A Day in the Life of Diane Karas Miller

September 15: A Day in the Life of Diane Karas Miller of The Shutterbug Eye on Etsy; all taken with iPhone

My morning coffee and computer time.

 My cat resting after breakfast.

In the car before an appointment.

The equipment at the ENT. It was a dr visit day for me.

Now I'm home and I have to do some work. My cat supervises me.

Visiting animals at the Dog Patch Pet and Feed. I needed cat food. They are the first pet store in the area to go all rescue animals.

 Now I'm home and someone is happy to see me.

 The snuggles didn't last too long cause it's workout time.

I finished the day by making some apple crisp. Yum. We picked apples Sunday, the day before this challenge.

Oh, September…

Crisp, blue skies and rich, velvety browns are what September is all about. Here are some of the latest photographs from the FPOE Team:

Autumn Leaves by Studio Claire

Library Case by Briole

Rustic Door by Magalerie

Wild Mustangs by The Shutterbug Eye

New Zealand by Karin Elizabeth

day in the life ... Diane K. Miller

So far we've checked a day in the life of Blaire Ring, Claire Carpenter & yesterday Nastasia Cook. It's fun to see what the lovely ladies of fPOE get up to when they are not your know producing stunning photography. & today is no exception in the talent department ... Diane Miller is the owner of two beautiful photography shops on etsy, The Shutterbug Eye & her new shop Dark Raven Photo. You can also find her on facebook. & be sure to stay tuned for tomorrow's installment. xx

Monday is a workday so I get out of bed really early and wake up with coffee while checking on my Etsy shop and Facebook.

I live in the suburbs and commute into Chicago everyday for my job as a compliance officer.  I take a train every day.  The top left you can see the train pulling into the station.  To the right is the outside of my building, the historic Civic Opera House and the bottom left is the view from my office window.

Here is my office.  I'm so grateful to have a private office.  Sadly I have no one to help me file and so it's all on my desk.

Once I'm home I made some dinner for me and my son, my husband was traveling and relax with some TV.  I have to always be on watch as with three cats, one is always trying to get my food or drink.

Brooke Shaden Challenge

Many FPOE members took the CreativeLIVE course Fine Art Portraits with Brooke Shaden, so we challenged the team to use what they learned and create an image.  They used a variety of techniques taught in the course including adding light and shadows, expanding the frame, creating a character, adjusting colors, using textures and more.  Here are some of the before/after photos from this challenge. Beautiful work!

by Helen Yin :: Geisha Photography

by Lost in the Valley

by Trina Baker :: Gallery 32

by Jane Packard

by Diane Miller :: The Shutterbug Eye

How about you? Did you attend the workshop? Did you try any of the techniques you learned? We’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Meet one of your Team Leaders: Diane Miller

As our photography team continues to grow, our team leaders are always trying to find ways to unite members, promote the group and create interesting collaborations. We thought it might be fun to do a series of interviews to introduce ourselves. First up, meet Diane Miller: 

How long have you been doing photography? How did you get started?
I started in High School when I took my first photography class. I became interested in it watching my father develop prints in our basement.

What are your biggest influences and how have they shaped your photography?
My biggest influences are my love of animals and nature. I also like horror movies, especially vampires and zombies.

How did you develop and how do you maintain a photography style that is truly your own?
Time. It took time and I still feel like my style is all over the place. I like a lot of different subjects and styles. I have noticed with time though that my shop looks cohesive and so I must have developed some style even if I feel like I'm doing different things with different photos.

Who are your favourite FPOE photographers?
Oh my, I love Irene Suchocki, especially her horse photos. I also love all of Lisa Sieckza's work. Honestly, when I started, her Elle Moss shop was the featured shop on Etsy and I was in awe. Those are two but there are way too many FPOE photographers I admire for me to even begin to list.

How do you contribute to the team?
My role with FPOE includes being active in the Facebook group to support and help members. I would like to see the team to maintain its supportive atmosphere as it continues to grow. I also help with a variety of projects, such as the FPOE Collective, and assisting with many behind-the-scenes tasks, such as the membership review and more. 

How do you promote your work?
I promote on social media, mostly Facebook, although I'm on so many different sites. I try to post regularly, not just listings, even though that can be hard at times.

What is the best advice you’ve been given and would like to share about photography or running your own business?
For both I would say have patience. It takes time to learn how to take good photographs. You need to truly know your equipment, how light and exposure work and develop your artistic vision. That doesn't happen the day you buy a DSLR. When I look back at the work I was listing when I first started and compare to my work now there is a huge difference. You are always learning and developing. With regards to running a business, I'd say the same thing because you can't just post a few things and expect the sales to just roll in. It's work and you'll do a lot of wrong things before you figure out the right things. I don't think I'm there yet but I'm learning more day by day.

See more of Diane’s photography:

The Shutterbug Eye
:::
WEBSITE
ETSY
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

Dark Raven Photo
:::
WEBSITE
ETSY
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

FPOE Collective :: Volume Four

Volume Four of the FPOE Collective has been published. This issue’s theme is Reflections, featuring stunning, full-colour images of water, glass and what they reflect back to the camera.

All issues are available for purchase through Magcloud.
Click here to view our previous publications.

around the world with fPOE ... this week it's Naperville, Illinois

So from Rhode Island to Indiana, Indiana to Michigan & Michigan to California we  finally made it across the pond to Manchester, England. But now after one week away we are heading back to the states & Naperville, Illinois to check out the work of the Shutterbug Eye otherwise know as Diane Miller. With Diane's work i have focused on nature as i find her images so peaceful & calming.  For a girl who grew up with absolutely no interest in flowers as my photography has grown (excuse the cheesy metaphors) over the years i have begun to love the shapes that nature gives us, & the colours & the feeling of being at one (again excuse my use of cliches) with nature. & in Diane's work i see the things i love about the outside world.  

To say there's nothing special about her work would be lying, whilst i find these photos to be full of light & joy there's no lack of drama in them. Diane has the ability to take something which could otherwise been seen as simple & ordinary & to turn it into something beautiful & special. It's about more than just the flower, its about the environment around the flower & herself. & her use of colour is wonderful, whether it's muted tones or bright bold vivid shades they are all as glorious as each other & of course there's always a twist to give it that extra something. 

From the classic wild of the countryside ...

... to nature's most beautiful creatures ...

... & of course how could the crazy cat lady not post this gorgeous creature (see nature really does create all things amazing). 

As always all the images in this post are available to purchase on etsy ... but you can also check out her work on her website, blog & flickr.