Diane Jarvis-Schuller

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.

“There are three forms of visual art: Painting is art to look at, sculpture is art you can walk around, and architecture is art you can walk through.” ~ Dan Rice

I’m enjoying going through my archive of photos. When I visit different places, it’s both the people and the architecture that strike me as the most interesting. I normally avoid the tourist traps and especially those annoying, ubiquitous souvenir shops. Whether it’s people or architecture, I appreciate the complex and carefully designed structure of things. I’d rather bring home photographs of the people and places I visit, or hand made products artisans there have created; those are souvenirs with worth. What do you appreciate most when you visit places away from home?

It’s been a hectic and eventful weekend so far. I’ll spare you the mundane details but will share a tidbit or two anyway. Took our 6 year old Australian Shepherd in on Friday to be neutered. Poor guy. Our neighbour was arrested and I literally spent hours on the phone doing interviews with the media that afternoon.

What was left of the afternoon media scrum. CBC’s satellite still up. Missed the roaming helicopter.

That caused me to be late in getting my environment column in on time — first time ever that has happened. Speaking of my environment column, the newspaper that it originally appeared in has closed down as of year-end but they have another paper for the rural community and my column will be a new weekly feature in there.

For those living in my neck of the woods, watch for my photos to appear in future issues of Peace Country Sun newspaper. The first 3 images, including the one above, will appear in the January 15th issue. Let me know what you think!

Since I was feeling a bit of cabin fever, I decided to take a long drive and look for some photographic inspiration. Found several different subjects but Mother Nature provided me with the best inspiration.

“Observe the wonders as they occur around you.” ~ Rumi

One final note. As some of you know, I’m a strong proponent of setting and attaining goals. I’m not much of a resolution-maker and I do feel there is quite a difference between the two. This year I actually have made a few resolutions and am pleased to report that I’m well on my way in keeping those resolutions. The main one is spending far less computer/online time and far more time living. I can’t tell you how refreshing and invigorating it is to spend so much less time on the computer. I tried it in the past but my frame of mind was not where it is now. I’m thrilled to say I’m actually in love with this ‘found’ time I’ve been experiencing living real life by drastically reducing my online time. I think more of us should take this on. I’ve missed a lot and I plan to make up for it in 2010!

So what has been inspiring you lately? Or, have you made any resolutions or set goals? Are you embracing those goals/resolutions? I know you can do it!

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Don’t forget to add yourself as a fan on Facebook. Facebook fans will be eligible for some nifty rewards this year!

Every morning I make a fresh cup of cappuccino for my  husband and myself. It’s a ritual we’ve been enjoying for at least 15 years. Each morning we sit with our cappuccino and chat for up to an hour before he heads off to work. Then I make my way to my  home office and our work day begins. When I’m out of town as I had been last weekend and will be again this coming weekend, I seek out a suitable purveyor of quality coffee. Recently and coincidentally, in the same building as our Edmonton condo, an amazing business has opened up. Credo is where we find a perfect cappuccino when in Edmonton. I used to head to a nearby Starbucks but, forgive me Starbucks, I’ve found an even better morning coffee. The place was featured on the evening news because of its already-faithful following and because of their practice of buying only quality fair trade beans. Not to mention those great leaf designs on every cup of coffee, whether it’s a cup of cappuccino or a bowl of latte. Art in a cup.

What is your morning ritual?

Kids are so enjoyable to photograph. Even the sweet shy ones always come around in no time at all! Even if you haven’t met this delightful young fellow, you still get a sense of his personality. Isn’t this better to capture real personalities rather than placing family members in awkward poses and asking them to say “cheese”? Simple. Natural. Genuine.

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Diane is a freelance photographer serving all points north & south of Grande Prairie, Alberta. Visit Diane Schuller’s portfolio. As she did for this client, she accepts assignments for editorial and environmental projects.

When I was little I used to love going for Sunday afternoon drives in the country. Imagine doing that with some old car that was simply good enough to get around, but letting the top down allowing the wind to mess up your hair and to experience the sights, smells, and sounds that are out there. The experience is enriched not by the car you’re in, but by your involvement and how you deal with what comes your way. (Even if what comes your way is an occasional bug, a bit of rain, a dust storm, or perhaps you’ll simply enjoy the pleasures of spring air and bird song.)

You know how so many photography blogs and photography networks have a focus on what gear the photographer uses? Initially this intimidated me but, not for long. I’ll admit I do have a wish list of lenses and a camera that I plan to add to my arsenal but I’m definitely not hung up on the fact I don’t have the highest end camera or a vast array of lenses and other photographic paraphernalia. I wrote about this several months ago, saying how I work with what I have and feel quite strongly that the value of a photographer is not measured by the camera s/he has or the gear in the bag.

Thanks to a twitter from Shelli Pabis, I was directed by curiosity to a short blog post by another photographer. It was really just common sense but when I read his third suggestion, I could have jumped out of the screen and given the guy a great big hug and a tweak on the cheek. He began by stating outright, “Don’t get hung up on gear.” No kidding! He is so absolutely correct and this is how I feel, in spades.

I encourage you not to judge yourself or others by their gear. Gear does not a photographer make, to use a play on an old cliche. Just think about some of the photographers a hundred years ago for instance — many made their mark in history based on their images and the skill with which they used those old clunky cameras. It was the photographer — the person behind the lens — that made the difference. How you use your camera and equipment together with an artistic eye is far more important than what equipment you have. In fact, I firmly believe a person is better off not going out and buying this-or-that lens or some high end camera until you are so adept at getting the most out of your current equipment that you can make it walk on water. Well, almost.

In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that some photographers who upgrade to a higher end camera and buy the lens-of-the-month, are doing themselves no favours (unless they first are getting absolutely every bit possible out of their current camera & equipment). All too often, the photographer relies upon the camera or the lens to do the work rather than progressing & developing their own skill level. I sure wouldn’t want to drive a car that was real pretty, had all the newest bells and whistles, but the guys didn’t bother to build a good set of brakes, drive train, and motor underneath before dressing it up with the pretty stuff — would you?

Yes I sometimes drool when I see images taken with a macro lens and often get a case of macro-envy. I don’t have a macro lens and likely won’t get one for a very long time in the future. In the meantime, I’m squeezing every bit out of my little Nikon and am proud of what I’m able to do with that little camera. I continue to stretch my capabilities — wringing every bit out of my lowly camera by experimenting & learning all that I can about every possible setting, bits of available light, exposure combinations, and moving targets to boot. I’ll upgrade my equipment — eventually, little by little. But what’s the hurry? I’m learning more and more as I tinker ‘under the hood’ of my little Nikon.

Sure, I can see making the jump from a point-and-shoot to a DSLR if a person is wanting to get more serious about their photography, but to go out and buy a top end Canon, Nikon, or whatever or the lens-of-the-month, that’s where I believe it’s better to keep the dollars in your pocket and take that little camera for some fun test rides! Take that camera for a drive in the country, with the top down (both metaphorically and literally).

{{UPDATE: Since this was originally posted, I have upgraded my camera though I continue to use my little Nikon as a dynamite back-up camera. As with all photographers, my photo accessories continue to grow. The general idea here should be emphasized in that it’s not the equipment but the person behind the lens and how they use the equipment that really makes the difference! Enjoy.}}

Diane is an on-location freelance photographer based near Grande Prairie, serving all points in Alberta plus northern BC. Visit Diane Schuller Photographs.

awesome: extremely impressive; in the senses – filled with awe

Doesn’t Nature sometimes fill you with awe?

(photos of pussy willows taken yesterday May 5, 2009 — spring has arrived north of 55 here in northern Alberta)

Flirt’s “Fantasy Island”: with light lemon icing & smothered in coconut

I promised more cupcakes from Flirt plus I thought I’d also share a few thoughts on spring north of 55.

In the blog world and on Flickr photos, everyone has been posting scads of photos indicative of their individual signs of spring — and for quite a while. They include bare streets!! (I wish), grass, budding leaves (what!), and flowers (you have got to be kidding, right!). As you can tell from my comments (hoping my humour is coming through!), we aren’t anywhere close to any of those so I thought it was high time I share the reality of living north of 55. You see, even though we had plenty of snow on the ground already, a huge blizzard raged in last week that added to the snowfall but it was the winds that caused drifts as high as 5 and 6 feet — that is NO April Fool’s joke.

We still have a few feet of snow on the ground, not a single tree is anywhere close to opening buds, let alone the perennials that are still buried beneath the snow and frozen in the solid earth. Yes, the first crows returned a few days ago and the Canada Geese are apt to arrive in the next week or two. But nesting — not a chance for quite some time yet. We’re beginning to get forecasts of days that will be above zero (single digits) but that doesn’t mean warm overnight temperatures. In fact, it’s uncommon to plant our gardens prior to the third week in May. Even at that we still get overnight frosts and need to protect our young seedlings or tender bedding plants after planting in May. There are a few exceptions to this but that’s primarily people who live in the city. It’s always warmer in the city because of the heat from the buildings and paved streets, not to mention that they don’t get the same effects from the blowing snow in winter (so snow melts sooner in the cities and towns).

[caption id="attachment_1121" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Hansa shrub in my backyard before last week's storm -- now it's barely visible"][/caption]

Thanks to our neighbour, we no longer have to trudge through the deep snow or don our snowshoes to take our dogs for a walk down our driveway (our driveway to the back is approximately the length of two city blocks). On Sunday he nearly got his huge 8-wheel tractor stuck when he attempted to go through some of the deeper drifts but what a relief to be able to go outside and actually walk upright like normal people. You have no idea what a relief that is rather than slogging through deep snow trying to make new tracks each day. Needless to say we are incredibly grateful when he comes by!

[caption id="attachment_1123" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="getting plowed out -- but earlier in the winter before the heavy snowfalls!"][/caption]

All that said, there truly is hope for spring! It appears we are right at an important turning point. Hopefully from now on, the days will be warm enough to melt the snow and eventually thaw the ground. Spring is in sight even if it’s not actually here! I soon hope to begin reporting on the true signs of spring up here, north of 55.