It’s pretty normal for Deb Zeller to grab her camera to stroll around the Parley Lake Winery grounds. “My camera goes with me almost all the time,” she says. “It’s not uncommon for me to photograph the same subject over and over again on different days with different lighting and in different seasons.”
Zeller is one of the owners of the Waconia winery. She tries to escape to stroll the grounds when she can and uses her “artist’s eye” to capture a scene or object that might become inspiration for a future project like a painting or a bronze sculpture. Zeller says she often finds inspiration in her walks around the winery. “Nature is my favorite subject,” she says. “Nature does some incredible decorating.”
She snapped the photograph Pinecone on a December evening at dusk. The shot was a favorite because it had such a holiday feel to it. “I was definitely in a Christmas mood when I shot it,” says Deb.
The cone was on spruce tree that was planted around 1920, when the federal government offered trees for shelter belts. There are 10 remaining trees that line the Parley Lake road and protect the farmhouse from the sometimes fierce wind. The scene inspired Zeller to snap a picture that reflected the holiday spirit that she felt. “This shot was one of my favorites of the day,” she says.
