Bio: Selena Dittberner
Photography and the outdoors go hand and hand for Selena. Since her youth, both have been a constant love and fascination. Both where nurtured by growing up in the Midwest of North America - Minnesota, on a large Christmas tree farm and nursery, where the doors to nature were always open for exploring. She was self-educated and most of her learning was centered around the farm and home. This gave Selena and her brother, Forest, the opportunity to spend many hours a day out in nature, playing, working and living. Childhood activities such as running through the woods, building forts, playing in the tree houses, working in the tree fields with her Dad, gardening with her Mom and cross country skiing, Selena saw what exciting things could be captured from taking a picture.
Her dad inspired and encouraged her to see the world through the viewfinder. "At any moment you might need your camera for this view, or that bird, or this flower, or that rainbow. You always have to be ready and have your camera on you at all times and remember to bring your extra battery," her Dad often reminded her as she headed out the door for another adventure. They played with cameras together, took pictures and always challenged each other to get the best shots.
Selena got her first camera when she was 14 years old. It was a very old Pentax K1000 manual camera, and it lasted for only a few short years. Next, she bought another used camera, but this time a digital Sony! This gave her the freedom to take as many pictures as she wanted without having to worry about the cost of film. It was at this point that Selena's photography skills really took off.
Over the next few years she entered many of her beautiful pictures into all forms of contests. She was also published and recognized in many different books and calendars, two of the most recent are the We'Moon 2007 calendar and the Photographer's Edge Inc. catalog. In addition, Selena has been making elegant greeting cards that are available for sale in many stores and online.
Selena's current work includes many shots captured on her travels. She is very thankful for being encouraged to travel at an early age. She has spent significant time in Hawaii, Florida, and Alaska. Alaska is one of the most beautiful places that Selena has visited. She traveled there to be a caretaker for two cats and nine husky dogs for six weeks. While in the 'Land Of The Midnight Sun,' she snapped many photos that tell the story of her visit to this inspiring part of the country. Selena has been to every state in the USA except for Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. She has also been to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Canada a few times. Her latest dream is to travel to New Zealand and Australia!
For a year now, Selena has been living in Florence, Massachusetts, in beautiful New England. It's been a good challenge for her to be living in an area so new to her. Selena has been working on many different projects since she moved. She enjoys being involved in the community and she works at the most awesome cafe in Western Mass: Cafe Evolution, an all vegan cafe. Selena also has a house cleaning business, which gives her a flexible schedule and the freedom to work on her photography business and website.
The most exciting news of all is that Selena has a brand new camera! It is a spiffy Canon Rebel Digital Xti. She is excited to explore the world through this new lens. As she continues to explore the world, every day she sees more amazing sights and takes more pictures to share with others.
Life is SWEET!