Diane Jarvis-Schuller

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!

… with a nod to James Herriot’s book of a similar title. This weekend we spent a great deal of time outdoors, cutting down perennials, walking the dogs, and a few photo lessons for my husband. He’s heading out in a couple weeks for his vacation and wanted me to teach him how to use our old digital camera. The old one is the one we use for ‘knocking around’ and it’s the one that gets carried around in the car all the time. Besides it’s a LOT lighter than my regular camera. Anyway, I got off track. I took a few photos this weekend, just for the fun of it (are you noticing a trend lately?). There is no better light than at this time of year. THE . BEST . LIGHT.

The reason for the title is because when I was picking 3 photos to post for the end-of-the-weekend, besides the light, the other connection is that the subjects are all small, I’m down low, and yet the subjects are really quite great, are they not? Okay, so maybe I’m stretching connections, but here they are anyway. Enjoy.

When I downloaded the last photo below, the first thing it reminded me of was Velvia film. Do you remember that old Velvia film? It always resulted in real strong vivid colours, especially the yellows and blues. And, if I’m remembering correctly, the reds were pretty saturated with Velvia film too. One thing I did to this image, as you can see, is add some vignetting. There was some natural vignetting already but I specifically emphasized it a bit because it really added to that old Velvia look.

Some of you may recognize the gal in this next photo. She’s our 11 1/2 year old English Springer Spaniel, Maggie. I love when one or both of her floppy ears is flipped back like this one.  You’ll likely also notice her right eye — to your left — looks a bit off or different from her normal eye — the one on your right. She has a small tumour that is causing her eye to be infected and she’ll soon have to have surgery for the tumour to be removed. We’ve been holding off having it done for a number of reasons. She has a non-malignant form of cancer but she’s been having some sporadic health issues that cause her to become very ill for a day or two at a time and then she gets completely well again. We were so afraid of her having surgery in case it causes everything to become worse, but that eye is really getting worse. So this weekend we both made the decision our old gal is going to get the surgery.

I bet she can outrun and out-hunt any of your dogs The vet is always amazed at what fantastic condition Maggie is in. The one vet said she has never seen a Springer Spaniel that isn’t obese, except my dog.

Oh and I nearly forgot, we also had our Thanksgiving dinner today, a week early. Since I will be in Edmonton next weekend for Thanksgiving, I decided to do turkey and all the trimmings — including pumpkin pie — today. I really don’t know any good reason why most of us only cook turkey on holidays. I’m going to try and ‘fix’ that and make it more often.

I haven’t forgotten — because I got way behind this summer with posting previews from some of my photo shoots, I am definitely going to post a few photos from that last wedding. I’ll try and get a few up later this week. I hope you are getting out and photographing your family in this amazing autumn light — and don’t forget to get them printed!

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Photographs Never Forget!

Don’t forget my upcoming workshop in Grande Prairie, “How to Take Better Photos of Your Children.”

As I’m getting ready for the wedding I’m photographing tomorrow, it seems a good time to pull out some canine photos taken a few weeks ago.

These are our two Australian Shepherds, Austin (the red merle) and Pearl (the blue merle). This first one is a common type of portrait, as you can easily tell.

But I don’t always stick to the standard. My eye is often drawn to details, different perspectives, and something that may tell more of a story. This next one shows how strong the wind was blowing as Austin took one of his rare moments to stand still and see what the other two dogs were up to. I get the dogs out in the field at least twice every day and sometimes more. My husband also always takes them out once in the evening after we’ve had dinner. Having dogs is a big responsibility since they rely on humans entirely for their exercise, mental stimulation, and food.

This third one is my favourite of today’s images. This is Pearl and I love the perspective as well as how the wind was blowing her hair. The contrast of her hair against the background also appeals to me. I’m usually not at all any good at titles but I’d call this one, “Who Has Seen the Wind?”

“We have the Bill of Rights. What we need is a Bill of Responsibilities.” ~Bill Maher

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Photographs Never Forget! Keeping memories alive with custom albums and portraits.

Diane loves to photograph pets of all kinds (dogs, cats, horses, …) as well as the bond between humans and their pets. Contact Diane for a custom on-location photo session before the trees are bare and the weather turns bitter.

“The fence that makes good neighbors needs a gate to make good friends” ~ Anonymous

Think of all the beauty that’s still left in and around you and be happy! ~ Anne Frank

Check out some of the previous posts — especially the last one with some lovely canine photos.

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Photographs Never Forget! Keeping memories alive with custom albums and portraits.

• It’s time to book for fall portraits!
• Be sure to take photos of your child(ren) as they get ready and head back to school.
• Sign up for my monthly newsletter for tips and ideas with your own photos.

“To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring – it was peace.” ~Milan Kundera

Pretty much sums up my afternoon — I desperately needed a break.

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Photographs Never Forget! Keeping memories alive with custom portraits and albums.

I had the pleasure of photographing a truly wonderful couple and their two dogs. Although there are some incredibly fun photos of this playful couple, I’m posting some of the quiet moments first.

This first trio of photos I put on a sample storyboard — just thought these three fit nicely together. I wish I had more ‘play’ time because I love creating storyboards and putting together design pages. For some I use templates I have purchased and others I design myself. This is a nice little sample though, don’t you think? The perky little dog is Chewy and that noble looking Great Dane is Eva. The handsome couple are A & S.

I had such an enjoyable time with this couple. They were also a delight to photograph. I’ll likely post a few more from their session in a day or two. For today, here is one more photo of Chewy and one artistic photo of Eva.

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Photographs Never Forget! … Keeping memories alive with custom portraits and albums.

It’s already time to start booking for fall photos. I will be taking a very limited number of bookings this fall so contact me today to ensure you get a spot. I will also be running a special for all 2010 clients who wish to order Christmas cards for this year. Watch my newsletter and this photo journal for details.

Meet my tree hugger. Some people might call me a tree hugger because of my strong views on caring for our planet and ourselves, but most people don’t think of dogs as tree huggers. Well, if we take the term literally you can see one of my dogs truly is a tree hugger. I’m sharing this because, the dog in this photo is actually very unwell at the moment. We rushed her to the vet yesterday and, though she’s not yet out of the woods (no pun intended), she seems to be likely making a recovery. The other reason I posted this particular photo of her is because this photo has been picked up by Canwest and will likely be printed in The Edmonton Journal this week.

Since I brought up the environment, I realized I haven’t shared links for my environment column, Everyday Earth Wise, for a long time. It does appear in print each week in the Peace Country Sun newspaper and then a week later, each column is posted online. Here are a couple of the recent columns you may be interested in, but you can always view the archives online to check out other topics:

“Tips to Becoming a Lifelong Clothes Pegger”

“Serving Up Some Compost Tea”

“Greenwashing is Everywhere These Days”

Speaking of trees, they are already beginning to change colour. You know what that means! Fall photo sessions are the busiest time of year. Since they are popular and because I really limit the number of photo sessions I take on, dates book up quickly. If you’re thinking of having a fall photo session, contact me today to book for your colourful autumn photo session (whether you’re one person, a couple, or a family — and yes, we can definitely include your dog(s) or horse(s) too!).

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Photographs Never Forget!  Keeping memories alive with custom portraits and albums.

“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.” ~Gilda Radner

Those of us with dogs, cats, or any pets feel the same as Gilda.

If you have learned your pet is nearing the end of its life, consider a Pet Bereavement Session in which I tastefully and thoughtfully capture the special bond between you and your pet.

Since time can sometimes be compressed when we learn of a terminal diagnosis, I do my best to accommodate an emergency session if it’s deemed necessary. I understand that special place in our hearts we have for our pets so I’m particularly aware of how a pet bereavement session can be comforting for creating a beautiful keepsake of your pet. The session is dealt with compassion and sensitivity. Images from these sessions are not posted publicly unless requested by the family.

Please share this information with your friends and family (the “email a friend” button below to the right will make it convenient). If you would like further information regarding the Pet Bereavement session, please contact Diane (using the contact tab above).

{Available anywhere from Edmonton north for Pet Bereavement, in the Grande Prairie region, and north as far as Grimshaw.}

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Photographs never forget. I can help you keep your memories alive. Contact me at photos @ dianeschuller . com (remove spaces) or use the contact tab above.

In recent months I have been making a point of ‘drawing out’ from some of my subjects. My tendency is always to capture people fairly close up, filling the frame. Several months ago, I decided I’d make a point of taking more photographs from a distance. I’m enjoying the results.

As I have been working on preparing images from one of last week’s photo shoots, this particular image (above) really appeals to me. I think, partly because the couple and their dogs have their backs to me in a purely natural way, but also because the distance gives this a sense of ‘watching a story unfold’ are reasons why this one appeals to me so much. It was also taken early on in the photo shoot before the sun rose too high in the sky (later on the sun became quite harsh). I like this one so much that I’m tempted to order it as a sample canvas print. Funny how certain images appeal to each of us in different ways.

The three dogs were so entertaining — I chuckled my way through the photo shoot with all their antics. This is Hank cooling off in the lake. He’s not swimming; he goes in and then lies down in the water with both head and tail up out of the water.

Note: If this post receives 15 comments from friends and family, this couple will receive a complimentary 8×10 of their choice because of your support! To make it easy, use the [email a friend] link to share this post with friends or family.

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Photographs Never Forget!

The book has arrived! My copy of the 2010 Paws for Charity Art Book arrived and I’m so pleased to be included in this incredibly worthy cause. Many thanks go out to Sara Harley for all the work and dedication with this project, now in its second year.

I warned you all that I’d be mentioning this book every chance I get throughout the year to help encourage sales. Don’t forget the proceeds from the sale of this book and the sales of the greeting cards go towards the chosen cancer charity (a different cancer charity is chosen each year). Many of us have been touched by cancer in some way whether it’s a family member, friend, or coworker. There have been several of my own family members, including my beloved mother, who died of cancer. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have survived cancer, nearly a full ten years ago and continue to remain cancer free.

The book is available either in softcover or hardcover, but I highly recommend purchasing the hardcover for the small extra amount. Many of the artists have made their images available as greeting cards which also make a great gift, but are equally worthy to use yourself as gift or notecards. So, I hope you will consider supporting the Paws for Charity 2010 Art Book. I’ll provide links below again so you can learn more.

• About the 2010 Paws for Charity Art Book project
• Diane was the featured artist last week, April 30, 2010
• The 2010 charity recipient
• To preview and purchase the book
• How to order the greeting cards

I do not receive a penny from sales — my photography simply appears alongside other artists’ work in this book. I hope you will help get the word out about this project (book and the greeting cards). Tweet about it, blog about it, link to this post or directly to the Paws for Charity site, mention it on Facebook, any way you can.