Commercial Photographer Susan Seubert shoots the Charles Hotel

Last week we wrapped up a 4 day shoot at The Charles Hotel in Cambridge, MA.  If you are planning on visiting the Boston area, or need to stay near Harvard University, this is the place!  The property recently went through a large scale renovation and needed proper images to showcase the gorgeous upgrades. We spent 4 days photographing interiors for the hotel’s advertising needs.

The first image for their campaign is online!

Here are some behind the scenes from our production.

Me with Anna, our bed stylist. Anna and so many others at The Charles made this shoot a huge success.

Jenna Teeson can work anywhere!

No grip truck? No problem!

Behind, behind the scenes.

Team Teeson!

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National Geographic Photographer Susan Seubert wins Gold at NATJA

I was completely taken aback when my cell phone pinged, “Congrats @susanseubert winning #NATJA gold for your photos in ‘Saving Old Bangkok’ in the Aug/Sept 2014 @NatGeoTravel.”  The North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) had held its annual competition for excellence in travel publishing and I was awarded gold in the category of Photo Essay.  Since I hadn’t entered, I had no idea I was even up for an award! I would like to thank my editors and the entire staff of National Geographic Traveler for giving me this fantastic assignment as well as congratulate the magazine for winning the grand prize for Travel Publications!  Go Team NGT!!!!

The opening spread for the award winning photo essay, “Saving Old Bangkok,” for National Geographic Traveler Magazine

National Geographic Traveler had assigned me to photograph a story about a small group of people in the old city of Bangkok who are actively working to preserve some of the remarkable wooden houses and other structures in the neighborhoods on Rattanakosin Island, on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River.  The project is being spearheaded by architect Worapan Klampaiboon, who has a small guesthouse on Samsen 5, the Samsen 5 Lodge.  I spent just over two weeks wandering the streets photographing the people, guesthouses, neighborhoods, markets and temples that are all located in this area.  One of my favorite places to explore was around one of the guesthouses, Baan Dinso.  Everywhere, daily life spilled on to the streets.  Being able to spend time walking through the narrow roads of these areas allowed me to experience what the architect saw: an architecturally important area that had fallen into disrepair but was still salvageable. I photographed a group of old wooden homes that had been transformed into an arts center by a kindly couple who happened to be friends with my translator. This ended up being one of the opening pictures along side an outdoor bathtub at a renovated guest house, the Old Bangkok Inn.  You can read the story here.  Thank you for visiting!

Monks during prayer at Wat Suthat Thepphawararam a royal temple of the first grade, one of ten such temples in Bangkok.

The neighborhood around the Bann Dinso Guesthouse

Wat Ratchanaddaram, a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand

architectural photographer Susan Seubert lands two magazine covers

It is my great pleasure to announce two covers that I photographed which are currently on the newsstands: one for a regional magazine, Oregon Home, and another for a national magazine, This Old House.  I love shooting these assignments because I get a chance to peek into people’s houses and pick up some ideas for my own!  The desert home was amazing, and we had a glorious day of shooting – sunny and bright.  The extra treat was a full moon rising as the sun was setting.  I had difficulty concentrating but we had to move fast as we were shooting several situations and had only about 20 minutes to work.  The cover for This Old House was shot in Carlton, Oregon, right on the main highway and we were again graced with beautiful, late afternoon light.  The stylist, Michele Greco, is one of the best in the industry. We did a variety of porch setups which took some time, but yielded wonderful results.  I’m thrilled the magazines used the images and I encourage you to go out and pick up copies.  Thank you!

The cover of the February/March 2012 issue of Oregon Home Magazine

March 2012 Cover of This Old House Magazine photographed in Carlton, Oregon

Portland Landscape Photography by Susan Seubert

… is featured in the new book entitled, “Where the Revolution Began, published by Spacemaker Press.  It features the work of landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, who had been at the leading edge of urban design (sadly, he passed away in October).  Together with his wife Anna Halprin, they transformed notions of public space and community.  The book contains three essays by John Beardsley, Janice Ross and Randy Gragg.  I made the modern photographs of the Halprin Promenade in Portland over the last couple of years. If you would like to buy the book, you can do so here. We hope you do, as all the proceeds go to the Halprin Landscape Conservancy, “a nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public and preserving the Portland Open Space Sequence.”

Where The Revolution Began: Cover and Modern photos by Susan Seubert

The process of documenting these parks was a very interesting exercise in trying to “see” back in time and envision what these plazas might have looked like before they were overwhelmed by high rise buildings, neglect, (don’t mean to be down on Portland here, I would wager this was due to city budget restraints), and the addition of unintended architectural features (such as sculpture, planters, etc…).

This book is a magnificent testament to these public spaces and we hope will not only bring attention to these important Portland landmarks but lead to the preservation of them for future generations.  In addition to my work, the book also includes reproductions of Halprin’s drawings and some historical images for context.

Here are a few of my favorite images from the shoot which features the Lovejoy Fountain, Pettygrove Park and the Forecourt Fountain.  Most of the images were made with a Hasselblad using 80mm, 50mm or 40mm lenses.  The film was either Kodak 160VC or Kodak 400VC.  Some of the detail images and wide angle horizontal images were made with a Canon 5D.

A detail of the acclaimed Forecourt Fountain in downtown Portland, OR

A detail of the acclaimed Forecourt Fountain in downtown Portland, OR

Pettygrove Park consists of a series of mounds and paths

Pettygrove Park consists of a series of mounds and paths

The Lovejoy Fountain which was designed to have water cascading down steps and land into a serene pool

The Lovejoy Fountain which was designed to have water cascading down steps and land into a serene pool