Blend warmth, intelligence and style all together and you get Susan, one of the iofoto digital artists. Everyone in the company shares a deep passion for images that goes back many years. Read how Susan got her first camera and about her recent cross-country USA trip!
Photo by Gray Mitchell.
How did you get interested in art & photography?
io:
Susan: My mother is an artist so I was inspired and influenced by her from a very early age. My first artistic endeavor was (when I was still in diapers!) trying to imitate her by painting red streaks on a beautiful landscape painting she had just completed.
A high school journalism class sparked my interest in photography. I saved up several summers worth of baby-sitting money until I had enough to buy a camera. My father taught me the basic science behind exposure and how a camera works, then drove me all over the city searching for interesting places to photograph.
What do you like about enhancing the color of photos?
io:
Susan: Color can greatly affect how an image is portrayed… it can mean the difference between an average image and one that really grabs your attention. Color also helps enhance a mood or emotion that you are trying to convey.
How do you approach working on an image? What do you look for first?
io:
Susan: I usually start off by adjusting the overall colors and values first, then progress to more specific adjustments. Once the temperature and white balance are tweaked, then skin tones and other elements can be selectively manipulated.
Does digital technology enhance or detract from the creative process?
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Susan: Digital technology is a tool that has its advantages and limits just like any other medium. Sometimes I am able to take more risk and make bolder experiments in the digital world because I can save my work often. If I am completely horrified by the outcome of an experiment, I can always revert to an earlier version and nothing is lost in the process!
What are your favorite types of photos?
io:
Susan: I love infrared photography! I have always been drawn to images that utilize some sort of alternative photographic process, especially ones like liquid emulsion, which can’t quite be simulated with digital technology.
You recently drove across the USA on a giant road trip. What do you remember most?
io:
Susan: My husband and I took a month to visit some of the national parks in this country. Of all the amazing landscapes we saw, the one that stands out the most in my mind was in Yellowstone. The evening was growing dark with an approaching storm and we were the only people around for miles. We were standing on a walkway in the middle of a vast field with buffalo when all of a sudden, 5 or 6 geysers simultaneously erupted around us. We were encircled by walls of steam that reached to the clouds. The show lasted for about 10 minutes and the sound of the geysers and thunder created a really strange and mysterious place… it was what I imagine the surface of some distant planet to be like!
If you could do anything you wanted in the creative industry, what would you like to do?
io:
Susan: I would love to travel the world with my husband, taking photographs and making art along the way!
