Susanna Euston’s Nature in the Abstract
By Frances Figart
Not long after arriving in the Asheville area from Washington, DC in 1995, graphic designer and award-winning photographer Susanna Euston discovered the depth and magic of the natural beauty of Western North Carolina. Capturing it in fine art images became her passion.
She began to take advantage of every opportunity to capture intimate landscapes, close-ups and macros—in color, black-and-white and infrared—at every time of day and in every season.
“My father was a reconnaissance pilot and photographer, my mother an award-winning watercolorist. They inspired and taught me well,” says Euston. “Their gift of a Brownie Hawkeye when I was a preteen became the first step in my lifelong journey in photography.”
Today, Euston’s digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera equipment for shooting in the field typically consists of a camera specially converted to capture infrared images, mirrorless cameras for color work, plus lenses of varying focal lengths, polarizers, neutral density filters, diffusers, reflectors and a tripod. She uses digital post-processing much like the traditional darkroom, which she used for many years, to enhance her images.
A member of Asheville Area Arts Council and The Arcanum—Magical Academy of Artistic Mastery, an international photography program, Euston moved from documentary photography to abstract five years ago. “I’ve developed a special interest in a technique called intentional camera movement (ICM) where the image is captured while moving the camera up and down, sideways or diagonally,” she says. “Fascinating painterly effects can be achieved.”
Euston taught “Creative Composition in Photography” at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) this past fall and private workshops will soon be scheduled for the coming year. A collection of her ICM images will be exhibited by the Asheville Area Arts Council in Asheville’s Refinery Creator Space January 13 through February 18. The opening reception will be held February 3 from 5–7 p.m. Her infrared images are on display at Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Village now through the first of the year, and recently four infrared prints were in a group show at Burke Arts Council in Morganton, where one received Best of Show.
Euston facilitates the North American Nature Photography Association’s WNC-NANPA Meetup gatherings, held on the third Wednesday of each month. As co-coordinator of Carolinas’ Nature Photographers Association (CNPA)–Asheville Region (currently at about 125 members), she collaborates to create and run monthly meetings with presentations by members and professional speakers. CNPA sponsors a myriad of community photo opportunities including exhibits, workshops and field trips.
CNPA meetings are held the second Sunday of each month, January through November, at the Reuter Center at UNC Asheville in partnership with OLLI. Meetings begin at 5:30 P.M. Visitors and guests are welcome. For details, visit cnpa-asheville.org. To learn more about Susanna Euston, visit susannaeustonphotography.com.
