Early Influences

Susan Reynolds loved nature before she discovered photography. A San Francisco Bay Area native, she started hiking the Berkeley hills at five, and began using her Brownie camera a few years later to record her childhood -- including summers in California's remote Trinity mountains. By high school, she had experienced the magic of the black-and-white darkroom. It cemented her love affair with tone, texture and composition.

While earning her B. A. in Art History from the University of California, Reynolds worked with the Oakland Museum's curator for Prints and Photography, who introduced her to the creative eye of pioneering women photographers from Dorothea Lange to Anne Brigman to Imogen Cunningham.

Reynolds got her MBA followed by corporate and agency marketing experience in the 1980s, and went on to found and build a leading PR firm using both her business and artistic creativity. Through the challenges of graduate school and building a business, Reynolds continued to photograph -- with nature remaining a central, inspiring subject for her.

Current Work

Reynolds' newest venture -- bringing her appreciation of nature, her mastery of the medium and her business acumen to commercial garden photography -- is creating exceptional imagery that her clients use to visually market and expand their businesses.

Reynolds works in 35mm and medium format, primarily in color, using Leica and Hasselblad systems. Her images appear in gallery exhibits, client web sites, portfolios and other marketing materials. She is now exploring the digital domain, with exciting giclee and Light Jet print results.

Mysteries Revealed

When asked why she photographs, Reynolds responds, "The process of making images is intensely creative, and I find passion in this act of creation, especially when the subject is of the natural world or an intriguing man-made version of it."

"Revealing nature's mysteries through photography is also a sacred mission for me. Sacred, because it uses my creative gifts to inform and inspire people about the healing value of beautiful gardens and wild places -- many of which are endangered. If my images cause even a single person to reflect upon this value, to spend more time creating a relationship with nature, and to take action on behalf of protecting their favorite wilderness...all of my photographic energy will have been worth it."