I’m not sure if it’s the symmetry of a square crop, or if it’s something else that makes the square crop appeal to me. Whatever the draw is, it works for me. The square crop is also ideal and really appealing for cards such as thank you or greeting cards, for instance. Not all images will work in a square crop, however, so the image needs to be carefully chosen, as these examples demonstrate.

Do you like a square crop? Show me an example of one of your favourite square crops (leave a link so I can come take a look).

PS: Another giveaway coming up for you lucky readers very soon. Stay tuned or be sure to add my photo journal to your RSS feed (above).

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Original photographic art makes a unique and thoughtful gift or something special for your own home or office decor. Diane offers photographic art either as a matted print, as a high end canvas gallery wrap (like this beauty), on fine art standout, or even as a poster! Call today and get your favourite. (IMPORTANT NOTE: I never have your photographic art produced by consumer labs; all artwork is produced only by labs that deal exclusively with professional photographers & artists, resulting in images of museum quality.)

Thank you! A big thank you to everyone who has supported me this year — actually everyone since 2008 when I embarked upon this exciting photographic adventure. There is more to come in 2011. Without your support my photography business and photographic inspiration surely would be hidden away as it was for years (decades). May you and yours enjoy a year ahead filled with energy, enthusiasm, good health, and many special moments with those you love.

“Go to the winter woods: listen there, look, watch, and “the dead months” will give you a subtler secret than any you have yet found in the forest.” ~ Fiona Macleod, Where the Forest Murmurs

“In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, never in want.” ~ an Old Irish toast (those Irish surely have fine toasts and wishes).

I’ve loved horses my entire life and now that I don’t have horses anymore, my attention instead is focused on photographing them. Horses are particularly well suited for fine art photography, which is a direction I’ll be focusing on more in the future. Stay tuned for an upcoming feature at another blog of my equine photography.  Even ‘backyard’ horses can become art whether it’s because of the light and pop of colour as in this photo:

Processing the same image as a black & white also turns it into art. This is an ideal way to really focus the eye directly to the horse:

Or if the artist adds some soft vintage-like processing similar to the panorama I created below, a different feel is given to the entire image:

Sometimes a close up becomes art:

I’m really enjoying December and am so pleased I made the decision to take the entire month off work. I got my first batch for this season of traditional shortbread made yesterday — melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

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Photographs Never Forget!

Diane offers fine art photography in many sizes and shapes, professionally mounted and ready to frame, or have Diane do the framing for you. Watch this photo journal for an announcement in January regarding horse and animal photography. Diane currently has a limited number of fine art photographic prints available if you’re looking for a special gift for someone special. Ideal for home or office decor! Contact Diane today for more information.

I walked in and took all kinds of photographs of it, from different angles, including close ups and some that included it within the landscape. I’ll likely go through the series and include a few more here in my photo journal in the near future.

This weekend has been so enjoyable so far. Yesterday was a sunny autumn day ablaze with fall colours, my dear husband treated us to a trip to the city for a great dinner, and I’ve been methodically working away at some long overdue household chores. It’s amazing how certain chores, such as ironing, seem much less like work when there is time to do them — besides there was some excellent, intelligent radio to listen to on CBC. With the wind, it’s also been two great days for drying clothes on the clothesline.

I hope you’ve been enjoying your autumn weekend. What has been the best moment of the weekend for you?

“Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.” ~Ansel Adams

“Life is like a good black and white photograph, there’s black, there’s white, and lots of shades in between.” ~ Karl Heiner

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With this installment of My Neck of the Woods I’m showcasing fields and skies. Next time we’ll move away from fields and skies. This next one was taken a few mornings ago as I was headed to town (Hythe) to check mail. I loved how the steam was streaming off the field so had to pull over and get a few pictures. This field was recently plowed and will sit fallow over winter, ready to be seeded in spring.

And I’ll leave you with a lovely bucolic rural scene. Again, the colours have already changed since I took this a week ago but I liked this so much I wanted to share it with you. Many farmers in our area raise cattle and even more raise bison. I’ll have to take some current photos of the bison to show you while I’m doing this little project to share with everyone. My husband and I eat bison because we can buy pasture fed bison instead of all the chemical laden, forced fed beef that is available in stores. We also buy locally raised cattle to feed to our dogs. You may have noticed in all the photos the thick bush in the background. Due to the thick bush and many swamp areas as well, there is a great deal of wildlife. The most common and abundant wildlife include mule deer, coyotes, moose, and elk (wapiti). In fewer numbers are white tail deer and fox, and the occasional bear. The most dangerous are definitely the elk but you also don’t want to come between a cow moose and her calf.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this second installment. I’ll bring more variety in #3. I’m hoping that what is ordinary for me, is of some interest to you. Thanks for stopping by again.

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

Only a few fall sessions left — contact me to book yours today.

A gift certificate for a private photo session makes an excellent and unique gift! Do you know someone with a milestone, birthday, or other special occasion coming up? Gift certificates are also ideal as corporate gifts and are much more meaningful and creative than a bouquet of flowers or fruit basket.

See a print on this photo journal that you would love to see on your home or office wall? Get in touch; many of the landscape and still life images are for sale at any size you prefer.

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.

Custom albums are the ideal way to tell the story of your wedding day. Any professional photographer involved in wedding photography considers an album an important element of the full service. The sad thing these days is that so many couples purchase a disk of images with the intention of printing their own photos or making their own book. I’ve talked to several photographers and individuals and have learned that most couples simply put a few photos on their Facebook account, then keep the disk stored in a drawer or corner somewhere. What’s even more unfortunate is that, because life gets busy or other priorities take over, that book is never created and most couples never print any of their photos. What a shame.

A professionally designed album of your wedding day is a tangible item you can open anytime and reflect upon the memories and special moments of that special day. A quality album lasts for years becoming a treasured family heirloom that can be handed down and shared with future generations. Think about when you flipped through your parents wedding album and then consider your own children doing the same one day. Disks fail and, especially if prints are never made, what a shame to have those once-in-a-lifetime moments gone, except in memory.

If you’re looking for professional photography in the Grande Prairie area, or any location/destination, contact me to discuss availability and details. I’d love to photograph your special day, capturing moments and your personal story that will live on in your custom wedding album.

If you are one of those couples who have a disk hidden under a pile of papers somewhere, contact me to inquire about getting those images in a beautiful custom album or custom hardcover book. You have a choice of the custom designed flush mount albums or a more traditional type of matted albums in different styles you can choose from with prices starting at $400 and up (2010 prices). I also offer Portrait Books or traditional albums for parents, family, or friends at lower price points. These other albums and books make a memorable and classy thank you gift for those who shared in or helped create your special day. (Albums and books come in a wide range of sizes and cover options — even a mini is better than none at all.)

The following is a photo collage demonstrating a 20 page 10″x10″ wedding Book (the flush mount albums have full spreads whereas the books are individual pages). This also shows how multiple photos can be incorporated to better tell the story of your special day, although using fewer photographs better showcases your favourites.

A WIDE variety of styles and designs are available from plain & simple (featured above), modern, or traditional options. Quotes or captions may be incorporated. With some of the designs, colour blocks to match the wedding colours are another option. There are many possibilities and each album is entirely unique — custom designed to your desires.

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

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!

If you have an image you can show me, tell me what you love about it. Is what appeals to you what we see at first glance, or is it something we have to look for? Leave a link in the comments and I’ll stop by for a look. Thank you to all you wonderful people who stop by, whether you are clients, friends, or delightful cyber-friends. I’m grateful for each of you.
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These photos are copyright © Diane Schuller. It is illegal to copy, download, take screenshots or use these in any way whatsoever. I am a reasonable person and if you contact me directly if you are interested in using a photo, I’m sure we can work something out. Permission in writing is absolutely mandatory. Thank you for respecting my copyright.