Diane Jarvis-Schuller

Dare to be distinctive. As I’ve written before, Equine art is definitely one of the hot 2011 trends. But equine art really never goes “out” of style.

Here’s an example where some hot designers are utilizing the elegant equine to add to the classy look of theirs or their clients’ homes. This first one is Summer Thornton Design’s lovely example of utilizing equine art. See what impact it has because it’s large and because it’s much more fresh and unique than other subject matter.

Although equestrian art and style existed for hundreds of years, it was Ralph Lauren who mainstreamed the equestrian style in our homes as this example from Ralph Lauren Home demonstrates:

Style at Home editor Erin McLaughlin has also incorporated her love for horses in her home’s interior design. The exquisite paintings of her gelding by artist Jennifer Pratt are hung in her front entry (photo credit: Erin McLaughlin).

And look at the impact of this horse art in a modern bedroom (photo credit: Christine Lane Interiors).

And the winter issue of Arabella magazine boldly uses a magnificent horse on their cover. Arabella is a Canadian Art, Architecture, & Design magazine.

I’ve just ordered a canvas gallery wrap of one of my equine photographs for my own home and can hardly wait for it to arrive. I should have ordered it much larger.

You too can bring horses into your home (or office) decor and wow your family and guests! Although I do offer equine images as fine art prints or canvas gallery wraps, I have another unique and reasonably priced option. Large as life, loose canvases are simple to hang (in the way quilts or rugs are hung for instance). Unlike large stretched canvas gallery wraps, this option is easy to ship or store since they may be rolled and can be hung in a snap. Eliminate framing expense (and that is often more costly than the art itself!) and you get a lot of canvas for your investment. These can hang either by a rod, a drapery wire, or more rustic methods depending upon your decor. Ask me about this or any option for including beautiful equine art in your home or office (I ship anywhere!).

Dare to be distinctive and unique: allow Diane Schuller to provide you with fresh and imaginative equine art portraying the powerful and alluring essence of the horse!

“In the steady gaze of the horse shines a silent eloquence that speaks of love and loyalty, strength and courage. It is the window that reveals to us how willing is her spirit, how generous her heart.” ~Author Unknown

The top two images were taken at a small lake near Princeton, B.C. The image below was taken at large wilderness lake while driving through Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada.

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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 unique gift for someone special. Ideal for home or office decor! Contact Diane today for more information.

Original photographic art is a unique and thoughtful gift for Christmas or anytime. Pick something yourself or give a gift certificate so the recipient can select their own art.

A few images from earlier this year. Since so many of my recent posts are wildlife or horses, I thought I’d shake it up with a little something different although all three are in a rural theme. I hope you enjoy.

For those who are interested in my weekly environment column. Here is a link to where the newspaper posts them after they’ve appeared in the newspaper. As you can guess, my recent columns are all related to Christmas in a variety of different ways. The more you scroll down on that page, the further back are the columns with a diverse range of topics.

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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 unique gift for someone special. Ideal for home or office decor! Contact Diane today for more information.

Do you have a photographer on your shopping list this Christmas? You’ve come to the right place to get great ideas. Christmas is only 3 weeks away!

1. Camera strap cover. These are not a necessity but they are a unique way of spiffing up ordinary camera straps. I recommend checking out Sara Eaton’s Swanky Stitch. I was fortunate to win one of her custom camera strap covers and am proud to have a more feminine touch when I’m out and about with my camera. She also has some masculine fabrics to choose from for the guys on your list.
2. Since I happen to love supporting creative people who make things, here is another excellent suggestion. An incredibly high quality padded camera bag for women who like to look stylish while carrying a camera with them (instead of those ugly black and bulky masculine bags) — and you won’t believe how reasonable they are. I have something similar but when I found this person, I was kicking myself that I didn’t buy from her first! Check these stylish (and well made) camera bags out and you will be guaranteed to have the BEST gift under the tree!
3. Books: either of David DuChemin’s: Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, and VisionMongers: Making a Life and a Living in Photography. Both are photography books written by a fellow Canadian that any photographer would be delighted to receive.
4. A Microfibre Cleaning Cloth: Every photographer, whether an amateur or pro needs more than one of these in their camera bag. Even if a photographer has a couple he or she will appreciate having a few more.
5. Gorillapod*. Here’s a really useful little gadget any photographer should have in their bag. Basically they are a portable tripod with three articulated legs that you can use to wrap around any object and hold your camera or flash. They are relatively small and lightweight and are great when you need to support your camera or flash in some unusual position or location. They also have a version for the iPhone called the Gorillamobile which is a great little accessory with a number of uses (watch the video). In conjunction with the Gorillamobile, there is now a new iPhone application called Gorillacam and the best part is that it’s free! It features a camera timer, unlimited rapid fire, 3-shot burst and a grid overlay. Used together with the Gorillamobile, you can now take better self portraits or videos using your iPhone.
6. Another book suggestion is for the photographer who is still just getting started or who says they only do natural light. Well it’s time they learned more This book, On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography is so good because it’s not so technical that a person can’t get into it and yet it gives so much excellent how-to information. And if you’d like to know my favourite book on lighting, it’s Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting but this one is much more about learning to understand lighting rather than a lot of how-to.
7. Black Rapid R-Strap. I want one of these — soon! The company is smart enough to make them for men or women. From all the reviews I’ve read and comments from photographers who do have them, this is by far the best camera strap on the market. The R-Strap allows a person to hang the camera at your side quickly sliding it up to your eye to take a shot. This is far better than hanging a heavy camera and lens around the neck. It’s ideal also for travel photography or wedding/event photographers.
8. Want some more ideas that border on novelty rather than true practicality? Check out Photojojo for some funky ideas.
9. Subscription to KelbyTraining.com. Scott Kelby’s training website offers hundreds of hours of instruction on just about every Adobe program including Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, and others. There are also lots of other instructional videos on photography, covering topics ranging from legal and business issues to lighting and wedding photography.
10. Memory Cards. A photographer can never have enough memory cards. It’s best to stick with well known brands like Lexar or SanDisk.
11. This one won’t surprise most of you. Because photographers are always taking so many photos for themselves and because I feel we MUST get all our images printed rather than left on our computers, head out and buy the photographer on your list a beautiful photo album. Here’s a nice leather one for someone who like things a bit rustic or country, Genuine Leather Rustic Rider Photo Album – Stores 100 4×6 Photos, Dark Brown or for the photographer who prefers things a bit more classy, try this one Deluxe Leather Photo Album with Faux Suede Interior Lining – Stores 300 Pictures, Brown — I know I would always appreciate receiving an archival quality photo album of any kind.
12. Gift Card. Still not sure what to get them? A gift card to their favourite camera store is always a safe bet.

What items are on your photography wish list this year? Leave your ideas in the comments below.

Two quick things today. First, a simple reminder that I do sell some my own photographic art if you’re looking for something beautiful for your home or office. Photographic prints can be purchased as mounted prints ready for framing; already matted & framed; or for a real classic look they can be ordered as a canvas gallery wrap. The fine art photo above would be ideal for printing on canvas. In a range of subject matter, these also make great gifts for anything from: corporate gifts, employee reward program, farewell gifts for employees, Christmas or birthdays, or as a housewarming. A gift certificate for a custom lifestyle photo session also makes an excellent gift whether as a corporate gift or for a family member.

The second reminder is a show-and-tell of my press printed portrait books. If there are several photos from your photo session that you really need to have and you don’t have room on the walls for all of them, the portrait books are an excellent and cost-effective option. Besides, they look beautiful for showing off on your coffee- or end-tables. And the bonus, they last for years so you can look back on them with pride enjoying those great memories. Here is a sample of one of the many cover options (photo covers also available). This is one of the gorgeous floral covers that gleams something like a hologram, depending upon how the light hits it. A variety of leathers are also available for the covers. Of course, inside are your beautiful photos. I can design a lovely set of page formats especially for you — and you can include some of your favourite quotes as well, if you like. These also make great gifts for grandparents or parents — far more tangible and beautiful than a fleeting image on a computer screen.

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

Continuing from my previous post, I’m coming through by showing samples of the CD Covers I have been making. As many of you know, I don’t give high resolution photo files on CD (for very good reason). I do offer a low resolution file, not suitable for printing, but ideal for sharing images in blogs, Facebook, etc. but charge accordingly because it’s prints I prefer people to enjoy and show off in their homes. A while ago, I had been wanting to create a few CDs with samples of my work to give to a couple friends and a family member. I don’t have a printer that prints directly on CDs (though that would be the ideal and most professional looking), so had contemplated what other options I had for personalizing the CDs.

I decided against the stick on CD labels because they are known to peel and jam up inside CD players or computers. I sure didn’t want that! I found templates for printing out the square labels that slip inside the cover of the plastic jewel cases, but was still hoping for something just a bit nicer. Then someone in one of the photography groups mentioned trying the template at bighugelabs.com for making a personalized CD cover. I checked it out and liked the idea. It also seemed easy enough to do so I thought I’d try it out. It was surprisingly easy to make and all I had to do was create my cover image in Photoshop, upload it to www.bighugelabs.com, print it out using their template, and cut along the edges. It turned out really well. The first ones I only used a single sheet of printer paper and thought it needed a bit more heft so I laminated a second sheet of paper to the back, let it dry, and that greatly improved it. Since then I’ve improved upon them by printing on a lightweight card stock (so I don’t have to monkey around with laminating). My husband LOVES them and thinks I should sell them! Now that’s quite an endorsement (though I have no intention of selling them) because he is so fussy and always looks at things with an eye to quality.

I finally remembered to take photos of a couple of the earlier ones so you can see what they look like. These two are ones I gave to clients as a token of my appreciation — they contain a mini slideshow in pdf format. After cutting it out, the paper is folded in and I sealed it with a custom sticker. I think they would be great gift ideas even if you’re not a photographer. If you take photos of your kids, or pets, or both, it would be a great gift for aunts & uncles, siblings, parents, grandparents, or whoever. Another gift idea would be if you had taken photos of a family or workplace event, or a fun day with friends, to do up a CD of the photos to give to each person who was there as a Christmas gift. With your CD cover you can personalize it, the CD and cover are something you have made (so it’s really appreciated), and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Who wouldn’t want to receive a gift from the heart like this?!