Diane Jarvis-Schuller

“An image in hand can touch your heart more deeply than an image on a computer screen. Printed photographs are gifts.” ~ Meredith Winn

That is EXACTLY how I feel too. Thanks Meredith.

Some Handy Resources …

A little something, at a reasonable price, for keeping your printed photos:
Live-Love-Laugh Black Bookbound Photo Album w/ Memo Holds 200 Photos

Pearhead Side Photo Album

Malden Family Bookbound Photo Album, Holds 200 Photos, Black

Or if you prefer to read about family snapshots:
Phototherapy Techniques: Exploring the Secrets of Personal Snapshots and Family Albums

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

Call today to book your fall session — only a few limited sessions available.

Don’t forget to sign up for the monthly newsletter to get tips, ideas, news, and advance notice of specials.

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” ~John Muir

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” ~ Chief Seattle.

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Please do not download, copy, or take images by screen capture. These images are copyright © Diane Schuller. If you see something you would like, contact me and I’m sure we can work something out. Thank you for respecting my art and copyright.
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“You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.” ~Paul Sweeney

I know this feeling so very well.

“The smallest bookstore still contains more ideas of worth than have been presented in the entire history of television.” ~Andrew Ross
“The smallest bookstore still contains more ideas of worth than have been presented in the entire history of computers & social networking.” ~Diane Schuller, with a great big nod to Andrew Ross

Liz Carpenter’s quote is one that is near and dear to me. I used to be a prolific letter writer. It began early in life corresponding with cousins, a few of my Aunts, and several pen-pals. In later years when I moved away from Edmonton, my letter writing migrated to long handwritten letters to my mother and my son. Since my mom died, I have likely only written half a dozen handwritten letters. It’s a shame because there is a real joy in receiving a handwritten letter — just as much as sending one. My mother kept every letter I wrote her and now I have them tucked away so I can pull them out and re-read them. Re-reading those letters is like re-living what I was doing at the time and reliving how much enjoyment my mother got from my chronicles of life, gardening, and other joys. There is a real art to writing letters and, unfortunately, in this current digital age, most people don’t know how to pen a well written, informative letter. Worse than that, most people simply don’t write letters anymore. Do you write letters?

Don’t forget to spread the word — and to get Your entry in — for the fun pet photo contest. It’s a fun contest that is wide open and REALLY WELCOMES submissions from the general public. Ordinary snapshots mean a lot. Show us your pets! Deadline for receiving entries is only days away: March 31, 2010.

Have a fulfilling weekend everyone!

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Diane is an on-location Custom Photographer (Editorial, Commercial, Portrait). She takes great pleasure in photographing people, places, pets, and hobbies too!

Diane’s website ||  Diane’s Facebook photography page

Pork roast and butternut squash

I’m busy “waiting to put it in the oven” so I can get that pet contest posted but I’ve encountered a glitch. There are several photographers talking about a ‘new rule’ at Facebook regarding not doing promotions, contests, and such. Apparently they say people can have their account removed from Facebook for doing such things because these activities are allegedly against the rules / terms of service. Since I don’t want my business page deleted and because I don’t want to disappoint anyone who enters the contest, I decided to delay posting the launch of the contest until I can get more information. So our contest is still “waiting to be put in the oven.” I was up very late last night reading the terms of service at Facebook and found nothing at all about that. I also Googled and, other than finding some blog posts, could not find anything definitive. I see people conducting contests left, right, and center on Facebook but I do want to follow the rules if they are there.

Anyway, out of an abundance of caution, I am rethinking how on earth I can do this contest without creating hours of work keeping track of things. If any of you wonderful readers has some definitive information regarding these new Facebook rules, or has an uncomplicated way of conducting a pet contest through my blog, I’m open to hearing any and all suggestions. I’d really like to get this contest “in the oven”. I have one idea for conducting the entire contest here on the blog so if we don’t come up with solutions for using Facebook then I’m prepared to get started by running it here (trouble is I won’t be able to ‘show’ all the images that come in until the finalists are selected).

“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.” from Albert Einstein’s essay, “The World As I See It”

Both photos taken in February while driving through the Fraser Canyon in B.C.

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Diane’s Environment column. Here are a couple links to archived columns, “I confess: I compost during winter” and “Easy ‘green’ ways to clean the house.” Enjoy!

I continue to be busy, as you can tell by my infrequent posts. Today one of my more important jobs was to double check an order that came in, put it together, and then package it up nice and pretty. You may remember this couple from a recent photo shoot in Edmonton. D & M are truly delightful. There were several photos from this shoot I felt really hit the mark. This photo is one of them and so is the one below. Ordinary enough and maybe doesn’t look to be anything overly special. But today when I gave them that second look as I was preparing to package up all the prints, these were two that really grabbed me in how something that seems ordinary can be really very striking. This one isn’t huge but in the 8×12 print it really comes alive. I’m excited for them to see it. I’m excited for them to see most of the prints and I hope they love them as much as I do.

Isn’t it wonderful when we take the time to pause and really have a second look at things? The ordinary, everyday things. There is so much to see that is missed when we don’t take time to linger and really observe the details and the essence. For me, when I’m photographing anyone or anything, what is most important to capture is that essence. Not the superficial but what comes to the surface from within. That’s what I strive to capture when I photograph.

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” – Elliott Erwitt

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Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer using natural light to capture the essence of her subjects. Visit Diane Schuller Photographs to view her portfolio or for more information.

PS: I’ve been asked to write out a tutorial on how I make my designer envelopes. I thought I’d have that completed by now but hopefully next week I should post on that how-to crafty item that is so easy peasy.

Above: I’ll likely Photoshop that dark circle from under her one eye.

Sisters. Children can be so wonderful to work with and sometimes you catch the magic in their eyes (and the photographer too!). Notice that cute bit of attitude with the younger sister I’m so looking forward to another family booking very soon!

“We sat side by side in the morning light & looked out at the future together.” from Story People by Brian Andreas

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Diane is an on-location lifestyle family photographer serving Grande Prairie, Alberta & points north and south. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

1. Honesty
2. Refraining from gossip
3. Helping someone else, just because.
4. Warm summer rain
5. The innocence of children

The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. If you foolishly ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.   ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer near Grande Prairie, Alberta serving all points in Alberta and northern BC. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

We had an emergency last night, having to take one of our dogs in to the vet clinic. Thankfully, she’s going to be okay. (Yes, that’s our Pearl cooling down in her kiddy pool.)

Meet Pearl. She didn’t have an ideal beginning to her life. You know those fairy tales we read to our children about how life hands you lemons but ends up happily ever-after? Well Pearl is a poster child for that kind of fairy tale. I’m so glad she ended up at our home. With all her problems most people would have had her euthanized long ago, or worse — she could have been mistreated by those who didn’t understand her issues or perhaps also tossed around from foster home to foster home. I admire every one of you out there who adopts a dog from a rescue organization or animal shelter. Thank you for being kind to them. Enjoy your weekend with your loyal four-legged friend.

Remember what Tom T. Hall said in his famous song about watermellon wine: “Old dogs they care about you, even when you make mistakes…”

After your watermelon wine weekend, tell me how your dog (or any pet) enriches your days.

Diane is a lifestyle and pet portrait photographer based from Grande Prairie, Alberta. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.