Artist Statement
I create photographs that are visually stimulating and that speak to the heart and the mind. I capture the world as only I see it. It may be the silhouette of a rock formation sinking into the sunset or the simplicity of dewdrops dancing in the wind. My photographs stir up the unexpected emotions and thoughts in the viewer. My photographic journeys, also known as #Lightstalking adventures, have been the catalyst and inspiration behind each and every photo.
My photography, my art, encompasses everything. It is about landscapes, people, street scenes, wildlife, abstracts, mundane objects, my everyday OBSERVATIONS, from MY daily experiences. My photography is my art. It has no season. Take a journey through my lens and experience the world as only I see it.
Biography
Susan Platt began photographing with a Kodak Brownie Bullet film camera given to her by her brother when she was eight years old. Since then, she has been exploring the world through her lens.
Her photography career began as an assistant portrait/wedding photographer for a small studio in Lodi, California. While there, she learned the basics in studio lighting, posing, composition, and environmental lighting. After honing her skills, she was offered a position at larger portrait/wedding studio, a few miles south in Stockton. This is where Susan polished her skills. During this time, Susan became one of 1,600 photographers in the United States to become a Certified Professional Photographer through the Professional Photographers of America. She was a member of the Professional Photographers of California and held the position of President for the Professional Photographers of San Joaquin County for 4 terms.
Susan’s unparalleled photographic style, her unique eye, along with her eccentric personality, led her to breaking out on her own and opening her own wedding/portrait studio on the “Miracle Mile” in Stockton. She quickly became the most sought out wedding/portrait photographer in Northern California.
Throughout her 25 years in the portrait/wedding photography industry, Susan continued her education. She studied under many notable portrait and wedding photographers such as Frank Cricchio, Joyce Wilson, Monte Zucker, Denis Reggie, Annie Leibowitz, and Helmuth Newton, to name a few.
After suffering a spinal injury, and dealing with severe burnout, Susan stepped away from her career as a professional portrait/wedding photographer. She took a 5-year respite. During that time, she did not pick up her camera. Fast forward to 2013, Susan decided it was time to get back in the game. She picked up her camera and began her journey in fine art photography.
For the last ten years, Susan has been working with film, digital and instant film mediums. Her areas of work encompass wildlife, conservation/environmental cultural, daily life, abstract/still life, and documentary. Her personal mantra is “The Way I See”, which is exactly what it means, The Way She Sees It. Her keen eye is always looking beyond the ordinary. She waits for that pivotal moment; when the light is just right, or when the subject is at its prime, she then clicks her shutter and makes her photographs.
More recently, Susan has had the privilege of being mentored by Canadian humanitarian photographer David deChemin, and conservation writer and photographer Jayme Heimbuch.
It has been said that Susan’s environmental work picks up where photographer Eliot Porter left off. Wildlife and environmental/conservation photography makes up a large area of Susan’s body of work. This includes wild horses, birds of prey-Bald and Golden Eagles, Egrets, Herons, Sandhill Cranes, urban wildlife, and the effects of drought on the environment.
Susan’s work has been honored through the Julia Margaret Cameron Award, the Pollux Awards, and PhotoLA. Her photographs have been featured at FotoNostrum’s Mediterranean House of Photography in Barcelona, Spain. Contemporary Art Curator awarded her The Collector’s Vision International Art Award (2021), The Power of Creativity Art Prize (2021), Voices of Tomorrow Art Award (2022), and The Faces of Peace Art Award (2022).
Her work has been published in Contemporary Art Curator Power of Creativity Art Book, Voices of Photography Art Book, and the Faces of Peace Art Book, Voyage Utah, Circle’s Spotlight Magazine, and Craft & Vision Magazine.
Currently, Susan is preparing for her solo exhibition at the Artifact Gallery in New York City, which opens on September 4, 2024.
www.sgplattimages.com sgplatt.sp@gmail.com
Instagram: @sgplatt
Facebook: Sights Revealed by SGPlatt Images https://www.facebook.com/sightsrevealed
