Suzanne Herzstam is an artist who sees the depth and design of a composition.   No accoutrements--just the eye, the camera, the light and the story.  She started taking images in 1976 in San Francisco, beginning with black and white format and moving to color exclusively.  The colors were too vivid to ignore and too essential to the images.  No digital imagery--color print film, as the look is richer and has more texture.  She employs no flash or artificial light.  There are no later manipulations of the images.  The photographs are simply what the artist framed and the consequent life the image holds:   Line/form/shadow/light and something undefinable.

Her forte has been travelling solo to towns and cities in Europe and in the United States and integrating with the communities, often staying for extended periods.  She finds being with herself on these journeys essential to the work of staying present and observant, glancing the image when it shows its face.  She is called to the European cultures, the depth of the history--the architecture, the rivers, the museums, the food, the communities.  You will find the reverence in her art.


Ms. Herzstam has sold several prints into the collections of west coast buyers.  A display of her photographs of Provence was held at Alliance Francaise in Pasadena.  Additionally, a professor of photography at the Art Center for Design in Pasadena created a unique small book of Ms. Herzstam's photographs of Musee Reattu in Arles (some of these images are displayed on this site).  



 The photographer works with an excellent private color lab in Pasadena and will be glad to talk with you further about specifications.