Susan Simon Photography

Artist’s Statement:

I began to photograph seriously, although very sporadically during the early 80’s when I was newly arrived to Cape Cod.  The amazing light, the reflections of sky in water, and the curves of marsh and dune, spoke to me in a new language, one of images.  I’d spent my early life working with words, and began slowly to experiment with images and the use of light as a new medium. 

Decades later, after family and job issues had faded, I suddenly developed severe retinal problems that made me treasure my eyesight more than ever.  I’d moved from film to digital in the 90’s and after retirement I bought my first DSLR camera and began to focus on my photographic vision with the knowledge that we never know what life has in store for us around the next bend. 

That part of me that has always stretched itself against sea and sky relishes the complex tapestry surrounding me.  Color, shadow, form, and texture in the natural world fascinate me, and approaching the world as an artist has meant savoring each moment with an intensity that’s new.  If my camera is with me I’m looking for ways to make the ordinary extraordinary.  If I’m sans camera, then I’m trying to formulate angles and perspectives for future pictures.  In either case, I’m latching onto both expansive vistas or previously unnoticed minute details with an eye to sharing my experience of the world.  Art, for me, is the magic that happens in the space between the object and the viewer, the insight unfurled when the photograph touches one’s emotions and history and enters one’s personal space.

My objective is always to create prints that match both what my eye actually saw and the sensation I experienced on scene.  Thus I post process in the digital darkroom to overcome the limitations of my DSLR camera, and to convey the visual melody captured in my mind's eye.  My goal is to transport viewers to that particular time and place and to touch them as I have been touched, with wonder.  Photography, for me, is a journey into joy.

Any photo on this site is available for sale or license in any size, matted or framed.  Contact the artist for information if you find something you like.

[email protected]
 

Biography:

Susan Simon spent nearly forty years teaching middle school English and American history. most of it in Barnstable.  She credits her middle school students (hormones with feet attached) with developing her sense of humor, skill at thinking on her feet, and her ability to refrain from taking herself too seriously.

A juried artist and board member of the Cape Cod Art Association, her work has been exhibited there, at the Cotuit Center for the Arts, at The Plymouth Center for the Arts, and in May of 2014, her Icicle Studies were included in the exhibit "Light Matter," sponsored by the Griffin Museum of Photography.  Her work has also been exhibited at the Cahoon Museum of American Art, and the Moose Hill Audubon Gallery in Sharon in themed group shows.  Additionally, Susan teaches photography to teens and tweens at the Cape Cod Art Association, leads photowalks for adults and teaches digital photography for the Sandwich Arts Alliance.