“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”

These horses may be covered in mud and already have the beginning of their winter coat but to me they and this image are the epitome of life’s sweet ordinary. Taken on a recent trip to Edmonton, before the snow fell. (Since I was showing them mud and all, this photo is entirely straight out of the camera without any adjustments to colour or exposure — au natural.)

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Diane loves to capture life’s sweet ordinary through her lens, whether it’s people, places, or horses! Contact Diane (use the contact tab above) if you’d like her to capture visual keepsakes of you and your life’s sweet ordinary.

A trio of horses I spotted under the amazing Alberta autumn sky near Teepee Creek, Alberta

Driving to Edmonton this past weekend, it was a beautifully sunny Autumn day in Alberta. I took both of these on my way to Edmonton (along with at least half a dozen others). This is really a poor representation of our current weather but it was so enjoyable, I thought it demonstrated the difference to today’s reality. Today I had to shovel snow twice and just now my husband went out and shoveled again. I didn’t bother taking photos of the snow because it does not impress me — I really, really, really dislike winter. Instead I ironed, shoveled snow, drove the treacherous roads to pick up some milk and mail, and got cold and wet walking the dogs today.

“Taken at the crest of Highway 43 just heading down into Chickadee Creek, north of Whitecourt Alberta. Those yellow trees among the swamp spruce are tamarack.”

I’m beginning to get caught up somewhat so general posts like this will likely occur as winter burrows its way. No more hanging clothes on the line, no more single layers (from now on it’s dressing like the Goodyear blimp), and no more pleasant times outdoors. From now on it’s uncomfortable clothing and heavy winter boots, lots and lots of shoveling, more cold than I care to consider, and far too much time indoors. The one positive thing about spending so much time indoors for the next several winter months is that I will be doing some baking. I have a bowl of apples waiting to be turned into crisp and some frozen blueberries that are likely going to end up as pie. Oh and, of course, there will be many batches of cookies to come as well. This Saturday, being Halloween, I will be making popcorn balls — more for my husband than the rare trick-or-treater who may show up.

EDIT: I decided to go outside and take a snapshot so you’ll believe me about the snow.

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Diane is looking forward to capturing people through her lens whether there is snow or not! Just click on the contact tab above to get in touch! Let’s make some snowmen and get photos of the fun.

TAKING PICTURES OF YOUR DOG / PET (from April 7, 2009)

Taking pictures of your dog, cat, or other pets are often similar to taking photos of your children. As promised here are a few simple, yet basic, aspects to keep in mind when taking pictures of your family dog(s). If there is interest, in future I can provide information to address more advanced approaches. These six tips will form a good base to get you started taking better snapshots of your family pet.

1. Have an assistant, whenever possible. If you have a friend or family member you can put them to work in playing with the dog or pup or by acting as a distraction with a toy, for instance. Squeaky toys are good for getting dogs to perk their ears at attention and for directing which direction the dog faces.
2. Turn off the flash and turn the beep feature off on your camera. Take your photos in a brightly lit room or outdoors so the flash is not necessary. Many animals become leary of cameras when the beep goes off every time the shutter is released. You don’t want your pet worried about the camera — you want him/her relaxed.
3. Forget about posing! Attempting to pose a dog, especially with the dog looking straight at the camera, most times is so lifeless and lacks personality. The best photos are those where you capture your dog (or your kids) at play, concentrating or showing curiosity over something, or even relaxing after a long run or playtime. As mentioned, if you have some toys or treats with you, you can toss it out to get the dog moving or playing. When you forget about posing and simply allow your pet to be itself, not only will you capture personality but you’ll also find you enjoy these the most because the real essence of your dog/pet is captured.
4. Turn your camera’s setting to continuous mode. Whether you have a point-and-shoot, a DSLR or a 35mm film camera, you will have that capability. This allows the camera to take a continuous stream of photos while keeping the shutter pressed, hopefully so you don’t miss some unexpected shots especially if your pet is moving.
5. Take lots and lots of pictures! Don’t worry so much about perfection. Be more concerned about capturing special moments. If you have a digital camera, you have the luxury of taking all kinds of shots without having to pay for developing/processing. Simply delete the rejects after downloading them to your computer and hang on to the good ones (be sure to get them printed).
6. Get down! This one is key. When you get down to the pet’s level (again, this is important for photos of children too) and preferably the closer the better, your images will immediately improve. If you have a DSLR, you can get even better results by attaching your zoom lens. This will allow you to be further away (out of their face), less intimidating, and to still capture those close up shots. Ideally, you want to nearly (or fully) fill the frame with your subject. You don’t want your subject to be a blob or dot in the frame.

The dog’s face fills the frame, concentrating on his eyes. He’s not looking directly at the camera (distracted) and the camera is not in his face because a zoom lens was used. The only thing done to this was to sharpen it slightly after downloading to the computer.

It doesn’t matter that this dog is not facing the camera — the image tells a story: she is hanging back while the other two are off hunting (typical of this dog). Taken down at the dog’s level and she nearly fills the frame.

Here the dog is captured playing in the snow (with snow flying). It doesn’t matter that the other dog’s head snuck in — it shows curiosity. Again, the dog mostly fills the frame.

Here’s a shot taken after the dog had sufficient time to play and wear off energy. He’s keeping still yet his attention is elsewhere (a distraction) and has that ‘posed’ look.

PhoDOGraphy: How to Get Great Pictures of Your Dog

How to Take Great Pet Pictures: Recipes for Outstanding Results with Any Camera

Copyright © 2009 Diane Schuller. All Rights Reserved. It is illegal to copy any part of this post or the photos without the written permission of the author. You may link to this page from your blog or website.

Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer (dogs, pets, families, children) serving Grande Prairie & Northern Alberta/BC. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

This screenshot cuts off the rest of the web page but the important part is there — one of my dear models from last year! Thanks Kari over at Mod-Dog for this feature at Snap! Check them out

Diane is an on-location lifestyle pet/dog photographer based from Grande Prairie serving all of Alberta and northern BC. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

Also @dianeschuller on Twitter.

Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer based from Grande Prairie serving all points in Alberta and northern BC. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

sere  |sɪ(ə)r| |sɪə|noun. Ecology, a natural succession of plant (or animal) communities, esp. a full series from uncolonized habitat to the appropriate climax vegetation. Compare with succession. ORIGIN early 20th cent.: from Latin serere ‘join in a series.’

While visiting my mom in the cemetery on Sunday.

Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer serving Grande Prairie and Edmonton, Alberta. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

This is the handsome and very loyal Darien (above)

I found E to be incredibly photogenic and, although this is the only one of her included in the sneak peak, I really liked a lot of the images in which E was with her two dogs.

I had a hard time getting images of Shy (she is very friendly and outgoing) keeping still long enough to do some quiet shots. She is Kong crazy!

Despite Darien’s age, he sure can whip across the field to get his tire. Notice the dry grass flying.

E sure is a great mom to Shy and Darien. She’s the only person so far who has brought along a backpack of resources that included water and a water bowl for her dogs knowing they’d need a drink during the session. We used barely any of the natural treats I brought along since her dogs were so cooperative and friendly. Thanks for a fun session E!

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

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Diane is an on-location dog, pet & livestock photographer serving Grande Prairie and northern Alberta/BC. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

There is a wee bit of colour cast from the parka on his face, but most of that redness is just from the cold — I purposely didn’t want to remove it in Photoshop. Notice that the leaves on the trees have begun to pop open in the past few days. Sneak peeks coming up soon from the weekends photos shoots.

For those in the Grande Prairie and northern Alberta area, don’t forget about the Father’s Day Gift Certificate sale. I can take photos of your dad doing chores around home, or simply hanging out with mom and the kids.

Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer serving Grande Prairie and northern Alberta/B.C. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

These are two of the images from that day though I took scads. The midday light causes such bad shadows and/or blowouts as you can see. I’m going to play around with a few of the images and hope they like the ones I show them. The second one below could have been a dandy despite that harsh light but he sure was handsome. I’ll need to lighten up the shadows on this one for sure to show more of his beautifully structured head.

Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer based in the Grande Prairie, Alberta area. This includes horse & livestock photography. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.