Daniel Ruf

BRRRRRRRR

Winter in Iowa this year was a real challenge and in this month of April it still is poking its head in between warm days, when we get them. Even on a good day when I can head to the golf course I have to check the "chill" temperature before I decide my apparel for the day.  I also found out that Canon 5D Mark IV camera in the severe cold weather gets a bit slow and so do my "clicking" fingers.

As of today we are still waiting for a good rain so that the trees will start to put out new leaves indicating that they actually are alive. Landscape photography at this point is lacking a "warm" look and is not even worth the effort as cold winter scenes are not really popular in Northwest Iowa.

If we're lucky maybe the month of May will actually have a steady run of warm weather for both golf and photography.

The blog image is of Lakeside Laboratory which is about the best color I found in the white land. It's a laboratory that is real active during the summer with people interested in learning about the lake area natural habitats and wildlife and flowers.

Thanks for stopping by...Keep warm and safe.

More of my work can be seen at Arts On Grand in Spencer, Iowa and soon to be in the Pearson Lakes Art Center in the Okoboji area.

Is March Fading?

"Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever...it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything."  

Aaron Siskind

It's been a long time since I've refreshed my blog site, but it's been a pretty ugly winter here in Iowa with little snow and precipitation and the miles of skeleton shaped trees leaving us to wonder if Spring was ever going to show up. Right now on March 29 we're still wondering if Spring is getting any closer. There are some indications with some little sprigs starting to break the surface and my yelling "not yet, not yet". Both myself and my camera are aching to see wild flowers showing us with tulips, coneflowers and many others blasting through the surface of the earth and developing into beautiful heads of color.

I'll wait and my camera will have to wait, but being anxious for Spring cannot wait any longer. Let's have the "fireworks" of flowers...the yellows, reds, purples and many other colors be out of control in showing off their Spring beauty.

Thanks for joining me here and you can view my work at Arts On Grand in Spencer, IA as well as the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji, IA.

Missing And Finding

 

"If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of better stuff." Jim Richardson

If there is one thing that has been the result of the virus is that we all have missed something, whether it be time, place or friends each of us have made sacrifices that we'll never get back. My "something" was making the regular trip to Arizona in the winter and also a planned trip to Italy, land of my ancestors even though my DNA says my genes are more comfortable with British and French connections. IT HAS TO BE WRONG! 

The blog post above is from Sabino Canyon, a place I've spoken about more than once on this blog site. Not only do I get to photograph some incredible light in the canyon I also get to take walks with my daughter and her crazy dog Murphy. It's a time to switch gears from the lakes region of Iowa to the comfortable landscapes of Arizona.

That being said...the time of lock downs and masks has also resulted in other photographic adventures and opportunities.

Our town has an amusement park that decided to light it up through the night as a big thank you to the nurses and first responders that have given so much of themselves to keep us safe and healthy.  On this particular morning I found splashes of color that I didn't know existed as the park is usually dark through the deep of night. I can remember scrambling up and down the docks looking for different angle options. Social distancing wasn't a problem here...just me and the lights.

Even during the day I was occupied with other options of social distancing by sitting in my truck and waiting for the possible.  Being retired makes this a normal day, but I made a bigger effort to find warm blooded options for my camera and in many of the situations I wasn't looking at their butt as they scampered away into the dense forest.

It's impossible to "candy coat" this event that we are all facing on our planet. The solutions involve staying safe, wearing a mask (that might be the reason for the perky ears), and finding something to thrill your heart and soul.

Thanks for stopping by

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

 

 

 

 

No Snow?

"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

It's been a dry winter so far with up and down temps. Last week it hit 50 degrees on one day and it's 25 degrees today. No beautiful snow blanket covering what's left over from autumn. In our part of the world weather life we're having is an ominous sign that a climate surprise is around the corner.

The blog image is the results of a very thick fog we had last week combined with very cold morning temps.  As the morning wore on the tree branches started to gather in the frost particles which made a nice garment covering the trees.

It was a nice change from the humdrum clear skies we were having that was punctuated by high winds. I think I'm already tired of this drab looking winter, yet asking for snow is almost a crime!

We still get our colorful moments which makes up for lack of snow. This tree caught my attention as it seemed to be waiting for me. My actual destination was behind me, but I thought this scene was worth my attention.

By the way if you search YouTube for Judy Hancock you should find an amazing video of here discussion of Minimalist Photography along with a selection of her beautiful work. 

Thanks for visiting this site and feel free to comment while you're here. 

Wishing all of you a very merry Christmas and fabulous New Year. It has to get better, right?  Hold good thoughts, be safe, enjoy your family and extend a loving hand to all

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Winters Last Breath ?

"To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It's at that precise moment that mastering an image

becomes a great physical and intellectual job."  Henri Cartier-Bresson

Almost a week ago we had one of the most vicious blizzards I've ever experienced followed by several days of below freezing temperatures overnight. It became another several days of covering and uncovering the the tulip beds with plastic. From here on out it looks like things are going to switch gears to Spring.

Yesterday morning was my first outdoor adventure in many days. At 5:30 in the morning "social separation" is not difficult especially in a state park that is still covered in snow. The blog image was about the only interesting item to photograph, but at least I had a number of selection options when it came to ice formations sculptured by the lake water during the aforementioned storm.

The blog image was taken with my trusty Canon 5D Mark IV. I was looking for a simple composition with morning color and reflection on the water. I got most of that plus the reflection of the sunrise color in the icy fingers. The image was first processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC, then finishing touches in Adobe Photoshop CC, with some final touches in NIK Viveza.

Because of the quarantine I've been spending a lot of time watching photography videos on my computer. All decked out in my earbuds I enjoyed seeing different ideas, results, processes, and links to other treasures.

I happend to find a photographer, Nigel Danson, through some online search. He's a photographer of the United Kingdom and found his video tutorials quite helpful and informative. They're short, mostly 18 minutes or so, and full on info and options and includes a lot of images of England rural ares, which made it all the more fascinating, since I have a real interest in the countryside of England Mr. Danson's photography is softer in results as is English landscape. I would recommend his videos as a great way to learn simple facts and processes as well as waking up one's brain and slipping away from "cabin fever".

As the U.S. slowly starts back to the norm that we have all have been separated from over the past month, I hope to be able to get reacquainted with my camera on a more regular basis.

Thanks for stopping by and remember to stay safe, enjoy the leisure and wash your hands often.

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

  

 

 

Canyons And Cactus

    

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome,dangerous,leading to the most amazing view.  May your mountains rise into and above the clouds."

Edward Abbey

Recently my wife and I took a trip the the Southwest where I got to reconnect with Sabino Canyon, which is located near Tucson, AZ. While we were driving to Tucson the day before there was a snow storm in the area mountains which left enough snow in the high country for my morning hike the day after our arrival. It wasn't much, but just enough to give the blog image an added feature and remind me that things in Iowa were not as lovely.

The sunrise had just cleared the mountains to the right of this location and livened up the cactus that made a visual track to the Catalina Mountains in the background. I was thrilled that some snow was still clinging to the high country and thrilled to be back in the Southwest. Unfortunately this was one of the few days of our stay when clouds were out contesting the obnoxious plain blue sky.

When I'm hiking the areas around Tucson it seems the prose of Edward Abbey always come to mind. Ironically I became familiar with Abbey when I attended a photograph/writing seminar back in the late 70's given by Abbey and the famous photographer Philip Hyde. On arriving back in Iowa after the seminar I proceeded to read most of Abbey's books as well as enjoying more of Hyde's work. The seminar has always made the Southwest a little more important in my life.

Thanks for visiting

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Another Icon Gone!

"My father kept me busy from dawn to dusk when I was a kid. When I wasn't pitching hay, hauling corn or running a tractor, I was heaving a baseball into his mitt behind the barn...It all the parents in the country followed his rule, juvenile delinquency would be cut in half in a year's time." Bob Feller

One by one those great icons of the rural landscape are disappearing one after another. The old barns, corn cribs, hog houses and sheds are sliding off into the sunset. Before long Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio will be some of the only states where a person can still be able to see those treasured icons still in use. Here in Iowa they're being replaces by large steel buildings. To me metal buildings have little aesthetic value when it comes to photography. Most barns are different as a structure. There use determines the structural makeup, be it a dairy barn, hog barn, or cattle barn.

There are stories in those barns that you may pass by everyday if you live in rural America. Children grew up in those tall broad structures. My kids all had chores before and after school. Whether it was my young daughter bottle feeding calves, or my sons feeding livestock or mending fences. A lot of times they even hired out to other farmers to bale hay during their summer vacation.

All barns have stories to tell a Photographer or any other artist. The structure, the landscape all play into the final results of this cold winter day with an aging barn in the background and a painted morning sky.

I love 'em, and I miss 'em.

Thanks for visiting

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Crisp Mornings

It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fires  of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it."

John Burroughs

Days of foggy mornings gave way to colder mornings with crisp chilly winds, which gave way to sub zero temps and frosty coverings on stiff creaking trees. It was such a morning when I made my way to Gull Point State Park with hopes of ice, strong shadows and frosty trees.  I got all that plus fog blowing in from open areas of water across West Lake.

The trees were glittered like crystal and the sun rays broke through a fork in the nearby tree making for strong shadows acting as definite leading line into the scene. The view was more than I could have hoped for especially since the lake near our home had no indications of fog, but West Lake is a deep lake and holds on to its deep warm water for as long as possible.

Standing here, putting tripod together and setting up my Canon camera, the feeling of winter surrounded me. The patches of autumns earth were gone, the shards of ice hid the lake edges and the sky had the deep blue color of a winter day. The beauty of winter was finally here.

Thank you for visiting my blog site and I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a bountiful new year.  Be safe and enjoy the season of winter

 

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center - lakesart.org 

Arts On Grand - artsongrand.org

 

Remains

"To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy."    Henri Cartier-Bresson   

Enjoy the winter!

Places to see more of Daniel's work:

Pearson Lakes Art Center  lakesart.com 

500px.com

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