Danielle Bader's interest in photography developed from her diverse artistic endeavors and global travels. They can be seen and purchased in her Broad Ripple gallery, located at 6251 North Winthrop Avenue, Suite #6, next to the Monon Trail.

"With my work, I enable the opportunity to escape reality or perhaps help recreate a favorite place or feeling. My travels within and throughout the USA, as well as much of the South Pacific, shape my ideas. Many photographers travel to shoot. I travel. And then I shoot," Ms. Bader explained.

Her photo gallery held an Open House on April 1 and is open Monday, Tuesday and Friday from Noon to 6 p.m. or by appointment when calling 691-7364. Her portfolio includes architecture, figure photography, maternity and infant portraits, sunrises, sunsets and waterscapes. You can find her work at www.dbaderphoto.com, which is also available in photo cards, 11"x 14", 16"x 20" and 20"x 24" prints.

"Broad Ripple has a wealth of community and partnership where people work together as business owners. I looked at other locations around the city, but being that I live in the area, I can walk or ride my bike to work. Being a member of the Broad Ripple Village Association has helped build my career," she mentioned.

Ms. Bader's family also influenced her artistic background. "I took some classes in black and white film photography. With that, I learned lighting and continued on with the techniques. My father and grandfather (who was also a painter) were avid photographers. [My father] would lock us kids out of the bathroom, where he would develop the film and print pictures. My parents were avid travelers and have always had a plethora of art in our home. As an adolescent, I dabbled in many different mediums like drawing, photography and painting. It was always easier to capture the moment in a photograph," she said. In addition to photography, she is also a classically trained cellist.

"My current project is developing myself as a maternity portrait photographer as well as photographing newborns. What I love about my work is that everything has a story. They help take you back home or somewhere far away. Part of marketing my work is telling people the stories that come with them. At a show last fall, when my work was on display, I was able to talk about my travels," she added.

After completing college, Ms. Bader embarked on a life-changing journey. "When I graduated IUPUI, I packed my bags and went to England in the fall of 2005 for six weeks. I spent some time traveling the castles there. Known for its rainy days, the weather allowed me to visit the castles with few tourists. The old architecture really intrigued me. I loved seeing the small homes and cobblestone fences. Honestly, anything involving the ocean and water is where I find myself drawn. (Photographers Peter Lik and the late Ansel Adams inspire her). During my trip, I kept meeting Australians who told me I should visit their country. Before you knew it, I was on my way to Australia on a 90-day tourist visa and then to New Zealand for an additional three months," she recalled.

"In Australia, I started on the east coast in Brisbane and I headed north to the rainforest in the northeast part of Cape Tribulation where Captain Cook discovered that part of the country. I spent some time in the Great Barrier Reef, as well as Alice Springs in the center part of the country (also known as Ayers Rock - its aboriginal name is "Uluru"). From there, I went to the southern coast and spent time along the Great Ocean Road, 'Wine Country!' I rode on tourist buses traveling around. When I arrived in New Zealand, my time was spent relatively evenly between the north and south islands and I really got to know the local people there. It's a really happy, very peaceful place. If I didn't come back, I might still be there," she noted.

She discovered a new hobby there as well. "I fell in love with scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. After returning to Indiana for an eight-month period (spring of 2006), I moved to Key Largo, Florida where I earned my Divemaster certification, the first step in a professional Scuba Diving career and then on to the Big Island of Hawaii (Kona), where I earned my Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) certification. It was out there I had some friends who owned some jewelry and Polynesian weaponry boutiques that asked me to print my work and sell it in their shops. I also began studying for my Captain's License, but soon realized that motion sickness and boats don't go well together. I was looking forward to doing more and decided to return to Indiana where I grew up. I served in a restaurant as I built up my photography career," she said.

A separate excursion led Ms. Bader to Italy, where she photographed Tuscan villas and the countryside in addition to discovering the country's Cinque Terra region (Italian for "five lands") along its central western coast. Her first overseas experience was visiting Israel as part of a youth group. Her domestic ventures include taking photographs of sunflowers in South Dakota and nature scenes in Painted Rocks National Shores in Michigan. These pictures are available in her gallery.

She is very focused on her work. "I'm very nature oriented and hope my images bring to the common observer what they may have missed. I associate more with a photojournalist. I don't spend much time post-editing a picture - how I present the picture is how I see (photograph) it. Part of what I try to achieve with my artwork is to make it affordable for people to have it in their homes, like with a turtle on the beach or out in the fields with a sunflower. I set these prints at reasonable prices where one can own a piece of a corner of the world," she described.

During her travels, she kept in contact with family and friends by posting her pictures on-line with a blog before the Internet term was common verbiage. A collection of her work down under, "Australian Landscapes" was released in 2010.

In addition to her Broad Ripple gallery, Ms. Bader's work has recently appeared locally and is scheduled to be shown at various art exhibitions around the Midwest.

"On July 16, my work will appear at the Brownsburg Festival of the Arts. On August 14, I'll be at Art on the Commons at Kettering, Ohio, which is outside Cincinnati. Rising Sun Festival is on September 17 and 18th. I'm on the waiting list for the Carmel Art Festival and I'll be on the Broad Ripple Fall Gallery Tour on October 14th. My work recently appeared at Orchard in Bloom in Holiday Park and at the Talbot Street Art Fair," she said.

"One of the advantages I've had as a traveler is that I didn't have a deadline, so I could go and keep traveling. Not having a deadline meant that I could slow down and live in a town or read a book. The locals would take me to places tourists didn't see. (She stayed at youth hostels where she met many people of all different ages, cultures, nationalities and religions). Half the adventure was the people I was meeting. Starting to sell my work, owning a gallery has been awesome, where people haven't been able to venture out. I'm giving them that opportunity. I always loved being able to look back at my experiences. My parents say, 'The reasons we take pictures is to find out how much fun we've had,' " she quoted.

Danielle Bader's global photographic odysseys share part of her world with you at her Broad Ripple gallery.