I first came across Sue’s work on Etsy a couple of years ago with her shop First Light Photography, and immediately loved her luscious textured images, and their simplicity.
whisper
Amish hats
Sue Templin lives with her husband in Elgin, Illinois (a place only a little bit bigger than my home town of Wagga Wagga). She loves it for its proximity to family, and its relaxed, country attitudes. “My grandparents came from a small town in Wisconsin. If I had my choice to go to Chicago or to the country it would always be towards the country. I’m not much for the big city.” And she loves their horse Herbie, who lives on a farm nearby.
basking in the sun
endless prairie
She says her father’s side of the family are a family of artists and makers – her father was a woodworker, and took photographs in his spare time. She remembers poring over photos of her mother that he took when they were dating. “They are beautiful, not the typical stuff you tend to see.” Her dad’s sisters were also artists, one of them a sculptor of bronzes, and her cousin is a portrait photographer.
She majored in Photography at university, but didn’t pursue this as a career, moving through a variety of positions until lost her job in the economic turmoil of the GFC. Looking for something to do, she returned to photography, and found Etsy.
She loves what she does. “That camera goes with me everywhere. Sometimes I just keep it in the car. And I love the photo editing part the best. I usually do have something in mind when I take a photo, but with all the different possibilities on the computer, things can really change.”
lilac whisper
the blush of spring
She counts as one of her photographic inspirations Ansel Adams, who is best know for his grand and expansive images of Yosemite. However, Adams also photographed nature at close range, focusing on texture, framed exquisitely by his hallmark powerful compositions.
Sue’s own photographic style is also centred around simple composition, focusing on small details – the texture of things, and the beauty of their shapes. However, her imagery is much more grounded than Adams, focusing on the simple beauty in the everyday. And that is just where the appeal lies for me – the everyday is beautiful, you only need to take a closer look.
the green vine
You can find Sue’s work in her Etsy shop here.
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I would like to thank Sue for kindly sharing her images and words.
Sue,Love the photo’s Awesome!
I love Sue’s photography and as you said she captures the magic hidden in the ordinary
Absolutely stunning. I can understand why you love her images Julie. The texture and simplicity… I don’t quite know how to describe them.
T xo
Sue captures details that delight us so very eloquently.
Beautifully written. I loved Sue’s work long before I actually met her on etsy. I was using some of her images in treasuries and found myself returning to her work over and over again because there is something about her art that really calls to some place deep within me. Nice to know more about the woman behind the lens.