"Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it."  ~ Confucius~

This is Diane Millers favorite quote. A quick peek in her shop, TheShutterbugEye, will prove that she loves shooting nature, flowers, and animals, with her camera, that is. She is inspired by the beauty in all of it... a walk in the woods, a garden, colorful leaves or a beautiful sunset all inspire Diane to photograph and record that beauty. She agreed to share a little more about her passion with us:

Name: Diane Karas Miller, a.k.a. DK Miller
Location: Naperville, IL
ArtFire Shop: TheShutterbugEye 

How did you come up with the name of your shop? Honestly, the short answer is from friend suggestions on facebook. I received so much encouragement from my friends on my photography-to sell it and do more with it, that I wanted them to be a part of naming it. So I posed the question on facebook. The Shutterbug Eye was so catchy that I chose it. A good friend who dates back to 8th grade and has stayed in touch throughout the times said DK. So I use the name DK Miller when referring to my art.

Tell us a bit about why you chose photography? I have always liked art, pictures, drawings, photos, etc. I remember as a kid though I struggled to color, draw paint. It just wasn't for me. I actually dreaded art class if you can believe that. Photos allow you to share your vision or view of a scene and at the same time you are out in that scene. I love to get outside, I love animals and flowers and all of that. Photography lets me go out and explore, stop and smell the roses and capture some of the beauty to bring home with me. My first real photography experiences were with a 35 mm camera shooting black and white. Now I use a digital camera and love to photograph color.

Did someone teach you? I took black/white film photography in high school and again in college. I also took a course in photojournalism in college. My dad did a lot of photography work, mostly of trains. He set up a darkroom area in the basement for his train stuff but I was able to use it to develop and make prints down there and he helped me out with tips and questions I had when doing homework, in high school at least or when home on breaks from college. When I started trying a digital camera I really hadn't done much photography from graduation in 1995 until really after my son was born. Then it was a lot of snapshots with a disposable camera. A year ago I started taking pictures of flowers, the fall leaves, insects and such and one day posted some to facebook. I was surprised by the comments I got and so continued to post photos as I also remembered how much I enjoyed photography. I have no training in digital photography but find working with the camera not too different and I like the editing on the computer as opposed to the dark room. I never liked the smelly chemicals and I always struggled to get my film on the roll to develop it.

What is the most difficult part of your craft? Patience. Having the patience to wait for the shot. This can be in the form of waiting for an animal to show up, to come into view, to get close enough. It can be waiting for the wind to die down long enough for a flower to stay still long enough to get that perfect close-up.

Do you belong to any clubs, groups or guilds? I'm a member of the Artfire Visual Arts Guild and the Artfire Blogfire Guilds. I hope to join the Naperville Art Guild next year.

Are you a seasonal photographer? I will say that I struggle with getting outside to photograph during the winter. In the spring the first flower buds inspire me to get out there. In the summer there is continued flowers, green on the trees and animals out and about. Fall is always beautiful and inspiring with the leaves changing colors. Chipmunks and squirrels are busy and there is a lot of insect life with the bees and butterflies. On one of my recent outings I was overwhelmed with all of the bees, butterflies, wasps and other insects to add interest and life to my photos. Winter is a challenge. I have a personal goal to get warm boots and get out there this winter, especially early morning after snow when the ground is that perfect white with maybe just some animal tracks and the trees all glisten.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose? I always struggle with this one. As a family I'd like to move to San Diego because the weather is beautiful, it's a great city and we have friends there. But I also like living near my family and friends here in IL. What I'd really like is to be able to travel the world and see all the wonderful things it has to offer. Egyptian Pyramids, the ruins in South America and Mexico, safari in Africa, meet different people and experience different cultures. I would like to do that and then the where I call home becomes less important. Maybe after my son is grown up and out of the house.

How about some of your favorites? I personally find favorites challenging. I guess I'm fickle.
Color? Today: red, like the deep red flower I recently posted on Artfire. I'd say the other day it was the purple of the flower the white butterfly was on.
Food? Hmmm, my grandmas roast pork and dumplings. If not that, lobster tail, pizza, anything mexican!
TV show? varies but I like The Office, CSI (all of them), and the cooking reality shows such as Hell's Kitchen.
Holiday?Christmas because it is one time my family will still all get together.

What is the best and the worst thing about being your own boss? Best thing is I know exactly what I expect from myself. The worst thing is those expectations are often unreasonably high.

Photos courtesy of DK Miller.