About Rambling Ranger
Waking and Walking in Beauty Every Day
I’m Dianne Milliard, the Rambling Ranger. My home is the tiny town of McCarthy, Alaska, deep in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
Waking and walking in beauty every day, and immersing myself in that beauty is my goal in life. Sharing that beauty with others in the hope that they, too, will appreciate the special places and things that I love is my passion.
So it’s no surprise that I’ve taken the career path I have – museum caretaker, tour guide, park ranger – all jobs that allow me to share the things I’ve learned with others so that they, too, can discover what makes a place special.
Another way I’ve done this is with my photography. Photography is a form of meditation for me. I try to catch the essence of a place or a being through spending time with it and really seeing it, then capturing that essence in such a way that others can see and feel it too. I guess that’s why they call photography “The Art Of Seeing.”
What I Do
I first started marketing my photography while living in a small Colorado mountain town, as a co-owner of an art co-op called Dam Art, where I sold matted prints and cards. When I moved to McCarthy, I started Wrangell Mountain Scenics, marketing postcards, notecards, and matted prints of the spectacular lands surrounding me.
I put Wrangell Mountain Scenics on the back burner though, when I became a park ranger and started building my house. As cameras changed from film to digital, I found it more important to spend my money on boards for my house than on investing in a whole new system.
But I still had that burning desire to share the wonder of what I was seeing with others. I could do that with my seasonal ranger job, but there was so much more I wanted to share. So Rambling Ranger Photography was born.
I pondered on how to bring that wonder into other people’s lives, so that even when bogged down in a 9-5 urban lifestyle, they could bring the beauty of those special places with them wherever and whenever they wanted to, to feed their souls. I decided that one way was to give them a way to carry that beauty with them by making it practical. I developed a line of tote bags, laptop covers and phone cases, all practical ways for my vision to reach others. I also have a line of wall art and home decor that I market through Fine Art America. There's a link on the Home Page.
I no longer spend winters in Alaska. There are too many wonderful places in the world to spend your life in just one, so now I housesit and travel winters throughout the West. This gives me a chance to experience other incredible ecosystems and diversify my portfolio, so I have more to offer others. I hope you enjoy the world as I see it through Rambling Ranger Photography.
