Photography
Susan always has her camera with her, plus a spare set of charged batteries, ready for those many magical photo opportunities. You never know when you may have to stop on the roadside to let a mother duck shuffle her babies across the road. How about those times when the sun is glistening perfectly on the dew of a morning blossom? Or when a bald eagle lands in your path? As a result, she has taken thousands of photographs for use in all sorts of advertising design, magazine artwork and original paintings.
Susan has a large collection of photographs from all over the world including underwater shots she took on her scuba diving trips.
Susan says:
"I never throw any images away. What you may think is no good, or out of focus, could someday be used as a wonderful background, or a cropping from a photo used in a painting. Chances are, as soon as you throw it away, you will find a use for it.
Composition and focus are key to good photography. Take your time and really look at what your are about to photograph. Composition, the process of organising the elements and individual details of a scene into a balanced and pleasing arrangement is often a matter of personal taste. For example a photograph will always look better if the horizon line is not perfectly centred. Try having it either a third of a distance from the top or bottom. Is there a branch or power line in the shot that you don't need? Is there a glare off someone's glasses that can be distracting? Look at all the elements in the photograph.
Focus is also a matter of taking your time. One way to make sure you don't shake while taking a photo is to take a breath in and hold it while you click the camera, then release the breath. If you can make a conscious effort to be as still before and after the shot, then chances are you will have taken a steady shot."