My Story
With a Rolleiflex twin-lens camera strapped around my neck and no technical understanding whatsoever, I started “serious” photography shooting black and white images on a winter day in Golden Gate Park in 1974. Giving me that camera and introducing me to photography were the two greatest gifts I ever received from my photographer husband, John Nelson, although neither of us knew it at the time.
My early work was almost exclusively landscape. John and I took every opportunity to travel throughout the western U.S. and Canada pursuing sunrises, sunsets, and wildlife in every possible beautiful location we could find…and there were many. With John’s instructions and encouragement, I became proficient at handling my Nikon F-3 camera loaded with Fuji Velvia film. By the early 1990’s, I was influenced by the writings and images of Galen Rowell, and ultimately participated in several small workshops that Galen led from his Mountain Lights studio in Emeryville, California. That was it…all I wanted to do was to take photographs.
In the years since, I transitioned to digital equipment and continued my work in landscape and travel photography. On a trip to Ireland in 2006, I attended a workshop that introduced me (with great reluctance) to street photography. After that, taking “pretty” pictures could never again bring the same thrill and satisfaction as photographing people in all settings and in all the exciting, joyous, and mundane conditions of life.
I have been privileged to be inspired by John and learn so much from him. My recent workshop experiences under the leadership of Sibylla Herbrich, and with the encouragement of my photographic associates Pam Moulton and Gail Ginder, have enriched my life and my photography at so many levels. The opportunity for story-telling through journalist photography is now my mission and I expect that it will be so for a very long time.
While my direction has shifted, I remain proud of my landscape work and will never miss the chance to “get” that perfect sunrise. I hope you will enjoy my images.
Susan M. Nelson
February 7, 2012
Publications:
"Antique Farm Equipment - The Elsbree Collection", by Chuck Elsbree
photographs by Susan Nelson, 2011
Awards:
Sonoma County Harvest Fair, 2002, Best of Show
Sonoma County Fair, 2006, Best of Show
Santa Rosa Press Democrat “Bounty of Sonoma County” Photo Winner, 2011
Sonoma County Harvest Fair, 2011, Best of Show
Sonoma County Harvest Fair, 2012, Best of Show
My early work was almost exclusively landscape. John and I took every opportunity to travel throughout the western U.S. and Canada pursuing sunrises, sunsets, and wildlife in every possible beautiful location we could find…and there were many. With John’s instructions and encouragement, I became proficient at handling my Nikon F-3 camera loaded with Fuji Velvia film. By the early 1990’s, I was influenced by the writings and images of Galen Rowell, and ultimately participated in several small workshops that Galen led from his Mountain Lights studio in Emeryville, California. That was it…all I wanted to do was to take photographs.
In the years since, I transitioned to digital equipment and continued my work in landscape and travel photography. On a trip to Ireland in 2006, I attended a workshop that introduced me (with great reluctance) to street photography. After that, taking “pretty” pictures could never again bring the same thrill and satisfaction as photographing people in all settings and in all the exciting, joyous, and mundane conditions of life.
I have been privileged to be inspired by John and learn so much from him. My recent workshop experiences under the leadership of Sibylla Herbrich, and with the encouragement of my photographic associates Pam Moulton and Gail Ginder, have enriched my life and my photography at so many levels. The opportunity for story-telling through journalist photography is now my mission and I expect that it will be so for a very long time.
While my direction has shifted, I remain proud of my landscape work and will never miss the chance to “get” that perfect sunrise. I hope you will enjoy my images.
Susan M. Nelson
February 7, 2012
Publications:
"Antique Farm Equipment - The Elsbree Collection", by Chuck Elsbree
photographs by Susan Nelson, 2011
Awards:
Sonoma County Harvest Fair, 2002, Best of Show
Sonoma County Fair, 2006, Best of Show
Santa Rosa Press Democrat “Bounty of Sonoma County” Photo Winner, 2011
Sonoma County Harvest Fair, 2011, Best of Show
Sonoma County Harvest Fair, 2012, Best of Show