Daniel Ruf

Entering From Stage Right!

"Great Photography is about depth of feeling not depth of field." Peter Adams

I've spent a lot of mornings waiting for a sunrises, not knowing for sure what the outcome will be, but always with hope for a surprise. There have been a few occasions when Mother Nature adds a significant tune that I wasn't expecting, such as the duck showing up with perfect timing. I'll take these circumstances any way I can get them.

Just when I posted the above blog image I noticed a distraction that I missed in the processing of this image. That distraction would be that buoy left of center. Rather than replace or correct the infraction I thought I'd use it as a lesson.

The change is subtle, but the duck is now the center attraction as opposed to the confusion of the buoy near the horizon. It may be a little thing to many, but removal of distractions either by changing the camera position or software editing is essential to make the story clear and without distractions. It's always a good idea to check the edges of an image for little distractions as well. I use Photoshop CC in most of my work and a Canon 5D Mark IV, which I still love. Lightroom is the first order of editing and Photoshop does the rest, including clean up. I used Topaz AI Denoise to rid the picture of the noise as I had to use a high ISO to achieve the shutter speed to stop the ducks movement. With that being said it's necessary to realize that using multiple editing processes takes a certain bit of balance in the handling. No matter the choice of editing processes used they all seem to leave "artifacts" if not used with a light hand. It's taken me a long time to learn this and, at times, it seems I'm still learning.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the beautiful Spring weather

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Spring Finally Made It!

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

The morning light striking the side of this dilapidated corn crib was just enough to get my attention. The stark tree skeletons as well as the dirty snow would be an artistic definition of this past winter....cold and wicked.  This also happened to be the first day when huge migrations of geese and other waterfowl were in full swing. The background sounds of the geese along with the stunning sunrise was a complete  symphony for my enjoyment.  I'm sure that the people wizzing by in their cars were really struggling with their own reality as they passed a gray haired old guy standing behind a tripod and camera pointed at WHAT?

The image was taken with my Canon 5D Mark IV, which I think was one of the best camera purchases I've made in my life....except for the first Canon F1 years ago.  I used a Canon 70 - 200mm f/2.8 L lens (another purchase that I've been happy with) just to keep from having to cross a speedy highway.  As it turned out a sizable formation of geese did make a pass and I still had my camera mounted and waiting.

I've been trying out two new editing programs put out by Topaz; one is the A.I. (artificial intelligence) Clear, for dealing with noise like artifacts in digital images, and A.I. Gigapixel which is for magnifying sizes of images.  They both are a real surprise and do a much better job than what I had been using. Since I've been able to get much better high ISO pics with my Canon, I've been shooting more in the ISO 1600 - 2500 ranges, which wasn't possible even with the Mark 2 due to noise reasons.  A.I.Clear has been helpful to remove any noise that might come from the results of high ISO's as well as post processing issues. The A.I. gigapixel has been really helpful in upsizing digital images from years ago that had more issues with resolution caused by cameras of earlier editions. It also be helpful for producing large panorama images for metal print processing.

Both Topaz products can be used for 30 day trial options for free which give one ample time to test them out.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the nice Spring days ahead.

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center  lakesart.com 

500px.com

Facebook - Daniel Ruf Photography  

When It Rains......

"Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you're passionate about something, then you're more willing to take risks."  Yo-Yo Ma

....it pours, at least it did at yesterdays annual Art In The Park held by the Pearson Lakes Art Center.  It started with a little sprinkling and by the time we were midway into tent raising, with much help from other artists next to us, the sprinkles turned to a pour and lasted until about noon. My wife and I scrambled until 1:00 p.m. getting panels put up, work hung, cards laid out, etc.  Meanwhile people are walking in and out, asking questions and purchasing items. It was crazy, but the best 3 hours of sales I could imagine. While I was drip drying for an hour after we set up, still wearing a pair of water proof chore boots from farming days, I regained my composure after the whirlwind set up. I owe all the visitors and customers alike a big thank you for visiting with us, asking questions, purchasing work and showing their kindness and understanding.

The blog image is from the wooden boat show at the Arnolds Park Amusement Park in Arnolds Park, Iowa a week ago.  This annual event is always a show stopper as some really beautiful and unusual wooden boats are lined up for the afternoon while visitors window shop, day dream, and reminisce.  This was a hand held shot with my Canon 5D Mark IV using the HDR setting in the camera, which is pretty amazing...to me at least. I just finished the editing/creative process a few minutes ago after using Lightroom, Photoshop and Topaz Studio during the processing, including the Studio Impression painting app.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of summer.  Where did summer go?

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center  lakesart.com  Also on Facebook for up to date activities

500px.com

Bits And Pieces

"You don't take a photograph, you make it."  Ansel Adams

Winding down an evening of photography in the rural areas of northwest Iowa with a beautiful sunset taking place and as always I was looking for something to put in front of the color.  I sped by this farm scene, which I usually shoot from the other direction, and caught the lighted window from the corner of my eye and decided to give it a look.

A lot of things attracted me to this scene including the glimmer on the light bulb, the window, the shapes and angles, the triangles, horizontal, textures and vertical lines, etc.  I knew the light was going to slip away if I didn't get moving with the process....tripod up, camera attached, and bang, the shot.

There is obviously a lot of contrast here and I decided to take it through the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) HDR process as I seem to have less problems with artifacts that are the norm with so many HDR plug-in's that I have or have tried.  Doing the process in this way allows me to stay in ACR and continue to fine tune the image before I load it into Photoshop to finalize the editing process with tweaks in NIK or Topaz software programs.

While standing in front of such scenes in rural Iowa I am constantly reminded of how the landscape and rural architecture is changing...old barns giving way to steel structures, corn cribs to steel bins, and on and on.  I've spent my most of my adult life working in and around these familiar places, while much later I was working in and around the shiny steel confines of livestock buildings. Each style has it's place, but I will always be attracted to the monoliths of the farmsteads where my family worked. 

Thank you for visiting and please get out to enjoy the fall season...winter is not far behind!

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http://500px.com

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

 

Fog Feast

"Every moment of light and dark is a miracle."    Walt Whitman

We've had a number of foggy mornings during the past week which has made for some interesting location hunting to find situations that would not only reveal the beautiful nature of "wet air" but also the softness of the light.  Having worked in a number of differing atmospheric conditions I find that fog presents the most elusive as one never knows the duration or the locations that it might take place.  On this particular day it was extremely thick and found in every location I visited including this area near Gull Point State Park.  Yet, on some days one might find it only in areas of topological depressions such as valleys and sink holes while on other days it might just be in lake areas.

This particular location is one that I pass on any number of days as it is a typical slough area with calm water and the occasional visiting egret and other waterfowl.  On this day the fog gives a nice separation of the foreground tree from the background landscape as well as a quiet mood, which to me is inviting for restful thoughts and appreciation of the natural scene.

The editing work was accomplished in Adobe Photoshop CS6 while the digital painting option was worked through with the help of Alien Skin's "Snap Art" and Topaz "Simplify".  By using the digital painting method I felt that the details were more muted to simple surface areas of color as well as lights and darks.

When I have the opportunity to work in foggy conditions it's a joy to be surrounded by the richness of colors as well as the soft qualities of light.  The pace of the world seems to slow a bit while creative opportunities open one door at a time.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my site and please come back and tell others as well.  Have a great weekend. You can enjoy looking at my work at A Piece Of Work in downtown Spirit Lake as well as the Side Street Gallery in Arnolds Park and Arts On Grand in Spencer...all in the great state of Iowa, or, if you're in Minnesota check out the Lanesboro Arts Center in Lanesboro, which is a beautiful town rich with activities.

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/

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.

Gritty

“To create one’s world in any of the arts takes courage.”  Georgia O’Keeffe

It’s not often that I use a really “gritty” style in any of my work, but after watching a Topaz webinar given by Tony Sweet, I decided to spend a little more time working with my Topaz plug-in’s on some past images.  I’ve had the Topaz software for some time, but have only used it occasionally in the past often opting for some other approach.

This scene was shot a couple of years ago when I was using a Canon 50D and just starting to venture into HDR work (probably one of the last photographers to bite the bullet).  It’s a typical opportunity for HDR with really contrasting lighting including a lot of bright “blown out” whites and blacks that would be frustrating with a one shot exposure.  In this case three shots with camera mounted on a tripod and a 70 – 200mm lens were the “tools of engagement”.

Photomatix was the HDR software of choice to process the three captures and while I own two different HDR processing software options I find that each serve a different need for different HDR captures.  In this case I didn’t do a lot of manipulating in Photomatix, but did the final phase in Topaz Adjust and just stepped up the grittiness a touch.

Practice and learning are options that always seem to have value in life and art and I feel that both will fill up all my days of retirement with excitement and progress.  I certainly will be spending more time with Topaz and really appreciate their continuing webinar opportunities and getting to learn from master photographer, Tony Sweet again.

Thanks for joining me and don’t forget, for those of you in that area, that my exhibit at the Pearson Lakes Art Center will hang until March 2.  Support the arts!

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

http://500px.com/pigs4u

www.facebook.com

Expanding View

    "They are much to be pitied who have not been given a taste for nature early in life." Jane Austen

As many of you know I've been spending a lot of time recently searching among the new flowers for photographic opportunites as the spring flush of color is upon us in northwest Iowa.  A few days ago, however, I did come across a scene that had many of my favorite subjects all in one "basket".  A nice long fence line, a sky of broken cloud formations and a barn.  How much better can it get for a person with a camera that has spent a lifetime in the farming sector?

This scene was captured with my Nikon D300, process as an HDR in Photoshop CS6 and then tweaked in Topaz Clean plug-in.  I just recently upgraded to the new Adobe Photoshop CS6 and find myself learning a number of new tools and operations, which leads me to believe that learning will never end in the field of photography.  One of the biggest confrontations is the impulse to try anything and everything that comes on the market...each having a little different twist over a product that one has on hand.  I am continually reminding myself of the necessity to master the implements at hand...FIRST.  Yet, there always seems to be that "twinkle" on the horizon.

The tulips are up, the trees are leafing out and the air is ripe with the promise of life.  How much better can it get?  Let's all find time to take that walk, do a little flower exploration, a little bird watching, or even a little self contemplation.

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