Daniel Ruf

Pearson Lakes Art Center

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."  Zig Ziglar

Sitting in the cold of winter gives me a good reason to post this blog image as it was the Spring of 2017, a glorious sunrise, and a new beginning. The title of this image is "Farmers Hope" and is a reminder of many Springs as a farmer, looking out on a similar field and thinking about a good Fall harvest. This picture and those thoughts still give me a warm feeling inside and a lift on these frigid days.

There is more to this story and it involves a wonderful gallery that we have in the lakes region of Iowa, Okoboji, Iowa to be specific.  When we moved to Iowa to begin our farming adventure years ago, I was young and full of dreams and possibilities. On one of our first visits to the lakes area we visited the Pearson Lakes Art Center and were overwhelmed by the incredible collection of art that is housed in a little town in Northwest Iowa.  We have walked among works by the Wyeths as well Rockwell and the list goes on. The staff and members of the gallery leave no stone unturned when exhibiting artists from around the country as well as our own home grown artists.  I should note for those of you that are not familiar with my history that I was an art and biology major in college and Andrew Wyeth was one of many artists that I followed at that time.

The story of the blog image is that it was one of my submissions for the Wanda J. Skogerboe juried exhibit held at the Pearson Lakes Art Center in November, 2017. I'm proud to say that it was awarded the best of show out of a group of really fine artists that I admire and look up to.  This award comes with a "gift"...that being my own show at the gallery in 2019 and something that has been in my mind for a long time.

That being said, I now start the long process of picking, choosing, and combing through my files from the last couple of years for works for the exhibit, which will be in January of next year. It may seem crazy, to start this early, but it is my wish that the walls will sparkle with my photography, and that takes some time! A good finish is as important as a good start.

Before I close this entry, a little information about the process involved with this image.  The camera was a Canon 5D Mark II, the editing process for the RAW image was done in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.  After this process I decided to make it more of a digital painting.  I have 3 different painting editing platforms, but blend all three together through a layer process and then blend in the original image into the "recipe". 

Thanks for following my blog.Other sites where you can find my work:

http://500px.com

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

"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

As a college  student I was both an art major and a biology major which gives me some experience to address the quote above concerning the differences between photography and painting.  Years ago the statement above would have been true and I have made such comments during discussions with other artists and photographers.  Today, however, photography has seen the playing field similar to the "traditional arts thanks to the digital age. It has even been said by some that the famed photographer, Ansel Adams, would have been thrilled to take his art into the digital medium.

Digital photography has brought photographers to the point of having an increased vision into the future of an image while standing behind the camera at the time of capture.  The same was true during the film based days of photography and Mr. Adams is the "director in chief" when it comes to planning the path of an image before it has even been exposed in the camera.  Today, however, there are many more options for the photographer when planning the course of an image prior to exposure.  Such items as textures, digital painting, digital manipulation, cloning, compositing and all the rest, give a certain sort of "muscle" the the finished product.  The image above is a product of not only the capture of a winter morning in rural Iowa, but also subtle changes using textures, color controls and deliberately placed editing processes.

The downside of the large palette of creative features with digital photography, in my opinion, is the the overuse or extreme use of of various tools of the creative processes.  In these cases some images would have been better left alone rather than "fluffing" them up to the extreme.  That being said the photograph is no different than any other art in that it is a product of the photographers efforts, both visually and internally. The photograph is a translation of ones efforts; an effort not to be made fun of, but acceptably critiqued.

Finally, the concepts of digital photography are the same as film photography and the "traditional" arts in that the use of such tools as composition, design, spacial use, light, etc. are vital in achieving an acceptable camera exposure to work with. The digital world has become a trash heap of works of "in the moment" products of digital photography.  This has become clearer to me since my use of both Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.  If one can get by the huge preoccupation by camera owners who "give" us a view into there personal lives or activities, one still has to claw their way through mounds of drab, confused and purposeless photography.  Whether it be a blurred close up of a dogs eye, or a tilted landscape with a rising sun trying to evade sliding off the screen, there do seem to be problems with the "this is good, this is not" part of the editing process.

Again, this is just the opinion of a tired, grumpy photographer and not meant to deter anyone from learning or experimenting with the art of photography. Oh, and by the way, I am still learning as well!  It will never end.

Thank you for visiting this site and I hope you all have a great week.  Remember, Spring is just around the corner. I can hardly wait for the Summerwind Gallery to open this summer!

Other sites where you can find my work:

Twitter

Instagram

Google +

http://500px.com

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

Catching Up Going Backwards!

"There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are."  Ernst Haas

While the title of this post may seem odd it seems perfectly normal to me during the winter months.  If you've followed my blog for any length of time you probably know that I spend a lot of my winter time, when not outdoors, reviewing my past files looking for the overlooked.  After loading new work into my computer I have the bad habit of selecting work that was exciting me at the time of capture.  Because of this, and the fact that I do quite a bit of photography during the Spring to Fall time period, I spend the cold months finding "surprises" that either were different scenes or different versions, such as the above, of a similar season.

This incredible storm had been building on itself for a couple of hours, which gave me the opportunity shoot it from a couple of differing locations.  This particular version is slightly before my immediate selection of a couple of years ago and displays the unusual peak that the other does not.  As do many photographers, in situations like this, I take multiples of multiples to make sure I get changes of light, shadow and color as time advances.  I also, as many of you know, go back time and again to locations for which I have a particular fondness.  This particular site is ideal for the rising moon, sunrises, sunset (in the other direction), agriculture activities, rain puddles, etc.

Much of what I've learned is the result of the quality workshops and critiques given by Nikon Legend, Tony Sweet. The advice of repeatedly returning to locations different times, seasons and climatic situations came from Mr. Sweet.  It's one of many pieces of advice that come from attending his workshops as well as having him critique my work in private sessions.  It is my opinion that photography is like any other art form where learning never stops and there are a number of excellent professional photographers that offer the opportunity of "on the job training" in the workshops they provide as well as critique sessions that come with those opportunities.  

Thank you for following my blog site and feel free to comment.  Enjoy the season...for me I just know that Spring is just around the corner!

Other sites where you can find my work:

Twitter

Instagram

Google +

http://500px.com

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

Winter Cometh!

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."  Henry Ward Beecher

Winter has finally blasted its way into our lives in Northwest Iowa, leaving behind the leaves and colors of autumn in its wake.  While covering the ground with a blanket of white is only serves to brighten the colors of the old places I find in my travels.  The bare trees, brisk winds and layer of white embrace me with the dry cold, but this lovely scene holds a warmth of color as well as memories.

Enjoy this new season with family and friends. Merry Christmas to all and may you each have a joyous and prosperous new year.

Other sites where you can find my work:

Twitter

Instagram

Google +

http://500px.com

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

Old Friends

I have these friends that are a few miles away from where I live, but I try to get over their way as often as possible and when the conditions are right.  I call them the "Butler Brothers" and have done so for some years since our first meeting.  On this particular day the sunrise was about perfect and a nice red Case IH tractor was parked in their driveway.  If the color of the sunrise wasn't enough to catch ones eye, then the red monster surely could do the trick.

Thanks for visiting my blog site and I hope each of you have a marvelous week.

Other sites where you can find my work:

Twitter

Instagram

Google +

http://500px.com

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

Long Wait

"The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." Bertrand Russell

A phone call from my wife telling me of large white clouds in the east was enough to have me running to the truck, already loaded with my camera gear.  As I approached the intersection of a major road the obvious turn was to the east, but what then?  My mind was racing as I saw those large cumulus clouds forming, growing, moving....or so I thought....trying to think of a place, a barn, a pond, something, anything that would act as a background focus point along with the cloud formations.

When I finally found what I was looking for, the typical Iowa farm scene that is becoming more rare as years pass, I set up my tripod on the tailgate to get a little higher point to shoot from and began watch, waiting and shooting.  I have to say that this was the first storm system that I've ever seen that sat in the same spot the entire 3 - 4 hours that I sat in the same spot.  Yes, I know I have written about shooting all the angles, but this was the angle and I stuck with it to the end.  Patience sometimes has to override logic...or something like that!

The storm grew in height, then shrunk, then grew again.  Off to my right was another cluster of 3 cloud pillars growing and moving toward the storm system I was looking toward.  Yes, I did turn the camera on occasion to capture the growth and change and light that was occurring there as well, but still kept my eye on the "target".  While doing another round of panorama images I happened to look up to see the rising moon.  Holy cheeseballs, Robin, the trifecta has arrived...or even more than that.  After putting together several panoramic groups in the camera bank the moon slipped behind the clouds and I was reminded that I had forgotten the fact that I was aware that the full moon was due the next night, which made this night the best night, light wise, to photograph the moon.

As the sun slipped away the sky reflected the western colors onto the cloud mass and then, slowly, darkness set in, shutter speeds were changed, then apertures, then ISO's, etc.  And then the lightening started.  Well, I thought, I can't go home now,  I haven't shot lightening since the film days and I wasn't that good at it then.  Time to go to school, I giggled to myself, and began a series of long exposures which became longer as the light waned.

What started as a night of adventure turned out to be another night of wonder.  Of random happenings coming together and I was the audience of one.  Random acts...what would life be without them?

or more views of my work visit;

Google +

http://500px.com

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

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

 

This And That

 

"The best artist knows what to leave out." Charles de Lint

It's been a busy couple of months and much of it taken up with a lot of lakes area photography going up on the walls of the Summerwind Gallery in Arnolds Park, Iowa.  The top image is from the amusement park area of Arnolds Park and is always flowing with a city of people and boats galore.  On this particular evening I was there to practice on some fireworks photography as they have been doing a Saturday night fireworks display for the crowd at the park this summer after the 4th.  While waiting for the slow ticking clock hands to reach 10:00 I got a chance to do some low light shooting of the parks colors.  This a 8 shot pano image with the beginning edits done in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and then final work done in Photoshop CC.

Due to the incredible improvements in ACR I find it unnecessary to do HDR type adjustments as most of the adjustment in ACR will give me a firm platform to work from in the final editing processes, whether in Photoshop, NIK, Topaz or Alien Skin "Snap Art".  Add such things as textures and JixiPix programs and things can get pretty interesting.  In this image, however, things were kept pretty simple with the main attraction being the carnival like lights, people and boats.  By paying attention to details behind the camera, such as sharp focus, vibrations, tripod use, shutter speeds and aperture the editing process is made much easier.

 

 

Getting out into the rural areas of Iowa is also one of my objectives as I do manage to get work published in Our Iowa magazine, a magazine dedicated to the Iowa landscape and lifestyles of its citizens.  My interest in the rural parts of Iowa is also a result of 30+ years in farming. In this image, again a panorama, the final results are from working in ACR and not opting for a HDR solution. I should point out that I'm not an enemy of HDR editing as I've had some really nice results in some of my HDR work, but some of my shooting requires some high ISO use and using HDR seems to magnify the problems with these settings as well as chromatic aberrations, which in my case, probably comes from a bag full of zoom lenses which, I've been told,  can magnify that lens issue.

Even though I've been fortunate to join several workshops in the past, done some heavy instructional reading, and watched my share of video tutorials, I've found that there are two things that have been most helpful in my learning process. 1) Making mistakes and learning from them (an activity that I doubt I'll ever be rid of) and 2) Signing up for Tony Sweet's  (tonysweet.com)  individual video critique sessions which have made a big difference in my learning process as well as weeding out bad habits.  He's an excellent instructor and both the video sessions and/or his workshops are well worth the money for a person that is serious about gaining ground with their creativity.  Also, having a good photo friend to keep you on your toes doesn't hurt either...Thanks, Mike!

In the end it's just like a regular job or going to school...a persons improvement is measured by their time spent in learning.  If you're in the Spirit Lake/Arnolds Park area of Iowa drop in to the Summerwind Gallery to meet with the owner, Roberta Williams, and also get a look at the fabulous artwork on exhibit.  As I like to say..."there's not a dog on the wall".

Thanks for joining me here again and please feel free to comment.  I hope you all have a great week.

For more views of my work visit;

Google +

http://500px.com

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

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

 

Break Time

 

 

 

In rural America, at least in Iowa, the noon meal is called dinner and when I helped various farmers with certain seasonal chores like cutting and baling hay the noon break was a time for good food and catching up with the neighbors.  The spread, usually put on by the farmers wife, usually consisted of a delicious meal and lots of Kool Aid or coffee.  The phrase "all you can eat" applied and the food never stopped coming until we could eat no more...at least until dessert happened to pass by.

During this time of "fueling up" the talk usually centered around the crops, the crop market and family. There were diversions, but generally discussions about crop quality and moisture amounts dominated the discussion.  There was usually a good deal of humor that threaded its way into the conversation and included such topics as antics of children, veterinarian mishaps and or the difficult cow.

The dinner setting also supplied a certain amount of replenishing of the bodies energy which would be needed to finish out the day, whether behind the wheel of the tractor, on the hay rack or throwing bales in the hay loft. There were also short repair occasions that usually arose that involved anything from a plugged baler to flat tires.  A group effort usually managed to "band aid" thing together to finish out the day.

I saw this setting of the blog image while I was driving down a country road and I just couldn't stop myself from taking the shot as well as flipping through my memory file.  As I was doing this I could see two farmers heading toward the tractor from the top of the hill and could easily remember being one of those men about to face the task of an afternoon working on the hay rack with gentle breezes in my face and the warm sun overhead.  

Thanks for joining me here and please feel free to comment below. 

For more views of my work visit;

Google +

http://500px.com

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

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

 

Left Out

"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."  Vince Lombardi

The amazing thing about winter and snow is that it changes the mundane into something beautiful, at least in my opinion.  This particular scene of an old corn crib on an empty field in Iowa is lucky to have the supporting cast of several round corn stalk bales.  Add to that a few inches of snow and layer of frosting on the bales and the scene is totally different than a normal spring day.  I pass by this scene many times during the year and this particular winter day was something special for me.  After a short tromp in the field, different positions with the camera, getting the right spacing of the bales, things all started to come together.  Even the snow was on time, with large fluffy flakes drifting to the ground.

It may look simple, but it was enjoyable to see an old friend in a different setting and have the time to appreciate the scene.

Thank you all for joining me...winter is coming to a close in NW Iowa as the geese and ducks are already flocking to open water holes in the ice and cornfields in the evening.

A reminder to all that the Summerwind Gallery in Arnolds Park will be open starting May 1.  The owner and operator, Roberta Williams will be showing her fabulous work as well at the work of many other outstanding artists.  Visit the gallery and see the new space.

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 http://www.summerwindgallery.com

Winter Moods

"In the depth of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer."   Albert Camus

The moods and faces of winter have been on display in multiples since this past November when a long warm "indian summer" dropped into the depths of winter.  While frigid cold has not been one of the biggest events the passage from heavy snows, to bare winter soil, to frosty fog, to wild winds and blasting blizzards have kept things varied and exciting.  While my experiences as a livestock farmer were inclined toward hating winter, being able to sit inside and watch the snow blow and swirl has been more of an enjoyable pastime as a retiree/photographer.  Sculpted drifts, frosted branches and sundogs have made for a ever changing slide show of visual experiences.

The blog image is a couple of trees that I visit as often as seasons change and then some.  All of the elements are there...at least for my creative needs, of rural fence lines, broad horizons that open to both sunrise and sunsets, and a gravel road with a twist.  The two trees serve as the main subject except when the occasional combine or tractor finds its way plodding down the road or a setting moon lays above the horizon.  On this particular evening I was laying in the snow covered, corn stubbled field eyeing the wave patterns of snow and waiting for the setting sun to splash a light wash of color across the surface.  At the same time the clouds rolled in from the northwest to add dimensions to the sky which enhanced the composition.

While this was the final "catch of the day" it doesn't define the process to setting the hook.  I was across the road in the opposite field, then on the road, then at the turn of the road, then laying on the road, then, after dodging a car, I hurriedly ran to set up for a shot with the car, then on the downside of the road shooting upward, then on the edge of the field and finally where this shot was captured.  Laying at almost eye level with the snow, inching from one direction to another, to finally get all of what I wanted confined into a viewfinder space.  If I hadn't "diddled" around with positions and thinking, I might have missed the color of the setting sun, but I doubt it.

The more time I spend with my camera the more aware I become of the endless options and opportunities that each season brings for finding those special moments....even if it is laying in the middle of an Iowa corn field in winter.

Thank you all for visiting and I hope you can enjoy the clicks of the winter season.

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 http://www.summerwindgallery.com

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