Becky Graner, MS, RN, IAC, has been taking photographs since she was in the sixth grade. “Back then,” she explains, “I had a pocket camera with flashcubes. I progressed from camera to camera until I discovered the beauty of 35-mm photography about the time I got married and graduated from nursing school.”

During nursing school, she got serious about photography and took a course at a local college. “I entered photography contests, won some awards, and was selected as a finalist in the Kodak International Snapshot Award,” she states. “Now I’m enjoying the power of digital photography. The instant feedback that comes with using a digital camera is invaluable for learning.”

Her more recent work is featured regularly on a local television station during the weather segment. “Some of my photographs have been published on the official North Dakota website,” she adds. She also uses her photographs “to personalize educational presentations both to other professionals and the public.”

Ms. Graner sees parallels between photography and nursing. “I like to think my talent is rooted in the same soil that makes a good nurse,” she remarked. Like nursing, “taking good photographs is both an art and a science.”

Ms. Graner is a Stress Management Nurse Educator at Dakota Natural Health Center in Bismarck, N.D. You can contact her at bgraner@ceas.coop.