Diane Jarvis-Schuller

Since July and August were extremely busy for me, I missed posting several previews. All of the clients have received all their proofs but since I was concentrating on keeping my head above water with the workload, preview posts really did get set by the wayside. One couple I photographed last month were such a joy, I’m backing up and sharing a few photos from that session.

S bought his beautiful wife A a gift certificate for a custom photo session for her birthday. They live in a beautiful rural setting and are building a new home so we spent the entire time taking advantage of the lovely surroundings. We also drove to a couple different locations so there is a great variety of  images to create a lovely portrait book.

From the moment A stepped outside I knew this would be a great photo session. She was wearing that cute dress with a flashy pair of cowboy boots! I love when someone has their own sense of style and fun. Speaking of fun, S is bursting with energy and antics as you can see. Now you can see part of the reason why I enjoyed my time with these two.

Many of these images were captured as the sun was setting so those ones have that darker but warm hue, much like a comfy sweater.

I had fun playing around making some of the storyboards as well, though the possibilities are nearly limitless for different combinations. If you’re looking for a photographer in the Grande Prairie, Edmonton, or Peace region in northern Alberta, I hope you’ll keep me in mind or pass this post on to friends. We could have as much fun as the evening spent with this lovely couple.

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

Time is running out, book now for fall photos. I only have a few spots left.

{Recipe at the end of this post.}    I live in a region known as Peace Country thus the reason for my title. Living in the country does have its benefits, though I still long for the day we can return to the city. What I will miss are my beloved barn swallows. I love those birds and they are truly one of my morning delights.

A few days ago Roberta Murray tweeted that she noticed the hummingbirds are beginning to migrate south. I see that occurring as well (remember that I live north of the 55th parallel). My yard is currently a smorgasbord of sources for hummingbird nectar: tall blue delphiniums, maltese cross (lychnis), beautiful spires of fireweed, a vast array of lilies, coral bells (heuchera), and believe it or not, hummingbirds have been seen taking nectar from the holes in our birch trees created by the sapsuckers. I had to force myself indoors this morning knowing how much work I had waiting for me — but watching the hummingbirds and all the other birds was so entertaining and relaxing.

Most years, although we do get robins, none of the babies make it to fledge from the nest (because the squirrels & magpies eat them). For some strange reason, we actually have a couple families of robins that made it (though I was quite diligent about getting rid of magpies this spring) and they are a delight to watch.

[caption id="attachment_1025" align="aligncenter" width="750" caption=""Fireweed grows wild and hummingbirds love it; one reason why I intentionally grow it in my garden. Besides, it's beautiful.""][/caption]

I’m grateful for the feedback from some of you regarding upcoming topics. With the topic of posting photos of children on online photo sharing sites, that is a very long and involved discussion with multiple aspects. For that reason, I may discuss it in segments in a series of posts. It’s something I’ve been aware of for a very long time, in fact, I no longer post any photos of children at Flickr. Photos of children will only appear here and on my website. I’ve discussed in previous posts how people use sites like Flickr to actually search for photos and then help themselves to them. I won’t get into the topic today but will discuss it in upcoming posts. Yesterday, Shutter Sisters, had a discussion on the topic of having children’s photos on Flickr if you’d like to begin thinking about the concerns of posting children’s photos to online sharing sites.

Oh, before I log off and get back to work, I have a killer recipe to share with you (I know, what’s up with me?). All my life I have been a fan of egg salad, whether on its own or in a salad. Not everyone makes it … well … as tasty as it could be. Although I do have an old standby way of making it, today I made a similar version with a bit of a twist. It’s killer! I have to share it. I never use a recipe for anything and always go by eye so these amounts are approximate.

DIANE’S EGG SALAD

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced into small dices

Approximately 1-2 Tbsp finely chopped celery

(Optional: 1 finely chopped green onion)

Pinch of your favourite seasoning salt

Pinch of fresh ground pepper

Dressing:

2 Tbsp. mayonnaise (not that awful low fat stuff)

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

Secret ingredient for killer egg salad: about 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Mix dressing to emulsify, adding more liquid if necessary. It should not be runny but just barely moist enough to hold the egg together.

Now add the emulsified dressing to the egg mixture, stirring only enough to evenly coat and not to mush the egg. Serve as is on a bed of greens or in fresh rye (or bread of your choice) as a sandwich. It’s killer! Enjoy.