Daniel Ruf

Punch

"Quality is not an act, it's a habit."  Aristotle

As mentioned in the previous blog post I just got back from a  trip to the southwestern parts of the U.S. and one of the stops was in Prescott.  Previous to this stop there had been a "drought" of clouds and I had tired of cropping out blue sky.  In Prescott the clouds finally started to appear and I was again reminded the important roll of these puffy forms play in a composition and, of course, the break up of the blue.  Their beauty is an added bonus as well.

My initial interest in this scene was not only the unique rock formations, but also the white lines running through the rock caused by a geological epoch before my time.  The early morning light along with the feathered clouds really added some punch to the scene making this too good to pass up.  The exposures were made with an HDR edit in mind, which was done with NIK HDR Efex Pro with other editing done in NIK Viveza to locally adjust color, contrast, etc.

After finishing I realized that this was image would be well suited for a black and white conversion which I accomplished with NIK Silver Efex Pro.

 

With some minor local adjustments to the shadow areas I think this rendition is a stronger representative of the original largely due to increased strength of the lighting on the scene.

One of the things I like most about digital photography is the options present to make these kinds of changes with the original capture in the editing process.  In the film days I had two cameras, each carrying different films which had its own complications.

As an instructive side note to new digital photographers, it's a good idea to always make a color capture as it might turn out to be the best option.  One can always make an in camera black and white capture as well or make a conversion during the editing process while still saving the original color edition.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a good weekend.

"Sic 'em Bears". 

For more views of my work visit;

http://500px.com/pigs4u

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

 

Winter Delights

"Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution."   Ansel Adams

This winter has been filled with gloomy windy days with a few photo opportunities dispersed in between.  On this particular morning I noticed a sliver of light coming through the clouds on the horizon and decided to get out for a chance of greeting the sun.  As it turned out the cloud formation was the real surprise, but the sun did eventually play its part.

These "ice slabs" can be found along certain parts of the lake edges and, as far as I know, are caused by the ever expansion and contraction of the ice surface.  In some instances they're a jumbled mess of pieces, while in others one might find large "monuments" pushed into vertical positions.  As you all know from my past blog comments sunrise and sunsets can be fleeting and include rapid color change or disappearance so it's generally a good idea to work fast and deliberately.

Due to the high contrast of this scene I made several sets of three exposures (+2, 0, -2) from many angels.  as the sun continued to rise the colors disappeared and the clouds became a blanket of blue.

At home at the computer I used Photomatix software during the editing process to combine the exposures into an final image.  With some final adjustment in NIK Color Efex Pro the blog image is the final product.  

When I left the house on this particular morning there was no suggestion by the gloomy dawn sky that this was going to be the product my search.  I was hoping for just an opening...a few fleeting moments of spectacular sunlight on a cold winter morning.

Thank you all for visiting this sight and I hope you have an enjoyable weekend.

"Sic 'em Bears".

For more views of my work visit;

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

Gleaning

"Art is a harmony parallel with nature."   Paul Cezanne

As many of you might remember during the gloomy days of winter I spend a good deal of time searching past digital files for images that I passed over, neglected to see or just hurried past.  It's not as much a habit of neglegance as it is a matter of time.  No matter the reason or excuse it does provide me with opportunities during some of the less interesting days of winter.

This blog image is not far from my home and was the second of two captures from the same spot, same day, same time...just a different turn of the camera and a few extra steps.  I must admit that at times I'm as guilty as anyone about being too focused on the first scene and neglect others that may be available as well.  I'm making a concerted effort to correct this behavior, but in such instances as this sunrise time is short before the beautiful morning light slips away.

This was processed as an HDR image using NIK hdr software, but I also use Photomatix as well on certain other captures.  For some reason both these editing programs seem to have their specific uses in the work that I do, so don't get any idea that I endorse one over the other as they're both good products to work with.

I still remember mcuh of the morning as there was light ground fog in certain areas and beautiful clouds struck with amazing side lighting.  The sounds of interupted geese filled in the background along with the crowing of a few rooster pheasants and the gently rustling grasses.  These things along with the joy of witnessing another sunrise and the excitement that comes with clicking the shutter makes for a marvelous way to greet any day.

Thank you all so much for visiting and feel free to comment.

"Sic 'em Bears".

For more views of my work visit;

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

Send In The Fog

"Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communication, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.     Ansel Adams

The blog image above was captured at Jay Cooke State Park near Duluth, Mn. and the park is also celebrating its centenial year in 2015.  It's been a while since I've been there and I'm hoping to make a return this year in the Spring.  Spring is the time of high water on the St. Louis River, which flows through the park, and provides the type of flow as seen above.  On this particular morning a nice fog was lifting out of the valley providing an added accent to the park scenes.

The rock formations and geography of the area are stunning and provide a lot of differing photo opportunities for serious photographers especially if they're willing to venture through the park during early morning and late evening hours.  

My adapting the original color version to a black and white is due to the fact that the black and white rendured a stronger image while strengthening the presence of the fog.  NIK software was used to do the b/w conversion.

I'm looking forward to a return this year.

One another note, I have been notified that my "Floating Docks" image (below) has been accepted for a juried show at the Octogon Gallery in Ames, Iowa, which will open Jan. 23.  

I've also recently started a twitter and instagram account so you can follow me there as well.

Thanks to all for continuing to follow my journey in photography.

"Sic 'em Bears".

For more views of my work visit;

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

It's All About Location

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."  Winston Churchill

On last weeks blog post there was a scene that involved a bridge with storm clouds in the distance.  This blog image is the same storm, but from a location only a few miles away. The difference is a change in viewpoint and a cloud formation that didn't quit...like I presumed.  Nature can throw it's share of curves, but sometimes it can be full of surprises as well.

The image was taken with my Canon 5D Mk II and prcessed in Photomatix hrd software.  Used some NIK software products to bring the color in line memory of the scene and also to tame the highlights a little more than the hdr software could, but always trying to remember that their really are "whites" in natural scenes.

There is something tremendously glorious about watching a simple cloud formation develop into a large system and in this case I witnessed, at the very least, a doubling of the orignal formation size when I first caught sight of the system.  The most intriguing thing is watching the "parts and pieces" swirl and rise to greater size all the while the evening light is changing hues like a developing painting.

Until next week I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend and take pause to remember those you have given their all to preserve our country and it's free people.  I will be thinking of my father who served in WWII, earned a bronze star, came home to his family and never said a word about the experiences.  I will also think of my mother and all the wives and mothers that waited, not knowing their future as their loved ones went off to service.  God bless them all.

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/

 

 

Rainy Days

"My hand is an extension of the thinking process-the creative process."  Tadao Ando

it was a rainy dreary day when I decided to get out for some "wet" work...puddles and such, all while visiting some regular stops along the way.  In the process, as is usually the case, I was fortunate to find a couple of surprises one of which is the subject of today's blog post.

While I take every precaution to keep my equipment dry with several types of camera rain gear, I don't find many of them to be enjoyable to work with or around. It always seems that a flap is in the way or the material begins to "crawl" down in front of the lens no matter how many fasteners are available.  It was the main reason I was hesitant to just hop out amongst the raindrops, especially during downpours.  In this case I didn't melt nor did my camera, but a quick drying off session was necessary when I finished.

There were numerous intrusions in this scene including fenceposts, another dock, various items along the rock wall and background paraphenalia.  All required either good camera placement or editing during post processing.

The first attraction...the boat; the second...rock wall; the third...rain drops on the water, and finally the vertical reflections.  Because of the subdued lighting the colors were more saturated which really helped bring the grass area into play.

The scene was captured with Canon 5D Mrk II at an ISO of 1600 (rare for this ol' boy), but the noice was reduced in Topaz DeNoise with other editing done in NIK Color Efex and Viveza software.  I also applied a texture to enhance the color of the water as well as reflections and darken the outside edges.  I take care to use texture adjustments delicately...most of the time.

Scenes like this, even with the rain, are reflecting and comforting, in my opinion, and also act as a diversion from standard seasonal photography.  They rank right up there with chasing fog and snowflakes.

Thanks for joining me and feel free to comment.

Sic “Em Bears. Go Baylor!

For more views of my work visit;

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

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

http://500px.com/pigs4u

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19338959@N06/

Say Ahhhhhhh

"Creativity takes courage."  Henri Matisse

Managing to get out between winter storms and gale force winds I found myself visiting some old haunts to get the "juices" flowing again.  So far spring has just been a grouping of stops and starts based on weather conditions and on this "one fine day" it was good just to be out without a covering of two layers of winter gear to keep warm.

This old Pontiac was a reminder of the same sort of car that I shot in the Badlands several years ago.  Same paint, same rust, same condition and pretty much the same parts missing.  I used my trusty Canon 5D MarkII with a 100-400mm zoom lens (a little overkill, don't you think?) and was first atracted by the mottled lighting and of course the grungy textures.  Processed as an HDR in Photomatix with minor touches of editing in Photoshop CS6 and NIK software.'

These old clunkers are getting harder to find alone in the landscape and I doubt that todays cars will stand up as well to the elements and human abuse once forgotton and left to rust (no, fiberglass and plastics don't rust well). 

To me vintage cars from my era of life have so much character, style and toughness built into them and I still remember how my father would always take the family window shopping the new cars when they came to the showroom in the fall of every year. There were brochures, color samples, posters, test rides, coffee and donuts and a lot of smoozing by the salesmen.  An extra special treat was seeing a movie at the Majestic Theater and then maybe a stop at the soda fountain at the local Walgreens.  Life was good.

I hope you all have a good Easter and take the time to enjoy the coming of spring.

Sic “Em Bears. Go Baylor!

For more views of my work visit;

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

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

http://500px.com/pigs4u

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19338959@N06/

Arrived

“Spring won’t let me stay in this house any longer!  I must get out and breathe the air deeply again.”

Gustav Mahler

Spring has found its way to Northwest Iowa and with it the joys of being out among the living again.  The cows are calving, the wild flowers blooming and birds are building nests for the next brood.  The sky seems a little bluer and the air pungent with the odor of a warming soil.  Every road has new photographic adventure around the corner, as is the case with the blog image…a wrong turn developed into the right turn.

Calving time, back roads and country farms are what this shot is all about.  The few clouds in the sky allow for some crossing shadows to give added depth the the scene and “character” to the skyline.  Shot with my Canon 5D Mark II and multiple images processed as an HDR in Photomatix.  Further editing was done in NIK Viveza using their fabulous Upoint technology and that was about it.  The selective editing that Upoint allows one to do is one of the high points of NIK products (I’m not making any money saying this).  The fact that Google has taken over NIK…not so fabulous IMO (I might not make any friends saying that).

My 2014 round of classes in beginning photography started last night at the Pearson Lakes Art Center and in a couple of weeks I will re-install my work in A Piece Of Work (APOW) in downtown Spirit Lake.  It will be nice to have work back in the gallery in time for the May First Friday.  I have classes scheduled for Saturday's in May at APOW as well.

Enjoy your Friday and the possibilities the weekend has to offer.  Breathe that fresh air!

Sic “Em Bears. Go Baylor!

For more views of my work visit;

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

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

http://500px.com/pigs4u

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19338959@N06/

Crooked Road To Spring

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."   Michelangelo

A couple of days ago my wife and I were outside raking leaves in the yard with no coats on.  Yesterday, I was shoveling snow from the walkway and I thought that the road to spring is a very crooked one...at least this year.  Be that as it may, I took advantage of the new fallen snow and colder temperatures to once again walk down into Ft. Defiance State Park hoping to find thin ice and clean snow.

The blog image is from the Spring Creek area and I was fascinated by the "trench" that the water had cut into the upper layer of frozen ice and snow.  I would imagine that an early melt of water traveled the path of least resistance to gradually wear a "track" in the upper crust and finally reached the creek bed.

It was early morning, which necessitated making an HDR image from multiple exposures in order to bring the lights and darks into relevence in the final image.  I used NIK HDR Efex for the process and then worked in Photoshop CS6, NIK Viveza and NIK Silver Efex for the final black and white composition.

While I spend a good deal of time and energy walking up and down the trails in this park, I find that nothing ever stays the same.  Expecting the unexpected is what keeps me returning to this area that is a multiple of many small ecosystems offering mulitples of opportunities.  It won't be long before the wildflowers begin to bloom in many differing phases depending on the species.  Until then I will continue to enjoy the crisp cold mornings offering ice patterns and frosting of fall leaves.

I wish you all a bountiful spring full of nature's beautiful offerings.  Take the time to recover from winter's cold with a walk in the parks near you.

 

The “Tweener” Season

“The biggest challenge, I think for any new artist, is patience.”  Brett Eldredge

There’s one season of every year that drives me absolutely crazy and I like to call it the “tweener” season…that time between the end of winter and the beginning of spring.  The landscape seems, in my opinion, to be empty.  Deathly looking wasted browns topped in some places by dirty tired snow.  It’s a time when I often wonder if I’ll ever make another image as I hike from one place to another looking for a glint of  inspiration.

Such was the case a couple of days ago when I headed into one of my favorite state parks to shake out the mental cobwebs and get the motor running.  Since  the year has been lacking on moisture I wanted to check the creek areas in this park to see if water was once again flowing and I specifically wanted to look for some ice patterns that would serve as a subject.  Last fall I had made an extra effort to start looking down as I walk through forest areas for leaf patterns and such and was pleased with several results.  It only seemed appropriate to care that challenge forward to the “tweener” season.

The blog image is one of the results as it actually occurred near the creeks edge.  These thin formations of ice that are continually melting away during the day and then freezing again during the evening to form thin layers complete with natural design patterns.  The leaf just happened to be the “frosting on the cake”.

The capture was processed in Photoshop CS6 with various applications of NIK and Topaz software being applied to get to the end result.  It is a perfect snippet of a “tweener” day and what it has to offer if one looks hard enough and believes that beauty can be as close as ones feet.  It also was proof that spring is pushing its way in and winter is slinking out.

Sic “Em Bears. Go Baylor!

For more views of my work visit;

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

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

http://500px.com/pigs4u

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19338959@N06/

Thank you for coming to this site and I hope you all are beginning to see the effort of spring returning.