Daniel Ruf

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

 

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

 

Rocking The Night Away

"The power of imagination makes us infinite." John Muir

Another couple of weeks closer to Spring, yet I sit here watching a snow storm blow past my window. The days are getting longer marching toward scenes like the above seen of a concert at the Arnolds Park Amusement Park, Arnolds Park, Iowa.  This past week the scene was a little different as people were playing ice hockey and taking a "polar Plunge" into the icy waters of the lake.

The scene above was taken with a 100-400mm zoom lens from across the lake with my Canon 5D mark IV camera....which I still LOVE. The park is a colorful place to shoot at night when the activity is rocking. There was a jam session going on so traffic and lights were wild.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the winter and pray for spring.

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center  lakesart.com 

500px.com

Facebook - Daniel Ruf Photography  

Something New!

"To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event."  Henri Cartier-Bresson

As I've mentioned in the last blog I have become the owner of the Canon 5D Mark IV and I've been really enjoying the camera.  It's an upgrade from my Canon 5D Mark II, which has  served me well for 6 years and is now my backup camera....just in case.  With the Mark IV I've gained improvement in image "noise", an upgrade from a 20 MP camera in the II to a 30+ MP in the  IV.  This translates into a bigger file giving me suitable image resolution after a crop of the original file image.  It has a bit more of a learning curve than the II, but it comes with a couple of nice in camera editing processes; one is the multiple exposure option and the other is in camera HDR.

More recently I ventured into the realm of metal prints and my first one was of the above image which is the Arnolds Park Amusement Park in Arnold's Park, Iowa.  Early morning, light lifting fog, and a wide color palette.  I had to outsource this exercise and chose Pure Art Printer,pureartprinter.com, in St. George, Utah.  I had heard about them a couple of years ago when they were prepping a start up company to make metal prints.  It seems that metal prints have become quite the thing as they are scratch resistant, light weight,have are not affected by moist environments, such as bathrooms, and are relatively easy to clean. No glass, no frame.  Like many pieces of fine art it has to be kept out of direct sunlight.

Since a couple of years ago I've seen several and most I didn't like. I thought the color was a bit overdone, most I saw had a gloss finish, which I tend to avoid and many were of images that should not have seen daylight. So, I sat and waited to get up the courage to try it out, after the bugs were worked out.

The people at Pure Art Printer were incredible, offer a number of services, and a good price point, which is always an issue with me since my work is for sale at Summerwind Gallery in Arnolds Park. Now, I will wait to see if the idea catches on as I think this is an option that simplifies things for me.

So, change is good even though sometimes I have to be drug, kicking and screaming into the light of change.  The camera was an easy decision...New equipment! what's not to like?  The metal print decision a little tougher because I've had some changes that have backfired on me and I'm a skeptic about a lot of things.  It's an age thing...an old age thing!

I hope you all have a great weekend and stop by a gallery, especially Summerwind Gallery, if your in the area.

Sites where you can find my work:

Google +

http://500px.com

Summerwind 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

 

Another Turn

We had an incredible fog event going on this morning as I'm sure the lake surface was cooler than the air above, but the really nice thing was that it was a lingering fog.  By lingering I mean I had time to run to a number of different places to accept the challenge.  The funny thing was that the last place was a place that I've never shot from before....Imagine that! It was very close to a number of my favorite places, but I think my usual assessment was too many obstacles.  WRONG ASSESSMENT!

This shot was taken with my iPhone 5s using the "AutoStitch" app and then edited in Google "Snapseed".  I did a little further editing in Photoshop CS6 to diminish artifacts and to increase the size.

The bird...well, that's just plain dumb luck.  I made two pano efforts while I was there and this was the second.  If I would have taken just one, my little friend would have missed its opportunity.  Of course I could have shot pano's until I was blue in the face and never seen a bird (gull) at all.  That's why I say, "pure dumb luck".

I have several other shots waiting to be edited and, yes, I did pull out the "big boy" camera and, yes, I do have a pano done with my 5D as well.  I don't like to tempt the photo gods.

One sidelight....the experience of watching the fog lift and blow around really was worth being out early.  Fog is a unpredictable event as it can vanish a few minutes after sunrise, or it can hang around, or it can be so thick that not much light comes through.  It is, however, always worth the trip.

Thank you all for continuing to follow this site and I hope you all have a great 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

Just When You Think...

                  “I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.”  Oprah Winfrey

…God throws you a curve and that’s exactly what happened a couple of weeks ago when I thought I was heading home for dinner after a late shoot. 

Heading down a long hill on a rural road I spied a fence line and all of you know what a sucker I am for a good fence line.  As I passed I noticed the field was blooming with flowers and a shaft of light was lighting up the hill.  The brain engaged a few seconds later and I headed back to the scene.

This is a 5 image stitched panorama achieved in Photoshop CS6 with other adjustments made in Nik Viveza and Color Efex Pro 4.  I’ve been doing more pano’s than in the past and have enjoyed the the element of vastness that it brings to a landscape capture.  I’ve just started using a new pano paper from Red River Papers that is shipped flat, is 13” x 38” and is quite reasonable.   I haven’t done a lot of pano’s in the past due to having to “fight” the curl issue of rolled paper.  Yeah, I’m a bit of a sissy, but I don’t need any more complications than necessary.  The nice thing about being able to do pano’s in house is that it keeps the customer price reasonable. I give credit to my friend Bruce Morrison, http://www.morrisons-studio.com/,  (outstanding artist and photographer) for tipping me about the paper.

A few days later I decided to render the pano as a black and white feeling that the sky area would get a boost from the use of filters and was pleased by the results.  I also used NIK Silver Efex Pro 2 to achieve the change to b/w.

Thanks for visiting the site and I hope you’re enjoying the waning days of summer.

Go Baylor...Sic 'Em Bears.  Less than 2 days to an awesome football season!!!

For more views of my work visit;

"A Piece Of Work", Spirit Lake, Iowa  http://www.apieceofworkinc.com

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

BetterPhoto.com   http://www.betterphoto.com/Premium/Default.aspx?id=251674&mp=V

http://500px.com/pigs4u

Summer Memories

     "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who only dream at night."
                                                                   Edgar Allan Poe

My days have been spent rambling through work of this past year in search of any "diamonds in the rough" so that I can continue to keep myself busy and out of trouble.  Our location in Iowa is still suffering under a winter drought and the shortage of snow has made for a dull boy.  While this doesn't mean that I'm not getting out on a regular basis, it does mean that I'm suffering under my own creative drought at present.

The blog picture is from a local area that I often work, especially when clouds are in abundance and last summer proved to be the summer of beautiful skies.  This is a five stitch HDR pano that was first processed in NIK HDR Efex 2 and then put together through the pano program in Photoshop CS5 and finally tweaked through the use of NIK's Color Efex Pro 4 and Viveza.  Both of these programs are really helpful as then not only contain the U-Point technology of NIK software, but also allow the artist to use a brush system to apply effects locally.

Never give up looking at previous captures as many times, in our haste to process and develope captures that we initially knew were destined to meet the printer, we often times miss those quiet jewels on the first pass...and second.

Thanks to all that take the time to visit this site and please feel free to comment.

Go Baylor...Sic 'Em Bears

For more views of my work visit;

"A Piece Of Work", Spirit Lake, Iowa  http://www.apieceofworkinc.com

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

BetterPhoto.com   http://www.betterphoto.com/Premium/Default.aspx?id=251674&mp=V

http://500px.com/pigs4u

Changing Landscape

                    "Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land."   Aldo Leopold

The blog image was taken a couple of weeks ago and is representative of the Iowa landscape each fall.  The residue from the corn and soybean harvest is baled in large round, easy to handle bales and moved off the land for further use.  It's the farmers way of recycling crop residue and using it for everything from feed to structures.  When I dairy farmed I used corn stalk bales as a forage source for "dry cows" or cows that were in calf, but not on the milking line.  It was a good source of roughage and was complimented with a diet of corn and protein sources.

While it's a farmers way of recycling a product it also makes for an interesting landscape and story of the yearly cycle of farming activity.  In the process of doing my normal bit of scouting for photographic subjects I make note of farm scenes that might work well during certain times of the year and I repeatedly visit them, especially when a cloud event occurs that would fit well with certain situations.

While some may see this task as boringly repetitive I find it to be extremely rewarding, both from the photography side and the emotional side.  While waiting for the sun to come over the horizon on this particular day I was reminded of the excitement of the harvest season and the bonding with other farmers in the same endeavor.  It's nothing like sitting in an office, driving a truck or teaching.  It's a time of year when all the efforts of planting and tending crop fields are realized in success or failure of a crop.  We watch as late spring frosts, summer storms and drought, and late hail storms determine the fate of the income producing patchwork of fields that are a part of the American landscape.

So, coming back to this field during the greening of the midwest or leaning on a fence post waiting for the sun to rise has it's benefits.  It may not be a waterfall in Northern Minnesota or a trail along a creek bed in some forest, but it is peaceful and restorative.

Think about that.

Go Baylor...SIC 'EM BEARS

For more views of my work visit;

"A Piece Of Work", Spirit Lake, Iowa  http://www.apieceofworkinc.com

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

BetterPhoto.com   http://www.betterphoto.com/Premium/Default.aspx?id=251674&mp=V

http://500px.com/pigs4u