Susan Huber
BIOGRAPHY
Susan Huber was born in Pensacola, Florida, U.S.A. She grew up in a succession of cities, eventually settling in Carmel, California.
Her earliest memories of landscapes were of Rhode Island; where her family lived in a heritage house, surrounded by a working sheep farm. She grew to love the apple orchards and the rural community surrounding the farm. Moving to Carmel provided her with continued explorations of land and sea. She was given a "Brownie" when she was eleven, which in turn provided her with an excuse to document all the squirrels, dogs and neighbors on the block. 
While in secondary school, she acquired a pre-war Rolleicord from the local camera store. Studying underneath Edward Weston's prints in the public library found her wondering why her drugstore prints never came close to Edward's subtle, silvery tones.
She often photographed at Carmel Beach after school. Unknown to her, Ansel Adams observed her and came over later to the house asking to see her prints. Ansel was complimentary in a way to encourage a budding photographer to continue her dreams.
While Susan was in her last year of secondary school, her family moved to Guanajuato, GTO, Mexico. There she learned Spanish from her tutor who was an accomplished photographer of baroque churches and local architecture. She graduated from from the Universidad de Guanajuato, GTO, Mexico with a Bacc. Pre-Medicine and moved back to Carmel after spending five glorious art-filled years in Mexico
She obtained a B.Sc., Physical Therapy from CSUF- Fresno with a minor in Fine Arts.
While at CSUF, she became part of an informal group of photographers directed by Steve Dzerigian, then owner of 'Photosynthesis'- a camera store and gallery where her first exhibition was shown. Steve was instrumental in getting her interested in buying a rickety old 'baby' 4 by 5 inch Deardorff, thereby introducing her to large format photography.
After graduation, she began a long collaboration with other photographers in the Monterey Bay Area eventually enrolling in Robert Dawson's classes.
Robert's classes provided the groundwork in the history of traditional and alternative processes. Seminal moments were of seeing the prints of the 19th Century photographers such as Atget, Baldus and Marville on Albumen and; meeting local contemporary - documentary landscape photographers. Her class worked together to put forth an exhibition in San Francisco to prevent L.A. Power from draining Mono Lake, a prime bird habitat. The Supreme Court ruled in favor to prevent further water drainage. This demonstrated that powerful organizations can be made accountable through a visual medium. Reading the late Marc Reisner's book on 'Cadillac Desert'- made her realize the water will be continued to be mismanaged for political gains globally. 
While viewing Albumen prints, the depth of the prints come through along with the warmth of colours, more so than with a traditional silver gelatin process. Making a conscious decision to achieve the variable tones made her gravitate towards silver chloride printing-out papers such as AZO and POP exposed via a split back printing frame, in the sunlight.
While attending a workshop with Linda Connor she was encouraged to use an 8 by 10 inch camera as Linda stated it would make for larger contact prints. Susan contacted R.H. Phillips and had the camera made for her - it is her primary camera.
Using large format ensures a contemplative approach; a quiet time with the mind towards ideas that appeal to the photographer. As George Webber, winner of numerous awards of excellence including an International Documentary Photography Award in Seoul, South Korea in 2005 said; "Susan has a wonderful blend of heart and mind."
Prints are in private collections in Europe, North America, and Russia
Susan lives on Salt Spring Island, B.C., Canada
COLLECTIONS