Diane Schuller, Your All Occasion Custom Photographer

Yesterday, on my way home, I followed signs to a farm auction. I have always really enjoyed going to auctions and I find that farm auctions have a real zest and life all their own. The farm auction wasn’t far out of my way and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. The moment I got out of my vehicle, parked in the ditch along the highway just like all the other attendees, I could hear the auctioneer singing out bids through his loudspeaker, echoing across the fields. Auctioneers have a real talent in using their voices.

Woven through the auctioneers calls was the pungent smell of hotdogs and hamburgers sizzling on the grills. Farmers were everywhere. Many crowded around the small items set up on pallets being sold lickety split, others were checking out the large machinery, cattle pens, and flatdecks lined up with tools of all sorts. Despite a bit of cool wind, it was sunny and I could have hunkered down for a couple hours taking in all the goings-on. Instead, I poked around, took a few photos, and wandered back down the highway to my vehicle. The moment I arrived home, I downloaded the photos and sent some off to my editor. Rather pleased with myself … she bought one to appear in today’s newspaper.

Not bad for taking in a fun event.

I recently had an excellent opportunity to take some photos of a class of senior high school students during their music class. I love taking photos of teens and sure would LOVE to do some individual senior photos of these (and other) teens. I posted a few at Facebook in the “photos” tab but wanted to share those plus a few more here. I really should do a promotion to obtain more photo shoots with teens, especially some individual senior photo shoots. As you can see, since we were in the classroom, the background is not ideal but I’m still pleased with the results. I hope you enjoy this small sampling from last week.

A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ~Leopold Stokowski

And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Day Is Done

Music is the poetry of the air. ~Richter

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If you are a teen and would like Diane to take photos of you, check out the information on my website and get in touch! I promise to make you look great! If you are a parent of a teen, or any child who plays a musical instrument, let’s capture this time in their life for your entire family to treasure forever.

Diane’s website ||  Diane’s Facebook fan page

Pork roast and butternut squash

I’m busy “waiting to put it in the oven” so I can get that pet contest posted but I’ve encountered a glitch. There are several photographers talking about a ‘new rule’ at Facebook regarding not doing promotions, contests, and such. Apparently they say people can have their account removed from Facebook for doing such things because these activities are allegedly against the rules / terms of service. Since I don’t want my business page deleted and because I don’t want to disappoint anyone who enters the contest, I decided to delay posting the launch of the contest until I can get more information. So our contest is still “waiting to be put in the oven.” I was up very late last night reading the terms of service at Facebook and found nothing at all about that. I also Googled and, other than finding some blog posts, could not find anything definitive. I see people conducting contests left, right, and center on Facebook but I do want to follow the rules if they are there.

Anyway, out of an abundance of caution, I am rethinking how on earth I can do this contest without creating hours of work keeping track of things. If any of you wonderful readers has some definitive information regarding these new Facebook rules, or has an uncomplicated way of conducting a pet contest through my blog, I’m open to hearing any and all suggestions. I’d really like to get this contest “in the oven”. I have one idea for conducting the entire contest here on the blog so if we don’t come up with solutions for using Facebook then I’m prepared to get started by running it here (trouble is I won’t be able to ’show’ all the images that come in until the finalists are selected).

I am thrilled. I just learned that one of my photos is featured today at Shutter Sisters One Word Project. Their theme word for February is “nurture”. Check it out and let me know what you think. Thank you so much Shutter Sisters.

While I’m at it, I should let you know that while I was on my road trip there was another of my posts published over at Vision and Verb if  you care to see that one as well — it’s an abstract image paired with a haibun. As if this wasn’t excitement enough, I just received notification of something else really exciting regarding one of my canine photos. Please stay tuned; I’ll be able to announce the news by the beginning of March (keeping secrets, especially such great news, is so darn difficult to keep).

“Gratitude is the memory of the heart.”  ~Jean Baptiste Massieu, translated from French

Photo information: The fish market at the end of Beacon Avenue in Sidney, BC. One of my favourite places to be.

Two weeks. So much happens, changes, and shifts in a two week period. I’m back home and at work but seem overwhelmed with the amount of catching up I have to embark upon. My trip was both business and personal but ended up being fully rejuvenating. Now that I’m back home, I surely do hope some of that rejuvenation carries forward as I plunge into emails and messages, not to mention upcoming writing deadlines. I’ll leave you with a few random images from my two-week road trip.

I likely should have included the following images first since they were taken while I was still in the cold north:

I came across two moose bedded down in an RV parking lot. One in each parking spot.

And now back to Sidney, BC where it is MUCH warmer and far more enjoyable in the winter (or anytime, really). This seagull was trotting along main street Sidney oblivious of traffic, which all yielded to him. He obviously had quite a catch that he was determined to keep from the other seagulls:

Of course there were some humorous moments:

And evening had its visual pleasures as well:

This work by Diane Schuller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.dianeschuller.com/. Please contact Diane for permission.

meandering …

I will be out of town and without any Internet communication until I return home February 14th. If you have an urgent message I will respond on the 14th, otherwise I will begin responding to messages commencing Monday, February 15th. Feel free to browse around here at my photo journal or visit my Website. You might also want to join my Facebook photography page if you’re interested in being the first to learn about promotions, specials, casting calls for models, and more.

Watch for my return the week of February 15th — I’m sure to bring back many visual goodies!

This work by Diane Schuller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.dianeschuller.com/. Please contact Diane for permission — thank you.

A potpourri today. With this first image I love the story it tells.

The next one simply shows how pigs are meant to be raised, not crowded in concrete pens where they can’t move or breathe fresh air, or do what pigs are meant to do.

This family walks the walk. They are a great example that it is fully possible to raise cattle in a sustainable way. This was an excellent assignment.

I sure miss waking to the sound of a rooster crowing …

A few images from some of my freelance editorial assignments. Enjoy.

PS: I often forget to remind readers but each week the newspaper that I write for also posts my environmental columns online after the paper goes out in print. Here is last week’s Everyday Earth Wise.

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Diane is a freelance photographer serving the Grande Prairie and Peace regions of Alberta and BC from her rural residence near Hythe, Alberta. She is available for commercial, environmental, editorial, and portrait assignments. Contact her (above) or visit her website to view her portfolio.

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All photos on this site are Copyright © Diane Schuller, All Rights Reserved. It is illegal to copy, download, take screenshots, or otherwise use these photos without the express written permission of the photographer. Thank you for your respect.

For well over a decade now, we use nothing but pure all natural soap. No dyes, no drying chemicals, no phosphates, no perfumes; just pure soap made from ingredients found in Mother Nature. We used to order from a fantastic place out of Ontario, Lake of the Woods Sunrise Soap Company. The only reason we switched from their outstanding product was because we wanted to try and find a supplier closer to home. So now we order from Cascadia Soaps.

At Cascadia Soaps they raise their own goats and make an amazingly smooth and rich soap from the milk of their Nubian Goats. We discovered them about 10 years ago on a trip to Vancouver when we saw their lush display at the Granville Island Public Market. We purchased several bars to take home and try and have been with them ever since. Although you can buy all their natural soaps in bars, we purchase ours in bulk, then cut it ourselves when it arrives. There’s a bit of savings that way but what I really like is to be able to cut the bars nice and thick. These photos show the most recent order that arrived: two logs of lavender goats milk soap and one log of unscented goats milk soap. I love the wholesome earthiness of these soaps but the huge benefits are how gentle they are on my extremely dry & sensitive skin. The other big benefit is that it is so earth friendly to boot! Can’t beat that.

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Diane is a freelance photographer serving Grande Prairie and the Peace River region from her rural residence near Hythe, Alberta. She is available for commercial, environmental, editorial, and portrait assignments. Contact her (above) or visit her website to view her portfolio.

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All photos on this site are Copyright © Diane Schuller, All Rights Reserved. It is illegal to copy, download, take screenshots, or otherwise use these photos without the express written permission of the photographer. Thank you for your respect.

“There are three forms of visual art: Painting is art to look at, sculpture is art you can walk around, and architecture is art you can walk through.” ~ Dan Rice

I’m enjoying going through my archive of photos. When I visit different places, it’s both the people and the architecture that strike me as the most interesting. I normally avoid the tourist traps and especially those annoying, ubiquitous souvenir shops. Whether it’s people or architecture, I appreciate the complex and carefully designed structure of things. I’d rather bring home photographs of the people and places I visit, or hand made products artisans there have created; those are souvenirs with worth. What do you appreciate most when you visit places away from home?

It’s been a hectic and eventful weekend so far. I’ll spare you the mundane details but will share a tidbit or two anyway. Took our 6 year old Australian Shepherd in on Friday to be neutered. Poor guy. Our neighbour was arrested and I literally spent hours on the phone doing interviews with the media that afternoon.

What was left of the afternoon media scrum. CBC’s satellite still up. Missed the roaming helicopter.

That caused me to be late in getting my environment column in on time — first time ever that has happened. Speaking of my environment column, the newspaper that it originally appeared in has closed down as of year-end but they have another paper for the rural community and my column will be a new weekly feature in there.

For those living in my neck of the woods, watch for my photos to appear in future issues of Peace Country Sun newspaper. The first 3 images, including the one above, will appear in the January 15th issue. Let me know what you think!

Since I was feeling a bit of cabin fever, I decided to take a long drive and look for some photographic inspiration. Found several different subjects but Mother Nature provided me with the best inspiration.

“Observe the wonders as they occur around you.” ~ Rumi

One final note. As some of you know, I’m a strong proponent of setting and attaining goals. I’m not much of a resolution-maker and I do feel there is quite a difference between the two. This year I actually have made a few resolutions and am pleased to report that I’m well on my way in keeping those resolutions. The main one is spending far less computer/online time and far more time living. I can’t tell you how refreshing and invigorating it is to spend so much less time on the computer. I tried it in the past but my frame of mind was not where it is now. I’m thrilled to say I’m actually in love with this ‘found’ time I’ve been experiencing living real life by drastically reducing my online time. I think more of us should take this on. I’ve missed a lot and I plan to make up for it in 2010!

So what has been inspiring you lately? Or, have you made any resolutions or set goals? Are you embracing those goals/resolutions? I know you can do it!

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Don’t forget to add yourself as a fan on Facebook. Facebook fans will be eligible for some nifty rewards this year!