I first came across the extraordinary photography of Susie Loucks a while ago, when I was looking for images of seabirds.

 

 

These are images of wild animals, in motion. To capture such an image means an immense amount of time and patience are involved, along with hundreds of thousands of images. “When they fly away, I run after them. This makes cropping and focus a constant and frustrating challenge. When I come home from a morning of shooting, plug my camera into my computer and go through the photos one by one, I find myself saying over and over: “Wow, that would have been a great shot if only…” because a wing, beak, or foot is cut off. Since feathers are so detailed focus really counts, it’s my biggest hurdle.”

 

 

That all sounds quite serious. It therefore came as a total surprise to find out that Susie has also worked as a stand-up comedienne. I asked her about it. “I hadn’t thought of my images being serious but I think you’re right. I guess it’s kind of the yin and yang of art.”

She completed her BA through San Diego State University, but then moved to Los Angeles, where she got sidetracked into comedy. “I forgot about photography because I didn’t have the time and energy to do both. After taking that career as far as I wanted and burned out on all the travel it required, I retired from it. Because of my desire to be creative, I quickly got back into imagery.”

 

 

“I don’t know if this is true but I once read that people think in two ways: in words or images. I do think in images and I think that’s what drew me to photography. I remember becoming mesmerized by the simplest of images which inspired me to try creating my own.”

She admitted to me that even though she thinks of her art as a way of life, she doesn’t actually think of it as a business as much as she should. Initially opening a shop on Etsy and then building her own website, she only thought to see how others would respond to what she was doing. “Lucky for me, response has been good.”

“The best thing as a photographer is selling a print, any print, at any price, online or in an art gallery. With all the fantastic competition, the consumer has tons of choices. I’m always over the moon flattered when a buyer chooses one of my prints.”

 

 

The technical difficulties of taking photographs of moving birds are huge – patience is an essential requirement for this job. And patience is also one of the qualities that Susie admires most in the fabulous photography of Ansel Adams. She is also a little bit in awe of the extravagance of Annie Leibovitz (aren’t we all?). But Susie’s biggest inspirations come from the beach and its wildlife. “When a bird is in flight, its feathers are like a flower in bloom; everyday is Spring.”

When she’s not photographing birds, she is photographing the beach. These images with bands of gentle colour are reminiscent of the colour fields of Mark Rothko.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The best advice I’ve ever been given was from my parents: “Follow your heart.” ”

 

You can find more of Susie’s amazing photography on her own website www.susieloucks.com, and in her Etsy shop, susieloucks.etsy.com.