes to the rescue. I even managed to remember to pull out my polarizer and attach it to my lens. Doing this even made the scene  perkier .

Atmospheric occasions like this make winter scenes really perk up and will be candidates to send into Our Iowa Magazine for the 2021/22 winter next year. It always feels weird to think that I'm shooting for next year now. It will be that same thing for every season. And what makes it even more unusual is that the call for entry to next winter likely come in the summer when I'm shooting summer scenes.  

A few days later I went to another one of my favorite places that had the frosty covering and enough opacity int the sky to get some color from the sun.Without the sun this scene would be pretty dull and gray. 

Both blog images were captured with a Canon 5D MarkIV and edited in both Lightroom and Photoshop. 

This has been a great start to the new year as I don't think I saw much fog and frost last year or the year before. We're at the point on the calendar that I can start thinking that Spring is just around the corner.Granted, it's a few blocks away yet, but I feel better thinking it's closer.

I wish you all a fabulous New Year and encourage you to get out to enjoy the season of winter wherever you are.

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

 

 

 

"Our forests offer much more than just beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Each one has a different story to tell."  Raveena Tandon

Snow has finally arrived to our part of the world...not much, but getting more today. Finally it beginning to look like winter with a nice white coat covering a thirsty soil.

Years ago I was attending a Tony Sweet (tonysweet.com) workshop, my first, at the Badlands in South Dakota. As we were loading up our vehicles with our gear he made a statement that still stays with me. "Always have your camera ready to work as you never know what's around the corner." I can't tell you how many times I've ignored that strong advice, but as time went by I soon learned, after watching enough wildlife butts heading over the horizon, that I needed to heed his advice. The blog image above is evidence that being ready makes all the difference.

This youngster was on its way not long after I stopped my truck and grabbed a couple of shots. I used my Canon 5D Mark IV with a Canon 70 - 200mm lens attached. As I finished looking at the shots on the LCD I wasn't sure how much I would like the image of the deer looking back, as I had a couple of normal side poses that I finished with before it left for the deeper forest. As it turned out this pose became a new addition to my file named "Intruder" which is full of different shots of wildlife that were alert to my presence.

This image is a cropped portion of an image that has been popular because of this lone canada goose that  had its eye on me the entire time I was composing this image in its full frame form. As I mentioned in the previous post of December 12, I have been watching videos made by Judy Hancock on YouTube concerning "minimalist" photography. It's a new concept to me and I've enjoyed learning the steps to doing more of this kind of work.

Old dogs can learn new tricks....it just takes longer.

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to comment or share with others. Have a happy New Year, stay safe and don't over do on the holiday. I'll be sleeping right through the celebration as always

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Transitions

"Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountains and sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.  John Lubbock

It seems like the transition from autumn to winter has happened at least three times here in Northwest Iowa. We have seen the East Okoboji Lake surface freeze at least 4 times and each time the ice succumbs to another warming system that passes through for a week or so at a time. We've had about 3 inches of snow which has also disappeared leaving more leaves to collect, which I hope I've done for the last time this year.

The blog image is a morning a couple of weeks ago showing the ice retreating and the sunrise glowing. This has been a year of many glowing sunrises and sunsets and I presume it's largely the result of the western forest fires which have resulted in days and days of haze over the landscape.

This image was captured with my Canon 5D Mark IV using the HDR process in camera. The editing processes started in Lightroom with finishing touches in Photoshop CC, which mainly was focused on brightening the shoreline landscape.

Thank you for joining me here and I hope you have a marvelous Thanksgiving. Stay safe, use your mask and be aware of social distancing. I'm sure we are all tired of hearing the well meant warning, but when I'm out in public it seems that there is a certain deafness to caution by many.

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Road Trip

"The love of family and the admiration of  friends is much more important than wealth and privilege."   Charles Kuralt

This past week one of my best friends, Mike Houge, and I made a trip to Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota with all our camera gear and big expectations. we realized that autumn color was a thing of the past, but had hope that some interesting subject matter would still be available for discovery. Mike had recently sold his business and was just beginning to enjoy retirement and we both knew that we would share some time together sharing creative photographic ideas and skills.

When we got to Luverne, MN we stopped to see the work of  Minnesota photographer, Jim Brandenburg at his gallery in Rock County Veterans Memorial Building in Luverne. The work was fabulous and worth the time.

Blue Mound is not far North of Luverne and has always been a favorite spot and is about and hour and a half from NW Iowa. We did plan on seeing the buffalo herd that is the major attraction, but, as usual, they weren't around. We did some scouting for subject matter, did some "warmup" shooting and then found this grouping of trees known as the "Three Sisters" to concentrate on while waiting for the sun to set and the moon to rise.

Mike had just purchased a new Canon 5D Mark IV, which I have as well, and was getting acquainted with the settings, buttons and options. 

It was an enjoyable day with plenty of time to talk photography on the way home

Thanks for visiting my blog. I will be spending the rest of my day taking down my exhibit at Arts On Grand.

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

A Long Time To Wait

"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us."  Joseph Campbell

It's been quite a awhile since the last fog event in our area of Northwest Iowa...so long that I can't remember the last time. Because of the wait I was thrilled when I woke up to hazy street lights and hoping that the fog was going to lead to some fun photography.

The blog scene has a much welcomed "Z" line running through the picture with layers of fog caught in the depressions. The interesting thing is that the lake areas really didn't have fog hanging around as I found out making my first swing the the lake areas.

This scene was shot with my Canon 5D Mark IV with a 400mm zoom on the front end. It wasn't until I saw the RAW file on the computer that I saw a bird taking flight near the middle of the image. Judge by the size I'd say it was a hawk of some kind.

The editing process started with Lightroom and Topaz AI Denoise, then Photoshop for the details, and NIK software for final touches.

The next day found us with another foggy morning, which provided another opportunity to try some different areas of our area. This wetland area is a prime area for gulls, pelicans, herons and ducks. As I took this shot a line of pelicans was making their way toward me and the camera. Luck is always welcome.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. The season is making a turn with a lot of leaves and acorns hitting the ground. It won't be long before we'll be seeing the white stuff, but the time for logging fall color is on its way.

Thanks for visiting...Keep safe and use the social distancing options and masks

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org