PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
JULY 2015
Diane’s hands drip with talent each time she lifts
her camera, a paint brush, or any other tool with
which she works her magic. Focusing on photography, her award-winning images truly belong
on the cover of high-fashion magazines, in travel
brochures, and on the walls of mansions as works
of art.
To say that Diane’s approach to photography is
different is an understatement. In fact, the disclaimer on her website states, “If you are looking for a
family group portrait in the park with nice even
light and all smiling happy faces directed at the
camera, then I am not the photographer you want.
To me a great portrait shows much more than your
likeness ...” As she works with a client, or a building, or a landscape, she is not taking a photograph,
she is creating art. One on one, she connects with
the subject using her unique eye for art, shadows,
emotion, edges, contrast and thought-provoking
images. She does what many others cannot, even
though each photographer pushes the button of
a camera, because what she sees and how she
captures the likeness of an object comes from her
artistic eye, her unique vision of everyday objects,
and her creative soul.
Almost everything she photographs is beautiful, but Diane strives for excellence as she turns a
simple picture into a work of art.
“I try to take the image in front of me and edit it
in order to make it match the image in my mind. I
see things a certain way, how they could be, and
through the editing process I try to take a photograph and make it into art.”
A graduate of the University of Texas with a
Bachelor’s in Fine Arts, Diane stood out in her
class. She even self-published her own book, 50
Squares of Caddo Lake, after a mother/son trip
resulted in stunning photographs of the dangling
Spanish moss, the amazing greenery, and the
breathtaking stillness of the water.
Recently winning multiple awards from the Association of Texas Photography Instructors, Diane
continues to challenge herself. Somewhat shy and
humble, Diane is not one to boast of her many
first-place ribbons, but her son Jack will tell you
all about them. Proud of his mother, he smiles as
he says, “The thing I am most proud of is that she
makes photography fun. It’s the way she doesn’t do
it for money or fame. It’s just fun.” After a few moments of thought, Jack, 14, added, with emphasis,
“she is diligent!”
Diane is certainly diligent as she transforms
plain pictures pixel by tiny pixel into works of art
through the editing process. The other cool thing
about Diane is that she could be living in Paris
shooting high-fashion runway shows, yet she
54
chooses to live here, in her hometown, and give back as she
shares her talent with young students and challenges them to do
their best and develop their natural talent.
An amazing thing about Diane is that she can take a bald
cancer patient, like Stacy Fade, through a photo shoot and make
her feel beautiful again. As demonstrated in the accompanying photos, Diane captured Stacy’s beauty and soul during the
roughest time of her life. A double mastectomy and hair loss left
her feeling somewhat less feminine.
“Sitting for the photos, I was scared,” she said. “I didn’t think
the pictures would turn out good or that I would like them at
all. I had no hair. But after seeing the pictures for the first time,
I cried. I could see how strong I was. And I could see that I was
still beautiful. Being able to see myself from that perspective,
Dia ne’s perspective, gave me strength. I am so grateful to her
that she photographed me because the process helped me to
cope with my battle with cancer. It also documented through
the pictures this time in my life. When I look now at the photos,
I am reminded that God does not give us more than we can
Continued on page 63