Diane Jarvis-Schuller

As most of you are aware, I write a weekly newspaper column dedicated to simple things each of us can do to reduce our impact on the environment, “Everyday Earth Wise”. Once it has been in print, the newspaper archives each column online. Since coffee and tea are such common hot beverages that most North Americans drink, I thought you might be interested in my last column. You’ll likely be surprised about decaffeinated coffee and how it’s made — hopefully you’ll go back to using the real thing. Visit Coffee, Tea, and the Environment.

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Diane is available for professional freelance assignments for editorial, commercial, or special event coverage. She primarily serves the Grande Prairie area and lives NW of that city near Hythe, Alberta. Due to her flexibility and location she also serves the entire Peace River region having accepted assignments in/near Rycroft, Spirit River, Grimshaw, Peace River, Bezanson, Beaverlodge, and elsewhere within the region.

Her photography has appeared in a variety of publications including Peace Country Sun, Dogs in Canada, Country Guide magazine, Hythe Headliner, Trot magazine, Canine Review, Dog Sport, and others. Member of the News Photographers Association of Canada (NPAC).

One thing about living in Alberta, the winters may be cold but the sun shines!

I received a lovely note in the mail today. Serge Gouraud had contacted me about a year ago wanting to purchase or license one of my photographs. Today he wanted me to see the launch of his new website, complete with my photo and photo credit, and I’m sharing his new venture with you. If you find yourself traveling to France, you must check out his exquisite accommodation. Besides, anyone who goes about doing business in such an ethical and conscientious way (paying for the use of a photo instead of stealing it, like so many people do) deserves recognition. Please pay a visit to his newly launched, La Caneda.

“May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night and a smooth road all the way to your door.” ~ Irish Blessing.

As Diane’s tag line goes, Photographs Never Forget! Diane is in the business of photography and with her solid business background is well aware of the power of photographs to represent and promote your business. If you’re looking for a reliable experienced photographer, contact Diane for any commercial photography needs. From oil rigs to coffee houses, Diane’s photography will make your business look its best and get your business percolating and bubbling to the surface, where it belongs!

I definitely recommend this novel whether for yourself or as a gift, Resistance by Anita Shreve

Who are your favourite heroes (heroines) in fiction?

This is one of the questions posed by CBC in their version of Proust’s Questionnaire. One day I would love to play the questionnaire and respond to each question. In the meantime, here is my off-the-cuff response to this one question (that’s the idea of doing the questionnaire; the responses are meant to be what first comes to mind without having a lot of time to give it thought).

My favourite heroine is Penelope, the sixty-something protagonist in Rosamunde Pilcher’s The Shell Seekers. I found her spunky and honest in the way she examined her life and her connection with her adult children. There’s more but that’s what stands out in my mind. A very memorable woman.
I do have a second heroine — not sure why male characters are not immediately coming to mind — in Sue Monk Kidd’s delightful novel The Secret Life of Bees, I was absolutely smitten with the teenage Lily. Despite her situation, she had such a delightful and forward-moving attitude and she sometimes had me smiling so much that my cheeks were sore.

Quick, who are your favourite heroes (heroines) in fiction?

After making a vegetarian meal tonight (no I’m not vegetarian; just love vegetables) of curried tofu and vegetables, I thought it might make a tasty post. So here are a few recent food photos to titillate your taste buds. Beginning with tonight’s meal of curried tofu & vegetables that I served on Basmati rice, topped with chopped cilantro and toasted almonds. Of course, it went down nicely with a cool glass of white wine.

The ironic thing about having a vegetarian meal this evening is that, as I was preparing it, the lady I buy my bison from, delivered our half bison. So I went outside and we filled the freezer with fresh bison. I prefer the bison to beef partly because it’s lower in fat, but more because we can buy it locally and the people who raise this particular bison do it sustainably. In other words, they don’t feed any synthetics, chemicals, hormones, and the bison are on pasture from the day they’re born until the day they go to slaughter. No mass produced, fat induced meat at all.

This next one is a photo I turned into a bit of art. I baked a pair of apple pies a weekend or two ago.

And this last one is simply some ‘fast food’ that was sitting on the ledge of my kitchen window. The light streaming in my kitchen window lured me into getting my camera to capture how the soft glow made them look so appealing — at least to me. Enjoy!

“It’s the company, not the cooking, that makes a meal.” ~ Kirby Larson, Hattie Big Sky, 2006

Oh do I ever agree with that quote. Nothing beats sitting down to a meal and having a great conversation!

“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” ~ Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755 – 1826), The Physiology of Taste, 1825

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Diane is always available for commercial and editorial assignments. Contact her to discuss your photographic needs today.

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

These ‘apples of the earth’, pomme de terre, are freshly dug from my garden. Yukon Gold are absolutely my favourite potato. They’re ideal baked, boiled or fried. They have a lovely almost nutty flavour and I love the consistency — they’re never gummy or mushy. I’ve always enjoyed digging up potatoes. That’s never been a job to me; always a pleasure. The earthy scent as the fork lifts the soil, revealing the earth apples, the feel of the soil, the cool wet weight of each potato — all those senses provide so much pleasure.

Yukon Gold are the first Canadian-bred potatoes to be marketed and promoted by name. Developed in 1966, registered in 1980. Unlike some of the other yellow flesh potatoes, these store well. Delicious.

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In addition to custom portrait photography, Diane is also a freelance photographer available for commercial photography, special event coverage, and editorial assignments.

It’s late; it’s been a hot day; busy too. So I’m not really inspired with any clever titles. I’ve been playing around a bit … as you will see. I hope you enjoy this trio.

I love taking photographs of cars. I was thrilled last year when asked to do this photo shoot. In another week I will be photographing this couple’s wedding!
These first two images I played around and added some artistic touches but the last one is simply a classic black & white.

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Photographs Never Forget!

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.

I was on vacation in Victoria, BC when I took these photos. I was meandering, taking in the intriguing sites and architectural details. The window is a very old building at the harbour and obviously once opened up from an active place of commerce. It’s now more decorative than functional. Numerous buildings had beautifully detailed and crafted door handles. I thought this pair of bronze keys was particularly clever. Although the building, also located on the harbour, was likely a bank it now houses a tastefully appointed fish and seafood restaurant.

I’ll be heading back to Victoria in February so was browsing through some of these images from my previous visit. It’s interesting how my vision through the lens was so varied. Many photos are of the details, some include the people, oodles of the photos are taken of boats and the water, food and street markets abound in the photos, and I forgot how many I had taken at night. It will be the same time of year when I revisit Victoria so I wonder what I will focus on, in terms of the photos I take, for this upcoming trip. Funny how we see the same things differently at different times. Funny how time seems to have actually enhanced the beauty and details of these old building features. Funny how people took the time to create beauty in the everyday details.

Time is a brisk wind, for each hour it brings something new… but who can understand and measure its sharp breath, its mystery and its design? ~Paracelsus

This is a sneak peek of the photo shoot I did Friday evening. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting these two special people. SC is a special lady planning this surprise photo shoot for T and his beautiful old cars.

In the next one (below) I added some edgy effects. My idea was to juxtapose the old car with a contemporary, edgy look. When I noticed his reflection in the car, I had him do several different approaches so I took oodles (now I’m still needing to eliminate most of them).

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Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer serving the Grande Prairie, northern Alberta & BC areas. Visit Diane Schuller Photographs.