photographer spotlight: susannah
October 19, 2009 today we will be traveling to the lovely city of bath in the UK to meet a women who is a writer, photographer, and workshop teacher. her creativity and eye for beauty is astounding. this lady really knows how to make magic with a polaroid camera!
it's my pleasure to introduce you to:
1. what draws you to photography?
I often think that if I don’t get all these images out of my head, it will explode. I see photographs everywhere I go – it’s like an illness. Some people walk around sketching and painting, some write vignettes, some fuse the colours into stitches – I see potential images everywhere and want to catch them like butterflies in a net. It is impossible for me to go anywhere and not spend most of my time taking pictures, as all who have traveled with me can testify. Even a simple walk to the supermarket can uncover many photo opportunities. I see a lot of things; I like to record my world... my feelings… my history… in images.
2. do you prefer digital or film? why?
Film. For the way it records light, for the tactile quality of film grain, for the unpredictability of it, for the link to photographers of the past. Plus I like to have negatives and original Polaroid prints in my possession because you can’t delete them forever with a click of a mouse.
3. what is your favorite camera to shoot with?
My SX-70 Polaroid camera. I know what it can and can’t do, and so now the picture making feels like an extension of what my eyes see rather than about technique. I also love my Hasselblad 500 C/M but, shamefully, she’s been gathering dust lately.
4. can you share three favorite photos you took & why you picked them?
I picked these three because they remind me how much I like simple pleasures...
5. can you name a few photographers that have influenced your work?
Francesca Woodman, Uta Barth and Diane Arbus have all influenced me in different ways, but the unifying theme is that they each had/have a unique vision that I connected with when I first looked at their images.
susannah, thank you so much for sharing yourself with my readers!
you can find more of susannah's work at:
website: http://susannahconway.com/
blog: http://inkonmyfingers.typepad.com
flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/inkonmyfingers/
now i will leave you with a few of my personal favorites. enjoy!!
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