2017 The Year in Pictures for Travel and Editorial Photographer Susan Seubert

My how time flies! 2017 was another whirlwind of travel and exploration: I visited both poles, watched dolphins in Mexico, went whale watching in Hawaii, marched with three million of my fellow Americans in Washington, visited castles in England, had my first true Guinness in Ireland, hiked along the coast in Wales and explored Vancouver, BC by boat. I took over 20,000 photos while on assignment this year which although is not a record, it’s certainly a lot of images!  Below are a few of my favorites, marking my global journey for this past year.  My hope is that by showing the beauty and diversity of this marvelous world, that you will be inspired to travel.

I started the year off on assignment for Vox Media, shooting a story about my hometown of Portland, Oregon. Here is the view of Mt. Hood from Pittock Mansion.

First stop on the 2017 World Tour: Baja! Always one of my favorite places on Earth, the Gulf of California is wild and beautiful. We enjoyed a sunset beach bbq at Puerto los Gatos.

Second stop: Washington D.C. for the Women’s March. We will persist!

Third stop: The ‘Au ‘au channel off of the coast of Maui to witness the annual migration of Humpback Whales from Alaska. We’ll be heading back there this year!

Next up, Antarctica in February. This was the last trip of the Antarctic season, so we explored the southern ocean to see incredible landscapes and wildlife. Here is a Gentoo Penguin colony with gorgeous ice in the distance.

One of my favorite places on Earth: Gold Harbour, South Georgia. Here we were treated to a rainbow and King penguins on the beach.

I opened my show, “Not A Day Goes By,” at the Froelick Gallery in April. The work was also shown at this year’s Venice Biennale.

I have been photographing John Yeon’s, “The Shire,” in the Columbia River Gorge for the last 7 years and the book was finally published. The Portland Art Museum used one of the images to announce the show about Yeon.

In May, my family and friends joined us in Venice for my opening at the Venice Biennale! Definitely a high point in my artistic career, the Biennale is the most prestigious venue for fine art on the planet. Picture here is me with my mom on the balcony of the Palazzo Bembo, home to the European Cultural Center that hosted the exhibition.

After returning to the U.S. from Italy, it was back across the puddle for adventures starting in Arctic Svalbard where polar bears ruled the day!

A once in a lifetime sighting: we watched a polar bear take a bearded seal, then proceed to have a feast. Even our Norwegian guides had never seen such a site! This is why traveling with National Geographic makes all the difference.

After spending time in Svalbard, we headed over to the famed fjords of Norway. We hiked and explored these beautiful waterways which was a joyous experience.

Back in Oregon, science rules! We were some of the first in the United States to witness a total eclipse of the sun. I photographed it through a spotting scope.

The diamond ring effect during the total eclipse of the sun. Taken in McMinnville, Oregon.

The end of August took me back to school at the Maine Media Workshops where I learned about short form, multimedia storytelling from the master himself, Bob Sacha.

I had a brief moment at home before heading back to Europe, where Ireland awaited! I landed in Dublin and after visiting the stunning Library at Trinity College, we headed straight to a pub for a proper pint of Guinness!

From Ireland we sailed for Wales, where we visited the lush Bodnant Gardens in the rain.

After exploring Wales for a few days, we headed to England, where the charming town of Fowey welcomed our rather large ship into port.

After my adventures on board the National Geographic Orion, I flew back to North America where I had an assignment to photograph lovely Vancouver, British Columbia. We had stunning weather! This is the Grouse Mountain Skyride Surf Adventure, with views back to the city from the top of the aerial tram.

As soon as I wrapped the shoot in B.C., it was back across the Atlantic to meet my husband in beautiful Bordeaux. Here is Le Miroir d’eau at Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux during the blue hour.

After eating and drinking our way through France, we hopped an EasyJet flight to Venice, to take in the sights, and my show, one last time. Here is the Basilica San Marco in the morning, Venice, Italy.

We flew back to the U.S., and no sooner had we touched down, then I had some meetings to attend in our nation’s capital, so I flew to DC for a quick trip.

Then, it was back to Hawaii for us. I was fortunate enough to be invited to photograph the Keiki Hula Festival at the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel. It was inspiring to see these young people carrying on the Hawaiian tradition of hula.

My husband got to catch a few waves before I had to wave goodbye and head off to…

Cambridge!! I had a fantastic shoot for the Charles Hotel. We spent a week making a library of images for the hotel’s new web site. I’ll post more about this shoot once the job is live!

Luckily for me, there was still time after Boston to head back to Hawaii, where I was able to enjoy some beach time with my husband. Cheers to an incredible 2017!

 

Travel Photographer Susan Seubert shoots O’o Farm in Kula, Maui

Aloha from the beautiful island of Maui!  On Monday, we had the great pleasure of visiting O’o Farms located on the slopes of Haleakala in what is referred to as upcountry Maui.  The farm is located in the little town of Kula, just off of the main road and the property overlooks the valley and ocean.  O’o Farm is the only true farm-to-table operation on the island and for a nominal fee, one can visit the farm and learn about their coffee, vegetables and even pick the greens to be served for lunch!  It’s a nice way to spend the day in the cool, misty outdoors and an unexpected pleasure to experience fine dining in a unique island setting.  Below are some images from our visit that I hope you enjoy.  Mahalo for visiting and a hui ho!

O’o Farm in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Children get to feed the chickens at O’o Farm in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, USA

A delicious cappuccino made from coffee grown at O’o Farm in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, USA

O’o Farm in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, boasts gorgeous views from the gardens.

Visitors pick their own salad greens for lunch at O’o Farm in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, USA

The salad at O’o Farm in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Beautifully prepared tofu with root vegetables at O’o Farm in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Wood stored for the outdoor oven at O’o Farm in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Farm flowers decorate the lunch tables at O’o Farm in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Vanessa, one of the workers at O’o Farm in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Portland Photographer Susan Seubert shoots 2013 Chicken Coop Calendar

Last year I worked on my first calendar project with Amber Lotus Publishing.  The topic was something I was vaguely familiar with: urban chickens and their coops.  I’ve done a fair amount of assignment work photographing various gardens and a few stories about people who have urban farms, but this was the first time I’ve worked on a project specifically for a calendar.  The 2013 version is now available either directly from the publisher or on Amazon.com.  I’m sure you might run across this in garden stores too!  It was great fun working with each coop owner as every chicken coop had wildly different personalities.  It was also wonderful meeting the ladies, who turn out to make not only great pets, but also great eggs.  I’ve posted a few photos from the shoot on my stock photography site and will add more in the near future.  This is the perfect gift for anyone who keeps chickens as the coop ideas featured in the calendar are all very original.  We photographed the 2014 calendar this past summer and it was neat to be able to show those coop owners the ideas that are featured in the 2013 calendar.

City Chickens and Their Coops 2013 Wall Calendar featuring photos by Susan Seubert 🙂

Lydia Hess, the art director, and yours truly working on the perfect light for those glorious eggs

Portland Garden Photographer Susan Seubert shoots for Garden Design

It is with great pleasure to announce the publication of a story that I shot last July here in Portland for Garden Design Magazine’s Green Living section.  The garden belongs to Maryellen Hockensmith and has a mid-century Modern designed Pietro Belluschi home on the property.  Maryellen’s life partner, Michael McCullock, who is an architect, designed the yoga house and the design of the garden was a joint effort by a team of regional designers including Ann Lovejoy, Beth Holland, Eamonn Hughes and Laura Crockett.  There is a saltwater swimming pool and views of the coast range along with outdoor rooms, an amazing stone fireplace and cascading waterfalls.  Lee Kelly was commissioned to create a large piece which is entitled, “Window to the Gone World” that both captures views of the garden and frames the coast range in the distance.  Although it was July, while I was shooting the weather ranged from the 40’s at dawn to up into the 70’s during the day.  There was a marvelous bee balm “hedge” that attracted many hummingbirds, which were my constant companions during the shoot.  It’s a marvelous garden with the added bonus of enlightened and generous homeowners who are good stewards of the earth.  You can check out the story on Garden Design’s web site here and see outtakes from the shoot on my Stock Photography site here.

The Lee Kelly sculpture and the yoga pavilion

the waterfall and outdoor fireplace

detail shots of the outdoor rooms and view of the Coast Range from the property

All the images were shot with Canon’s 5D Mark II and various lenses.

Garden and Landscape Architecture Photographer Susan Seubert in Portland Oregon

One of my first assignments was for Garden Design Magazine back in 1998.  It was shooting a story about a landscape designer in Los Angeles named Chris Rosmini.  She not only had an extraordinary garden in the middle of the city, but she also had amazing collections of things.  Suitcases, alabaster statues, and other ephemera were strewn through her three bungalows.  Last summer I was asked by Portland Monthly Magazine to shoot a series of front yard gardens. The assignment was not nearly the deep investigation of space that the Rosmini story was, but fun and a way to learn about garden design from a completely different vantage point.  Here is the story which is running in the April 2010 issue.

The opening spread of Ketzel Levine's front yard garden

a boxwood hedge to keep out dogs and a more formal approach to a front entrance

Ketzel Levine's front yard private space and Marina Wynton's habitat garden

The images were made with a Hasselblad Camera shooting with Kodak 160VC film and a few of the pictures were made with the Canon 5D Mark II with a 24-105mm Lf/4 IS USM lens.

Garden Feature Story, Portland Spaces Magazine

It’s that time of year when we all look outside on days like this, sunny and bright, and see the battering that the surrounding flora has taken, particularly this year of much snow.  Dead plants abound.  I wonder if the rosemary bush we’ve had for the past ten years will actually come back to life and how many moles have found their way to my bulbs.  But fear not, hope comes in the form of the printed page.  Portland Spaces Magazine’s April/May Issue is filled with great ideas including a fabulous feature story about gardening!  I had the privilege of shooting a few gardens last summer for this issue.  The opener is my favorite and I hope you like it too.

If you would like to look at more garden photos on my web site, you can do that here.  Thanks for visiting!