Focus On: Bueller

Starry Eyes

What an amazing and diverse group our Photographers of Etsy are, and it seems the word is starting to spread. Our group and our photographers are being featured in some pretty great sites these days. As I was interviewing Bueller for this week's article, at the same time, she was featured in Apartment Therapy. It's an amazing blog that gets lots of attention throughout the interior design world, and I think they made a wise choice in choosing to spotlight one of Etsy's best, Bueller. She's one of the pacesetters in TTV and Polaroid photography, and she inspires many photographers. Check out the Apartment Therapy interview, and read below for some questions we posed to her. Bueller was most gracious to grant an interview with the POE blog, even as she hits the big time!

How It Should Be

Ann Wilkinson: You've got a full plate -- photography, design, cooking. How do you balance all of it?

Bueller Designs: It's tough to balance it all. Usually, something falls by the wayside for a time. My photography is taking up most of my time lately, as I am upgrading everything, and I have to keep up with technology. There is a huge learning curve, since I am self-taught. If they had a photography/nutrition/design school I'd be in heaven! It would take me a decade to get fully educated in each one, so I have to do it myself at super speed. However, I always need inspiration, so that makes my design blog easy to keep up, and I'm always studying nutrition, as I'm determined to figure out how to stay healthy, so it's easy to keep that up. I have many passions that all feed each other and a very loving and supportive family, so I am very grateful. Probably explains why I'm still single, though!

When I Was Just A Girl

AW: What are you upgrading?

BD: I just upgraded to the Nikon D300, which I love, but it's a new camera to get used to. It's a metal body so it's very heavy and harder to do TTV's, but the sensor is amazing. I'm really enjoying it.

Girly Window

AW: If you could take one photography class, what would you take?

BD: I would take a camera RAW workflow class. With all this technology and everything being digital instead of tangible and real, it's becoming increasingly important to keep track of your work without compromising quality. I must say I really miss the days of the darkroom, film and negatives. That said, it's so much fun to be able to take pictures, sell them, etc., without having to pay for a roll of film or developing.

La Vie En Rose

AW: How do you make decisions on what to list for sale on Etsy?

BD: The images I list on Etsy are the ones that make my heart do a little dance. I list what I would want to buy or hang on my wall. The only thing that becomes difficult is that I have many different sides to my work. I have my soft TTV images that are dreamy, and then I have my New York street art series that is hard and edgy. I'm looking forward to featuring more of my work when my new website launches in two weeks. Etsy is a little limiting when it comes to that.

In My Dreams

AW: Does your heart have a favorite passion? If so, what is it and why do you think you lean toward that aspect of your life?

BD: My life is full of passions. It's so hard to pick just one, although if I was stranded on a desert island and could have only one, I would want my camera. I have been a photographer since I was 12 and an artist since I could walk. I just don't think I could live without it. I stopped photographing for a few years awhile back and that was okay. I needed the break, but I missed it and always felt like part of me was missing. I'm so grateful to have it back in my life and that people are responding to what I do. It makes me happy to create, and it that makes other people happy, what better way is there to live? The world needs more joy!

For Love of Surf

AW: Describe your perfect day out with your Nikon. What are your favorite things that feed your creative spirit?

BD: All I need is my camera and the beach, and I'm good to go! I love just being out by the surf with my camera. It's glorious! Of course, a good snack also helps keep the energy up, so I always bring almonds, tea in a thermos and some raw chocolate. I tend to get caught up and stay out there for hours, so it helps to have a snack.

Take Me Back In Time

AW: Who are your favorite "celebrity" photographers?

BD: My favorites would be Brad Pitt, who has done some wonderful infrared shots that are really cool. He has a great eye for architectural photography. Richard Gere's work from Tibet is really spiritual. Aaron Eckhart takes amazing gritty portraits. Adrien Brody, who's mother was a photographer, takes some great images. Julie Delpy has some really beautiful Polaroids, and Matthew Modine published a stunning book of his photos from Full Metal Jacket. And, Dennis Hopper's urban street collection is really cool and reminds me of my own New York street art series.

Thank you very much, Bueller. We will watch for your new website. In the meantime, you can follow her food blog, her design blog, and her photo blog. And, Bueller's work will be displayed in the brand-new spa at L'Auberge Hotel Spa in Del Mar, California, as it opens this month!

The Chair

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A world traveler and self-taught photographer, look for Ann wandering around city streets and tromping through woods and hiking trails with her camera. After owning an international transportation business for many years, Ann has found her creative spirit again through the lens. See more at Ann's shop and her website.