Diane Jarvis-Schuller

Today is Earth Day around the globe. Being responsible stewards for the environment is not a one-day event; living responsibly every day is how we really make a difference.

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“This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” ~Chief Seattle

The environment column I write for one of the local newspapers goes online a week after it appears in the newspaper. For a list of some of my recent columns dedicated to making a difference to the environment, with a focus on simple everyday changes, visit the Everyday Earth Wise archives index. Perhaps you will find some small way you can make a big difference — in your life and to the environment. If each of us makes an effort to make small changes, each of these small changes add up to make big changes. Consider talking to your children and your grandchildren about the environment and being responsible stewards. Help them grow a garden this year, learn to compost, and go for walks in nature. If we teach them now, they grow up learning the important habits of a responsible earth steward. Although it’s best to get outside with them, visit Eco-Kids Canada or Eco-Kids (World) for some great online resources and teaching tools. I’ve listed a few books below for you or the kids but there are many more available at your local library or bookstore. Turn a new leaf starting today!

Before you head off to take some green action, here are links to two of my archived environmental columns. Please note that the newspaper does take these down after a time so if you find either or both of these helpful, I’d recommend printing it out. Here are tips on Repurposing Around the Home and a Do-it-Yourself Eco-Clean Kit. Print them out and put them to use — you’ll be surprised how easy it is to be green and how much money you will save too.

Earth Day is (also) for the Dogs.

Earth Day (Rookie Read-About Holidays)

The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time

Everything Kids’ Environment Book: Learn how you can help the environment-by getting involved at school, at home, or at play (Everything Kids Series)

Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home

This post is going to be short and sweet. Here is a prime example of why we should never ever judge anyone. You know the old saying, “Never judge a book by its cover.” Well please do click on the link I’m about to give you. It will be five minutes that will stay with you forever — I guarantee. Now please, you must see Susan Boyle.

{Top photo: an in-camera experiment || Bottom photo: a simple conversion to black and white done in Lightroom}

The weekend was great, mostly because spring truly is showing its face around here. The snow is melting (though it snowed all day Sunday) faster than you can say “zippity-doo-dah” flawlessly fifteen times; the Canada Geese have returned and some of the Trumpeter Swans flew overhead as well; Easter Sunday was a day filled with great conversation with family; the chickadees are seeking out safe nesting spots; saw a Snowy Owl perched on one of our spruce trees this weekend; the air is filled with the smell of snow melt; hubby drove all the way to the city & back Easter Monday so we could have a sushi treat (took lots of photos of it too); and I no longer have to wear 3 or 4 layers of clothes when I go outside!

As you can see, I couldn’t help but put out two posts today.

I hope you enjoy this sunshine-y store-bought chrysanthemum. What makes your star shine today?

 

Diane is a lifestyle photographer serving Grande Prairie, Alberta & northern Alberta. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

 

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This week I heard:

• the return of the crows, “caw, caw”;
• the dark-eyed juncos (I haven’t seen them yet but I hear them);
• coyotes howling and yodeling each day and night;
• an owl hooting outside our bedroom window in the middle of the night;
• “Green onions” by Booker T and the MG’s … man I love that tune!
• News, both good and bad, on the radio and TV;
• Canada Geese returning north (but there’s no open land or water yet for them);
• “Stranger on the Shore” … to me that melody sounds like what it would feel like to be floating on a calm sea in twilight;
• heard that owl again, though he was further away from the farm this time;
• My mother’s voice within mine when I chuckled to myself.

What did you hear this week?

PS: Last week I promised to do a brief post about one of the books that helped me the most in moving forward with my photography. Time has slipped away like a snail on wet glass so I hope you won’t mind waiting until after the Easter weekend. I promise to have the post ready to roll out after this long weekend.

Taking pictures of your dog, cat, or other pets are often similar to taking photos of your children. As promised here are a few simple, yet basic, aspects to keep in mind when taking pictures of your family dog(s). If there is interest, in future I can provide information to address more advanced approaches. These six tips will form a good base to get you started taking better snapshots of your family pet.

1. Have an assistant, whenever possible. If you have a friend or family member you can put them to work in playing with the dog or pup or by acting as a distraction with a toy, for instance. Squeaky toys are good for getting dogs to perk their ears at attention and for directing which direction the dog faces.
2. Turn off the flash and turn the beep feature off on your camera. Take your photos in a brightly lit room or outdoors so the flash is not necessary. Many animals become leary of cameras when the beep goes off every time the shutter is released. You don’t want your pet worried about the camera — you want him/her relaxed.
3. Forget about posing! Attempting to pose a dog, especially with the dog looking straight at the camera, most times is so lifeless and lacks personality. The best photos are those where you capture your dog (or your kids) at play, concentrating or showing curiosity over something, or even relaxing after a long run or playtime. As mentioned, if you have some toys or treats with you, you can toss it out to get the dog moving or playing. When you forget about posing and simply allow your pet to be itself, not only will you capture personality but you’ll also find you enjoy these the  most because the real essence of your dog/pet is captured.
4. Turn your camera’s setting to continuous mode. Whether you have a point-and-shoot, a DSLR or a 35mm film camera, you will have that capability. This allows the camera to take a continuous stream of photos while keeping the shutter pressed, hopefully so you don’t miss some unexpected shots especially if your pet is moving.
5. Take lots and lots of pictures! Don’t worry so much about perfection. Be more concerned about capturing special moments. If you have a digital camera, you have the luxury of taking all kinds of shots without having to pay for developing/processing. Simply delete the rejects after downloading them to your computer and hang on to the good ones (be sure to get them printed).
6. Get down! This one is key. When you get down to the pet’s level (again, this is important for photos of children too) and preferably the closer the better, your images will immediately improve. If you have a DSLR, you can get even better results by attaching your zoom lens. This will allow you to be further away (out of their face), less intimidating, and to still capture those close up shots. Ideally, you want to nearly (or fully) fill the frame with your subject. You don’t want your subject to be a blob or dot in the frame.

The dog’s face fills the frame, concentrating on his eyes. He’s not looking directly at the camera (distracted) and the camera is not in his face because a zoom lens was used. The only thing done to this was to sharpen it slightly after downloading to the computer.

It doesn’t matter that this dog is not facing the camera — the image tells a story: she is hanging back while the other two are off hunting (typical of this dog). Taken down at the dog’s level and she nearly fills the frame.

Here the dog is captured playing in the snow (with snow flying). It doesn’t matter that the other dog’s head snuck in — it shows curiosity. Again, the dog mostly fills the frame.

Here’s a shot taken after the dog had sufficient time to play and wear off energy. He’s keeping still yet his attention is elsewhere (a distraction) and has that ‘posed’ look.

PhoDOGraphy: How to Get Great Pictures of Your Dog

How to Take Great Pet Pictures: Recipes for Outstanding Results with Any Camera

Copyright © 2009 Diane Schuller. All Rights Reserved. It is illegal to copy any part of this post or the photos without the written permission of the author. You may link to this page from your blog or website.

Diane is an on-location dog, pet & livestock photographer serving Grande Prairie & Northern Alberta/BC. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

“The beauty of the written word is that it can be held close to the heart and read over and over again.” ~Florence Littauer

I’m so immersed in my photos I haven’t been doing nearly as much reading as usual. Other than a couple of technical books (on Lightroom for instance), I haven’t read some good fiction for a while. I’d love to know where your bookmark is currently resting.

I’ve mentioned my friend Karen Bass in a previous post, but thought I’d mention her book again for anyone who may be looking for a good read. Karen’s novel, Run Like Jager is classified as Young Adult but I can guarantee it’s every bit an interesting read for adults as well!

While I’m at it, a fellow dog writer/photographer recently sent me a copy of her lovely picture book, Salty Dogs. Jean Fogle has some fantastic photos of dogs at the beach paired with apt and interesting quotes. This would be a great gift book for anyone who simply loves dogs or those who love being near water.

The reason for not reading some good fiction lately is definitely not because I don’t have some at hand; no, I have two piles of promising novels sitting in abeyance waiting for me to crack their fresh spines. As an avid reader, I’ve read a lot of really powerful, well written novels (and a few that weren’t so great too). I can never list an all-time favourite or even a top 5 or 10 for instance. That said, here is a sampling of some of the novels I’ve read that do make my list of favourites though I couldn’t put them in any kind of order — each was a favourite for different reasons. (These are simply notes I made on these novels and are by no means any sort of review.)

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd: Outstanding. I read and loved this book long before Hollywood got a hold of it. I’ve purposely not seen the movie because I know they could never do the book justice. It’s a feel-good book full of interesting facts on bees, wisdom of life, humour, and intelligence. It’s truly a book every mother and every daughter should read. Kidd writes with lovely descriptive prose and turns of phrase. More importantly, she is adept at characterization and the voice of this protagonist (Lily) is delightful. I loved Lily! She made me smile despite her circumstances.

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry: a bountiful epic told in the most richly woven prose. Mistry is an artful wordsmith. Not a dry spell to be found in this book. I learned so much about India, their culture, politics, and everyday life in their different social castes. His writing is so full of imagery and so well wrought that I could smell the streets and see the colour as I read page-by-page. The fine balance was that fine line between despair and hope. A book I can never forget. (I also read it years before Oprah discovered it )

The Kite Runner Illustrated Edition by Khaled Husseini: An excellent book with great storytelling and total involvement in the characters. The protagonist, Amir’s shocking betrayal of his loyal friend Hassan is at the root of this novel’s intensity. Highly recommended.

No Great Mischief: A Novel by Alistair MacLeod: A really pleasing read. Plain (in a simple/good way) lucid writing which used landscape as a prominent backdrop. A well told story of family, the historical parallels, and the strength of family ties — “always take care of your blood” as the characters would say. I really enjoyed a line used in the novel, which was repeated as the closing line, “All of us are better when we’re loved.”

House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III: a page turner. The fog, and sand to a degree, are characters in this moving story. I found the characterization of Colonel Behrani exceptional. Constant, and building tension, together with adept storytelling made this an engaging novel to read. I’d classify it as a contemporary tragedy. (I think I’m flattered that Oprah selected some of the books I had already read!)

The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart: The unique characters and subject — wood & stone carvers — were dealt with such clarity in this novel. As in past novels I’ve read by Urquhart, she uses the underlying theme of “a trace”. In this case, it’s the trace of the carver on the wood or stone, although I also saw the trace of a man on a woman theme. Each of the characters also had obsessions, which tied in so well with their adventures in life. A detailed, yet enjoyable literary novel.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden: Beautiful language. What an engaging novel, full of voluptuous prose; an extraordinary story that was hard to put down. His indepth research has made the building blocks of an exquisite story. I didn’t want the book to come to an end and actually remember holding on to the book and not wanting to let it go when I finally did finish it. It flows like gentle ripples on a pond. I was so intrigued by her story and in learning so much about a life of which we all have far too many misconceptions.

Oh dear, I could go on and on. See! It’s hard to pick just a few favourites  What books have you immersed yourself within that inspired you, made an impact, or even altered how you view your life?

{This blog entry has been edited from the previous version.}

 

This is an image I took at a previous photo shoot — a child’s birthday party. This was a pair who were guests of the birthday boy. I only got two shots off but am delighted I turned at just that moment!

“One’s home is like a delicious piece of pie you order in a restaurant on a country road one cozy evening – the best piece of pie you have ever eaten in your life – and can never find again.  After you leave home, you may find yourself feeling homesick, even if you have a new home that has nicer wallpaper and a more efficient dishwasher than the home in which you grew up.”  ~Lemony Snicket

 

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Like Lemony Snicket, even though I’m in that home that “has nicer wallpaper” metaphorically, I still find myself homesick for the home in which I grew up. Not the physical house, but the place. I miss the city, I miss having people around, I miss the conveniences & the culture, I miss the diversity, I miss the people all around (yes, I know I said that but you get the idea). On my recent trip to Edmonton I felt alive again, vibrant, motivated — I had a taste of that excellent metaphorical piece of pie so aptly described by Lemony Snicket.

Upon my return, I was armed with some of the real estate papers for my husband to pore over. To my delight, he actually has been poring over them. We’re still a couple years away from retirement but we’re planning. One day, one of these years I will be able to pack up and return home.

Where do you call home — the place where you’ve had that taste of the best (metaphorical) pie ever?

I’m back from my relaxing and regenerative trip to the city. It’s storming or perhaps, more correctly, I should say we’re having a winter blizzard today. (The photo, however, is one from an early winter storm but today it is white everywhere with no dead grasses showing in the field. I don’t feel like going outside to get a photo to show you how intense it is — sorry!) It’s 15 below C, with a wind blowing so hard that the snow is running parallel to the ground, and drifting everywhere. My husband couldn’t get his car out of the garage this morning because there’s a 5 foot drift in front of the door. He was able to get the snowblower out the side door to make a pathway out to the highway and used the SUV to get to work. Just part of life north of 55.

I have a mountain of ironing to do, several work related projects to get done, and am finding writing inspiration from this book by Christina Baldwin.

Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story

“Story is the heart of language. Story emotionally moves us to love and hate and can motivate us to change the whole course of our lives. Story can lift us beyond the borders of our individuality to imagine realities of other people, times, and places; to empathize with other beings; to extend our supposing far into the universe. Storytelling — both oral tradition and written word — is the foundation of being human.” ~excerpt from cover jacket of Storycatcher. 

So tell me, what stories are you catching these days?

Take a risk. Fly out of your comfort zone.

“Don’t refuse to go on an occasional wild goose chase — that’s what wild geese are for.” ~Author Unknown

{Photo taken April 21, 2008 here in Alberta Canada. Canada Geese, Trumpeter Swans, a variety of ducks, plus Northern Pintails in flight.}

 

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway — draw being made on March 17! Have a weekend full of exploration.