Daniel Ruf

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

 

Transition

"Autumn's the mellow time." William Allingham

A rainy day, leaves are falling and the color is silently disappearing. While it was the prettiest autumn that I have seen since  moving to Northwest Iowa in the 80's it feels like such a short visit this year. Last year at this time I was wearing out my camera in Maine during my first visit and the color was blazing. Color in our part of Iowa is a little more subdued and a smaller variety of tones.

The blog shot was taken a couple of days while it was raining. Boredom had taken it's toll and I was planning to take my chances that some fog and haze might have some nice options for photography. I decided to handhold my camera rather than drag a tripod around and it was a little test of a new freedom. There was no setting up of the "pod" as well as no extending and retraction of the legs for each photo session. It was fun.

As I passed this scene I happen to catch the reflections in the water and then the "subtle" blue tone in the background. I quickly made a "U" turn and glad I did. With some fog in the background and spots of color in the last tree of autumn I felt that I had some options to work with.

Processing was done in Lightroom and Photoshop and then some dabbling in NIK Color Efex Pro 4. 

The docks are coming out and the area is going through its regular autumn alterations. It won't be long before the scene is covered in ice and white stuff. Actually, the weather report is calling for some snow this weekend.

Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're in the Spencer, Iowa area the last couple of weeks of my exhibit at Arts On Grand is still showing

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Autumn.....So Soon?

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

It's unbelievable that it is autumn already! It seems like just yesterday we were watching the new flowers bursting and having to mow the lawn. The fact is the this is the norm for people of retirement age. It just seems that weeks fly by while we get older. 

The blog image is from a local park on a morning when an unannounced thick fog spread over our landscape. Of course the weather sources didn't happen to mention the fog in the forecast and I had a late start and had to choose the closest location that might have promise.

Just behind me was a totally different composition with the suns rays warming up the color of a grassland landscape. It was a morning of treasures as the fog was around for another hour or so. Since then high winds have shaken a lot of leaves off the trees and the landscape is getting ready for the winter season. 

As I was concentrating on getting these shots I could here pheasants and owls adding their say to the show adding the the autumn feel.

Thanks for following my blog and have a great week and a safe week.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I had an unexpected opportunity to hang and exhibit at Arts On Grand in Spencer,Iowa this past week. The show will be up until November 7. The title of the show is "Along The Way" and is a collection of not only lakes area themes, but other places where my wife and I have been outside of Iowa the last couple of years. If you're in the area Arts On Grand is worth the visit.

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

 

Posing

"Trees go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!"  John Muir

Trees have had my attention for many, many years. From my work with the U.S. Forest Service during my summer vacations away from college, to traveling the the country and hiking miles of trails. I see them as ballet dancers, comedians, and statues. The first blog image reminded me of "high five"! And glad I was since I didn't really want to work on removing the leafless branch touching the clouds.

I've spent more time than I can remember walking among miles and miles of trees during my life and only to become even more amused by their color, stature, grace and strength.

This colony above, joining limbs in togetherness and laying patterns of color at their base created by the pattern of their limbs and clusters of leaves. How can one not be drawn to this spot of light, shelter and warmth? They are inviting, inclusive, and dancing. How can one not be drawn to this meeting of limbs?

And then there is the ballerina; graceful, inviting, and welcoming. In front of a backdrop of color and softness surrounded by fog. A tree that is leaning forward asking to dance. Almost bowing a graceful thank you and at the same time pointing to the dance floor that is perfectly lit for this occasion.

Being alone in the forests of the Northwest obviously did a number on my cranial functions, but, in reality, trees are quite beautiful to me as well as entertaining. Yet everyday we lose them, sometimes one by one and sometimes acres at a time. We are losing an element that not only holds this good earth together, but shades us from the miserable heat of the sun, from a flash drenching of rain and shelters the musicians of the forest...birds.

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

 

Passing Time

"The eye should learn to listen before it looks." Robert Frank

I was a beautiful morning when I captured the blog image and I did more drifting in the boat than using the motor. It was calm and there was a light fog on the water surface which really became alive once the sun peaked over the horizon. It just seemed like the morning light drifted from one spot to the next depending on the rising sun.

The biggest annoyance at the time was my brain suggesting and later telling me that I should go to another spot around the point to my left. It teased, yelled and gently spoke, but for some reason I mentally said "back off"!  I stayed here and continued to drift until the above scene came to fruition. 

Waiting and hoping is almost better than having the best camera in the world. You will always get the moment if your inner self say wait

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Waiting

   

"Patience is the art of concealing your impatience."  Guy Kawasaki

Several years ago my wife and managed to make our way to the Joshua Tree National Park on our way to the West Coast. Neither of us had been there before and were excited to see in person what we had seen in pictures. We were disappointed that our timing wasn't right for seeing the Joshua trees, but it turned out that as evening approached it was a good time for some landscape photography. The above scene of layers of landscape defined by fog is something I have always enjoyed working with. It is a panorama of approximately 8 exposures.

It was enjoyable for me to stand and wait with some measure of hope that other scenes would follow as the sun got closer to setting on the Western horizon. My wife has always been good at striking up a conversation with people and before I knew it we were talking to a family from Sweden. We did a lot of laughing, talked a little photography and time passed quickly.

Little did I know that the upper blog scene would develop into the above dynamic of light, form, and color. We waited until the last drop of light was beginning to fade and then started the walk on the trail back to the car. I remember distinctly that my mind was full of wishes and hope that once back home I would be rewarded for the patient efforts and chance.

Thanks for visiting....keep safe....wash hands often.....Love one another.....Normalcy will return.

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org