Beautiful is the word most often used to describe award-winning photographer Susie Reed’s photos. She sensitively captures the essence of her subjects, taking pictures so vibrant and alive people say they can smell the flowers, her fruit and vegetable photos make their mouths water and her ancient rock art pictures make them feel they're in archeological sites.
Reed has over 30 years experience in fine art and commercial photography. Her work has appeared in major museums, galleries and publications, her photos on numerous products. She’s done freelance art for an eclectic group of high-profile clients and taught and lectured at several art colleges and universities, including the San Francisco Art Institute, where she earned her degree with honors in photography. She currently teaches at the Sedona Arts Center.
Reed always creates photos from an artist’s perspective, regardless of a picture’s end use. She primarily shoots out in the field, on location, capturing subjects as she finds them rather than setting up shots in a studio. She loves photographing many subjects including people, rock art and Indian ruins, landscapes, fruits and vegetables, vineyards, gardens and flowers. Her photographic studies are extensive, thoughtful and insightful. She creates unique, intimate, breathe-taking glimpses of the world.
Susie Reed shows her work through Goldenstein Gallery in Uptown in Sedona, voted the #1 gallery in Sedona by the readers of Kudos. Rosenthal Represents licenses Susie Reed's photos for use on home decor, stationery products, giftware, wall art, kitchen items and other merchandise. Murals Your Way offers a collection of Reed's photos for custom sized wall murals.
Through her company, Susie Reed Photos, she also does promotional, portrait, editorial, website, fine art, stock and assignment photography. She shoots events, speakers, award ceremonies and fundraisers. Reed has a keen eye and way of making her subjects feel at ease. Her flattering photos create favorable impressions that increase business.
Susie Reed photographs people from all walks of life, from neighbors and small business owners to famous entertainers, politicians, athletes, CEOs, authors and more. She’s taken pictures of Walter Cronkite, Nancy Pelosi, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Michael Beckwith, the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt and others. She’s photographed award ceremonies, events and speakers for the Common Wealth Club of San Francisco, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and the Pacific Orchid Expo among others. She was a corporate sponsor of NAWBO and on the board of directors of California Lawyers for the Arts for many years.
Much of Reed’s expertise photographing people and events comes from her being head of the backstage photo crew at the California Music Awards (aka the BAMMIES - Bay Area Music Awards) for nearly twenty years. This popular annual San Francisco black tie concert always featured an array of luminaries - musicians, sports legends, actors, comedians, and elected officials. Each year Reed helped orchestrate a group shot with the top celebrities. She received one of their awards for her many years of service.
Susie Reed started her business shortly after graduating college. At first she did freelance work while teaching part time at San Francisco Art Institute and California College of Arts and Crafts. Encouraged by clients she got into designing and distributing gift and stationery products featuring her art. Her merchandise has been sold in department stores, gift and stationery stores, bookstores, hotel, airport and museum shops, catalogs, websites and other retail outlets in the U.S., Canada and abroad. She continues to create products featuring her images through her business and other companies who license her photos for their merchandise.
She's had critically acclaimed Southwest Rock Art Calendars published featuring her photos, which have sold worldwide. Betsey Bruner, the Arts, Living and Entertainment editor for the Arizona Daily Sun, described her 2009 Sedona Rock Art Calendar as, “one of the loveliest calendars to grace bookstore shelves in years.” For 2011 Reed has four calendars in the works: Farmer's Market, Feng Shui, Grapes and Vineyards and another Southwest Rock Art calendar.
Reed's heart’s calling to photograph rock art motivated her to move from the Bay Area to Sedona, AZ in 2005. After regularly visiting the beautiful resort town for twelve years she finally decided to stay for good. There she works to protect, conserve, document and share rock art, not only for its historical, intrinsic value and beauty, but also out of concern for its vulnerability. She’s seen rock art fade from exposure, lost to development and defaced. Her photos enable rock art treasures to be seen while fragile archeological sites remain untouched.
Many of Reed’s photographs of Indian ruins, rock art and archeological digs are in the Coconino National Forest archives. This came about through her association with Coconino National Forest archeologist Peter Pilles whom Reed had the good fortune to meet in the late 90’s when they crossed paths entering a Sedona rock art site. He befriended the artist and has facilitated her photographing several archeological sites, excavations, field schools and cultural events.
The Sedona Arts and Cultural Commission has also supported Reed's efforts by awarding her an Artist Project Grant to photograph rock art, work on a book and permanently display some of her photos in Sedona Visitor Centers. Their grant review committees unanimously choose Reed as their top recipient. In Reed's book about rock art she'll share her wonderful photos and tales of incredible adventures and coincidences she's had photographing the subject for over 15 years.
Susie Reed believes Native Americans wanted certain petroglyphs and petroglyphs seen by future generations, like solar and lunar markers she’s photographed that precisely show changes of seasons. Her pictures beautifully carry on their communications. Lori Baker from Sedona Magazine said Reed “collaborates with Sedona’s ancient artists – from as far back as 12,000 years ago.” They make a fine partnership. Reed’s unique gift for sensitively and respectfully portraying rock art enables its original feel and spirit to emerge through her photos. In some pictures rock art appears to float off the surface. As Betsey Bruner from the Arizona Daily Sun put it they “dance with the lightness of air.”
