[phone rings] [guitar music in background]
SUSAN: Hello! MARIA: Hey Susan, it's Maria from B&H!
SUSAN: Hey, how's it going?
MARIA: Good! Cliff told me I should call you up and ask you 21 questions. Do you have time?
SUSAN: Awesome! Let me put my earbuds in.
[music]
SUSAN: Hey!
MARIA: So, what are you doing?
SUSAN: I'm actually packing up my gear to go do a sunset and night photography shoot.
Want to join?
MARIA: Absolutely!
SUSAN: Awesome! [zipper sound]
Let's do it!
MARIA: So what do you do for a living?
Well I shoot weddings and portraits for a company I started called Magnanimous Pictures.
I'm a set photographer on a TV show called Chopped.
But what I love to do the most is to teach photography!
MARIA: How are you holding up during this workflow change with the quarantine?
Well my workflows changed a lot.
I was actually out here in Utah teaching a landscape and night photography workshop when the coronavirus hit.
And all my gigs got canceled, so me and my workshop teacher Cliff Pickett decided to stay
and create digital content and instructional videos and capture the beauty of Utah!
MARIA: Awesome, so what got you started into photography?
Well, I took an internship in high school working at a local newspaper.
And I love the challenge of trying to tell a story with one image.
And once I started printing my pictures in the newspaper, I was hooked
I loved that I was able to share my stories and my experiences
[inaudible]
and share emotions with my photography.
It was like my superpower, and I knew that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
MARIA: What about astrophotography?
I love night photography because you start with a blank canvas,
and you're able to paint in what you want to see.
What I really love about it is being able to capture the stars
and the Milky Way and do star trails all with doing long exposure photography.
MARIA: What's your go-to camera and lens?
My go-to camera and lens would be the Canon 5D Mark IV and the 16-35 f/2.8
[music continues]
MARIA: What was your first camera?
SUSAN: My first camera was the Canon AE-1.
It's an amazing little film camera.
MARIA: You seem to dabble in all sorts of photography and events.
I saw you went to Burning Man. What's your favorite other than astro?
Oh my god, don't even get me started on Burning Man!
It was an amazing photography experience.
And I went there with my press pass to photograph my luminescent portraits,
which is like painting portraits.
Basically, I dance around my subject with a light wand and a light saber and I strobe them in at the end.
It's really fun and unique, and I also love teaching my students how to do this too!
MARIA: Speaking of students--have you been doing more virtual workshops during the quarantine?
Yeah I'm thinking about doing some zoom classes
and creating an online tutorial on light painting!
MARIA: Do you have any other projects coming up after this quarantine is over?
I am always working on new workshops, and we're gonna do the ultimate fall foliage chase,
where we start in Nova Scotia, work our way down to Acadia National Park,
come through Vermont and head to New York. Hopefully we'll end up at B&H to have a fall foliage party!
MARIA: So what is PHOTOUR Adventures?
SUSAN: PHOTOUR Adventures is a photography workshop I started.
I do them all over the United States and also out of the country.
What I do is I curate photography experiences where we're chasing the sunrise, the sunset, even the stars.
But ultimately I want my students to walk away with an amazing experience
that they'll cherish for the rest of their lives.
MARIA: What are some tips for someone looking to start diving into astrophotography maybe even at home?
SUSAN: Hmm... I think you should download the app called PhotoPills.
It's an amazing app, but it has a great night AR feature,
which means night augmented reality.
And you're able to see where the milky way is gonna rise,
and also where the North Star is,
so you can do those star trails you've always dreamed of!
MARIA: What do you do for fun aside from photography?
Well, I always like to explore,
and I like to hike, and I also like to get creative with my cooking!
MARIA: You're currently living in an RV, right? Where has been your favorite place on this trip?
Well we parked our RV next to Deadhorse State Park which is an amazing canyon.
And we experience sunrise and sunset overlooking a beautiful vista so I love that!
MARIA: What about your favorite place you've ever photographed?
My favorite place? Hm, that's a tough one...
I have to say New Zealand! I spent six weeks backpacking on a solo adventure.
Doing photography all day and night.
And I really love the diversity of that landscape.
So once this quarantine is lifted, you guys should check it out!
MARIA: What was the most challenging shoot you've ever been on?
Hm, I'd have to say
The first day of every day on a TV show
because it's like a careful ballet between the TV producers, the cameraman, the camera assistants.
And you learn all the moves just so you don't get stepped on.
So, I'd have to say that's the hardest day!
MARIA: If you'd have to travel with just one lens, which would it be?
Hm... I'd have to say it's a lens that's not created yet.
It would be 16 to 200 f/2.8. I think that'd be an amazing lens.
And hopefully it would just fit right in my pocket so I could take it everywhere.
But, since that's not created yet probably 24 to 105 because it's so versatile!
MARIA: What was the best piece of advice you've ever received?
Stop and take in the moment.
Like check out this amazing view! It's incredible!
MARIA: If you weren't a photographer what would you be?
I would be a geologist.
I love nature, I love rocks, I love looking for fossils... So yeah!
MARIA: Aside from your camera, what's your favorite piece of gear?
SUSAN: My favorite piece of gear would have to be...
My B&W ND filters.
I love these because I'm able to do long exposure photography during the day.
MARIA: Okay if there was moving about you, who would play you?
SUSAN: Hmm, maybe Jennifer Love Hewitt.
MARIA: Who should we interview next?
I think you should interview Travis Keys.
Well, the sun is setting, it's beautiful.
I need to focus on my photos. Thanks for swingin' by!
MARIA: Okay cool! We'll get to it! say
SUSAN: Stay safe! MARIA: Thank you so much!
[music]