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SUSAN LASH PHOTOGRAPHY

Fine Art Nature Photography

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Latest

Waterscape

 

       "If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."  Loren Eiseley

Nature

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."   ~Frank Lloyd Wright
 

Moonscapes

Photographing the moon has become a kind of ritual for me. I have always loved the night sky, I find it grounding and mysterious, and photographing it encourages me to be creative as I attempt to portray its essence.

It starts with looking up, something I am prone to do anyway, when I have a camera in my hand. Sometimes I sort of plan these moon captures, checking moonrise times, the moon phase, and weather. Other times, I stumble across it unexpectedly—a sliver of light hanging above the trees—like last night when I stepped outside before bed, or in winter, when the full moon is so bright and the sky so clear that it casts luminescent shadows across fallen snow.

Either way, I’m grabbing my camera.

Throughout the year, and many years at that, I’ve photographed the moon in its different phases and in every season. In winter, the light is cool and the moon seems sharper, suspended in a stark sky. Spring brings a softer light, often framed by budding trees or drifting clouds. Summer moons, full and warm, rise later and set as the sun rises, making for some interesting skies. One of my favorite moon photos, Strawberry Moon, surrounded by pink tinged clouds, was taken near dawn in June 2020. Lastly, in autumn I’m obsessed with capturing the big full harvest moons, orange and low on the horizon..

These moon photographs are less about technical perfection and more about capturing a sense of artistry and essence. There’s a stillness that settles in when you stand beneath the moon and stars, a kind of quiet reverence. Night skies have a certain magic to them, and that’s what I’m always seeking to capture through the lens.

As the night sky shimmers above, I’m not just seeing—I’m taking in the stillness, the light—the vastness. I hope these photographs, in their own quiet way, hold a trace of the moon’s magic and wonder.

New Mexico

There is something special - magical really - about New Mexico. It’s true what they say about it being the Land of Enchantment. The light is incredible! I’ve had the pleasure of vacationing in NM many times over the years and I am always amazed at the quality of light. It’s pure magic and no wonder so many artists favor it.

While visiting Santa Fe in 2016 I went to the Andrew Smith Gallery, a photography gallery with an astonishing collection of works by the likes of Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange and others. Seriously, it has to be one of the best collections anywhere and not to be missed. 

Afterwards we were driving back watching the moon rise - a full moon rise on a beautiful nearly cloudless August night. I'm sitting in the passenger seat watching… thinking… I've seen this before...when it hits me. In a way that said my life depended on it I asked my husband to pull over. I quickly grabbed my camera and rested it on the side mirror of the car as I didn't have my tripod with me and it wouldn't have mattered if I did because there was no time to set it up. I shot the moonrise over Moreno Valley with my Olympus OM-D EM-10, a mirrorless micro four thirds camera, and 45mm f/2.8 lens (90mm equivalent). The second shot I took is the one posted here - my own very modest take on Adam's iconic "Moonrise, Hernandez NM". I know it isn't tack sharp and the moon is blown out, but I love the photo all the same.

The sunset, canyon and river photos were taken at the Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument near Taos. 

Landscape

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” John Muir

Experimental

Bending the rules of photography

Black & White

“Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive.” – Eliott Erwitt

Winter Series

Winter is a new season for me. Prior to moving to Chagrin Falls, Ohio (greater Cleveland) my experience with winter typically consisted of a few weeks of truly cold weather, an ice storm or two, snow every other year or so, and many days of fairly mild temperatures.

Unlike most of my fellow Northeast Ohioans, I am in love with and fascinated by winter especially with its subtleness, exposed by the absence of color in the landscape. The lack of color creates a stark and minimalistic mood filled with these lovely muted tones which I love. Things that are visible in winter are usually hidden in summer so I notice my surroundings in a way that is not possible in the other seasons. Winter is captivating visually, capturing it with my camera is different and something I am still learning to do.

Latest

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Waterscape

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Nature

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Moonscapes

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Full Moon Rise

New Mexico

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Landscape

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Experimental

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Black & White

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Winter Series

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