About Susan
Merging timeless, elegance with a modern, playful twist
Just a woman with a desire to create beauty using a camera as my artist's brush.
Please join me on my creative exploration inspired by history, fashion, flora, and the fantastical.
Everything is an experiment in my work. I don’t go back to replicate; I push forward with new colors, textures, and concepts empowered by my imagination and technology.
The equine is my primary muse. As a lifelong equestrian, I do my best to bring them to you in an unexpected way and yet still familiar. Sometimes quite abstract and yet still recognizable.
I hope you enjoy my work!
My Photography Studio
The majority of my limited edition art pieces were created in a studio setting so I can completely control the background and lighting. Although the horses chosen as my muses are well-trained and generally calm - they are still flight animals. Working with strobe lighting, and especially with color gels, is a science and can be a technical challenge even with skilled human models. Adding in a horse covered in fur and their handlers increases the challenge significantly.
For me, safety and happy horses are my priority on any photoshoot. I love the many expressions that horses offer which show their personalities but I will not photograph a fearful or sedated horse. The horse always comes first as I am a horsewoman before I am a photographer.
I am often inspired by in-studio fashion photography but those inspirations do not translate exactly to my work. I must account for extra-large models that are covered in fur, a handler or two that are in the shot, and often very high or low-contrast situations such as black fur on a white or black background. I've yet to find the horse that will lower his chin, turn it slightly and hold that pose.
Andalusian Stallion in the Studio
Artistic Philosophy
I consider myself to be a modern photographic artist. I like to explore my beloved equines in the most unique way that I can and bring that to you in my collections. I am drawn to strong colors, textures, and patterns so these themes are often repeated in my work. I like genuine expressions from my horses so you won't always see the often forced, alert, ears-up, posture. Horses express themselves in so many more ways than that.
I seek out the equine models I want to photograph for my collections with a specific vision in mind. My images are created as equine artwork to suit my own creative aesthetic so with each print you get a little piece of my heart. I aim to keep the number of editions of any image very low so that collectors can truly own something special and not a mass-market image. My photography is intended to be unusual and artistic so the photoshoots are generally experimental in nature. Sometimes I fail on my first attempt with a new concept but I always learn valuable lessons for the next time.
The goal is always to create art worthy of large printed installations and gallery shows.
Just A Few of My Beautiful Equine Models
