Diane Jarvis-Schuller

“Tamrac’s Maggie Has Moxie”
January 1999 – January 2012

Dear Friends,

It is with a heavy and pained heart I share with you that our dear Maggie May Muggins Magoo (as we often dearly called her) died in our arms last week.

In her 13 years with us she brought John and I so much joy. She loved us both in the way only a dog can, though certainly was deeply attached to John. She faced every day with an abundance of joy and independence. We delighted in how exuberant she was on her daily runs, and how she would leap and ‘quarter’ the fields in her pursuit of birds, mice, and other vermin. She was a master hunter and taught both the Aussies how to track, hunt, and capture their prey. She was soft, kind, and never ever had a bitter moment. Despite never having been raised with children she was a supreme matron of youth. There wasn’t a human she didn’t love and immediately trust. We will miss so much about her.

We’ll miss those floppy ears as she flew through the air with her Springer gallop; her well honed instincts; her cute and sometimes awkward way of going berserk, especially in wet snow; how she’d put Austin into his place when no other dog would ever dare try; how she’d snort as she rolled on her back, belly exposed and full of Springer friskyness; and how she was a quiet friend cuddled at John’s feet on the end of his Lazyboy; and how she’d paw at my leg when I would groom one of the other dogs and she wanted her turn. So much more we’ll miss.

Her people meant the world to her even if she wasn’t as demonstrative as our demanding Aussies. She was silently devoted. John and I will both miss those big round brown eyes and we’re already missing her little “arrroooo” which was her expression of delight that it was feeding time.

I had thought I would put together a brief slideshow of some of my favourite images of Maggie but simply looking at photos of her is far too painful right now. We’ll both miss her, a lot.

PS: I recently removed nearly all my photos and will likely continue to take down photos that I post after they are up for a week or two. I will write a post in the future to explain why I have made this decision. Photographs on my website continue to remain online.

Good samaritans abound in my circle of life these days.

Because I’m so busy lately and because my dogs are not getting the kind of attention & exercise they’re used to, I’ve hired someone to help out with the dogs. On Monday, the fellow who had my male Australian Shepherd, Austin, ended up losing him. When he finally phoned me, Austin had been missing for quite some time already. I immediately came to the area where they were to help find him. I won’t go over the long involved story but needless to say, despite my recent frustration with the dogs, I was still incredibly desperate to find Austin.

During my search I met a woman biking on the forest trails with her two dogs and she spent a couple hours helping to find Austin, plus a few others who willingly joined in. I looked and called, and walked, and cried, and called until it was so dark that I couldn’t see anymore. Then I received a phone call (on my husband’s cell phone that I had borrowed) saying Austin had been found. Austin had been seen on a busy bypass wandering aimlessly down the middle of that highway with vehicles just barely missing him. Two separate men stopped to try and get him off the road. The end result, after much determination, was that one of the men was finally successful in getting him off the road and into his vehicle. He lives out of town but, again through the efforts of many good samaritans, one person called another and another and this fellow was connected to call me. I would have been devastated had Austin been hit by a vehicle. To me, an animal being put quietly and gently to sleep is the most humane way for their life to end — not in some painful, tragic accident after hours of fear.

So, the old boy is back home and back to his old self. Though I will say he had a very restless night Monday, up numerous times to go potty and to drink water. He’s not used to eating anything but real food and I suspect he must have been given some dry dog treats by his loving rescuer, which would explain his desperate need to drink so much. By morning he had worked through that and all is well once again.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the multiple good samaritans that came our way on Monday. Tell me about a good samaritan you’ve come across recently.

 ”Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does.”  ~William James

The canine version of making snow angels, for your viewing pleasure. (Even though the light is flat, sometimes it’s necessary to take the photo to capture the moment.)

A spectator but non-participant:

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Photographs Never Forget!

If you would like me to take photographs of the precious moments with your pets, contact me for a no-obligation consultation. Use the contact tab in the menu at the top.

I had some very willing canine models on Thursday. What a delightful way to spend part of an afternoon. The light was just how I like it too.

Seems they were most interested in playtime — look at that snow fly! It’s like watching toddlers at play!

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Diane specializes in photographing dogs, pets, and horses. She comes to you or a location of your choosing. She will capture the true essence of your pet so you have some beautiful and memorable photographs. If you have a dog kennel and need professional photographs for your website or for advertising, Diane is the one to call!  Visit Diane’s website to find out more.

A few days ago, after reading a poignant post over at Shutter Sisters, I made the decision to begin my own 365 project.

For the photographers who pop by and visit here, you’ll all know what a 365 project is, but for others here is the simple explanation of what it’s about. A 365 project involves taking at least one photograph each and every day of the year. It has different purposes, among them: incentive to take photos of your daily life or the life around you; to help photographers grow; to be sure not to miss recording important moments in your life; to keep the creative juices flowing, for some it’s a chance to begin building a body of work; and so on.

For me however, the main reason for commencing this project was something Meredith said, “There is something important and beautiful to remember and be grateful for every. single. day.” That statement, in particular, is what set off a spark in me. Although I don’t plan on limiting myself to only photographing that which I’m grateful for, the reason is truly worthy of embracing. And if I’m being truly honest, there was one other thing she said that nailed it for me. She said, “… if I were able to pick up the phone and call my mother each day to share one thing that happened that day I would. But I can’t.” Well I can’t either and I wish I could. This project then will be moment(s) in my day that I would share, if I could, whether they are moments worthy of celebration or moments of the mundane things we need to do during our day-to-day life. A snapshot within my day.

I’ve begun my project, though not on the first day of the year, as most photographers tend to commence this type of project. I also won’t be posting most of the images here (at least I don’t think so). For now, I’m posting them quite informally over at my Flickr account, though I will likely share an occasional one here. Since this is my business-related photo journal, I didn’t think it was the venue for my casual 365 project.

Have you taken on some form of ongoing project? What did you learn or how did you grow as a result of participating in that project?

(okay, so I get desperate for titles!) … Our aging Springer Spaniel Maggie had surgery on her eye this week. Good old Pearl went immediately into protection mode the moment I brought Maggie home from the animal hospital. That was a few days ago and all is well and normal again. (This photo is neither Maggie nor Pearl but thought you might enjoy it anyway.)

A dog can express more with his tail in seconds than his owner can express with his tongue in hours. ~Author Unknown

So are you well on your way to getting ready for Christmas? I got all my personal Christmas cards done today; tomorrow I plan on doing all my client Christmas cards. The boxes of Christmas decorations are all in the house waiting to be sorted out and hung. That’s a job for tomorrow as well. Since we never get to go to any Christmas parties ( I really miss those great social events ), I’ve decided I’m going to have some girlfriends over for a pre-Christmas lunch in a week from now and then my husband and I are also going to have an open house at some point likely just after Christmas. Something to look forward to! What about you? What social events are you looking forward to during the holiday season?

If I were to try and put a caption to this photo of an 8 year old puppy it might go something like, “Is that my youth down in there somewhere?”

Next post is a pictorial of Rocky Mountain Sheep I encountered a few weeks ago.

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Diane is an experienced dog, pet, & horse photographer serving Grande Prairie and surrounding regions. Visit Diane’s website to view her portfolio and to learn more about getting beautiful and candid photos of your dog, pet, or horse!

Photographs Never Forget!

If you’re a regular visitor, you’ll know the reason why I’m not posting as often as I usually have been. Due to a shoulder injury, my posts have necessarily become quite infrequent. I just returned from a trip to see my dad. I was unable to be at he grand opening of the new airport terminal that is now named for him so I got down there as soon thereafter as I could.

{Driving home on Highway 40 a few days ago.}

This post will be entirely non-photography related because I want to step up on my soapbox for a moment. Since I returned from the south, a winter storm has blown in and last night at supper hour it was already 23 below zero. It went down to 25 below zero overnight. Every winter I worry and cringe because I know there are so many suffering animals outside in this weather. The ones that I worry the most about are dogs, in particular, especially the poor dears that are tied up. Tying a dog up, in my mind, is cruel to start with. It seems that most people who won’t bother to fence in an area for their dog are the ones who never take that poor dog for daily walks — some dogs never get off that darn chain. Okay, that’s not exactly where I was going with my soapbox even though it’s a sad fact. What concerns me so much are those dear dogs that are left outside without any shelter or no proper shelter. Especially when a dog is tied up, they can’t even move around enough to get their circulation working sufficiently. Some people don’t even give their dog a dog house. And those plastic or fibreglass doghouses may be cheap but they are totally ineffective. The only ones benefitting from those excuses for a dog house are the manufacturer and the retailers that sell them. A dog needs an insulated wood dog house to withstand the frigid winter weather. It should also be placed where it is further protected from winds. The dog house also requires some form of bedding, whether it’s a cushioned dog bed, a thick old blanket, or fresh straw (NOT hay). When straw or shavings are used, they need to be replenished frequently (weekly) and should be used in large quantities. I prefer providing a thick cushioned dog bed — and so does the dog.

Before I continue on this soap box I should also mention something else. Absolutely no lap dog (those are the little breeds, primarily) should ever be left outside, ever! They were bred to be INDOOR lap dogs, not to withstand cold weather particularly harsh winters. Also, any short hair breed regardless of how big it may be, is also not well suited to bearing winter. And when those poor dogs are not given proper — or any — shelter, they suffer intensely. Imagine if you were made to stay outside, with only your street clothes and a sweater and no extra coat, tethered to the back fence and the weather plummeted to minus 10, minus 15, minus 20, minus 30! It is exactly the same for the dog — they suffer and suffer greatly.

I’m one of those people who reports  people to the SPCA. And because they often only give people a warning especially if it’s the first call they get, it’s necessary to keep reporting people when they don’t provide shelter or appropriate shelter to their dogs. Those poor dogs have no one to defend them, speak  for them. If we don’t speak up for them, we are just as guilty by letting them suffer. (And yes, if I know a child is being ill-treated or suffering in some way I would have no problem reporting the situation, so it’s not just dogs that concern me.)

I feel that most people who have dogs, shouldn’t have them. If a person has a dog and it’s tied up all the time and does not get at least daily exercise (to a park or anywhere but the yard), they should not have a dog. And double that thought if they also don’t provide proper shelter for the poor thing. Those people don’t need or deserve a dog; they should get a stuffed dog for all they do to provide for its needs.

If you’re still reading, thank you. I know that you must be a concerned and conscientious individual. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to report anyone you see who has a dog that is suffering in the backyard.

{English Springer Spaniel on one of her daily winter outings.}

I realize I’ve again run behind on sharing previews of some of the wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure and honour to photograph. I had thought I’d get time last week but life has a way of throwing obstacles in my well planned path.

I won’t bore you with all the obstacles and diversions that have been strewn across my road, but will mention the most recent one that occurred last night. As those who pop by here frequently already are aware, our Springer Spaniel Maggie has some health issues. We had an emergency last night with her and, as a result, more of my time this coming week will be diverted to spending a day in the city while she undergoes some tests. Her eye surgery has been postponed because of the danger to her current health condition.

I’ve also received a huge blow from my primary photo lab in that they will no longer deliver to postal boxes to Canadian addresses. I do have a back up lab of equal quality but do not have anyone with high enough quality to do my beautiful flush mount albums. So the research begins. These are only 2 of multiple recent diversions so you see, I told you life’s been following a crooked path lately! But none of these diversions are insurmountable — they simply delay my journey by forcing me to take slightly longer to get where I’m going.

I hope those of you who are waiting on me, can be patient as I’m still a few days behind on everything. May your weekend be filled with joy, laughter, and a diversion or two!

Happy Thanksgiving to all you wonderful friends, clients, and cyber visitors! I’m heading to Edmonton for this Thanksgiving long weekend. My husband and I celebrated Thanksgiving last weekend and this coming real Thanksgiving I’ll be with my son and his lovely family. (They phoned me tonight and sang for me! Are they not the most special people in the world?)

Aspen (poplar) trees during an Alberta autumn

I’m way behind on posts and will be doing my best to catch up when I return. I have some wedding previews, in particular, I should get up next week. I’ve also been so pleased that some of you have sent me your photos showing how you display or save your printed photographs! Thank you so much! Keep ‘em coming for those of you who haven’t sent a photo in to show me how you display or save your printed photos (even if they’re held up by clothespins or nicely stored in an album or photo box) — I’m also going to make a post of those next week. I had promised to post some photos of that beautiful old barn and they are still to come — I have not forgotten.

English Springer Spaniel — a different perspective

Anyway, I had a super day today and by mid day tomorrow I’ll be hitting the highway to drive to Edmonton. May you and yours enjoy a special weekend of celebration and appreciation. I look forward to sharing more with you next week. In the meantime I hope you enjoy a few photos I took while there were still leaves on the trees — they’re all on the ground now making a carpet for winter.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

early morning: Birch leaves in silhouette

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” ~Thornton Wilder

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Photographs Never Forget!