continuing to look at West Coast photographers….

Los Angeles photographer, Susan Burnstine, is one of the hardest working fine art photographers around. Whether building her own cameras from “plastic, vintage camera parts and random household objects, ” continually producing new bodies of work, writing a regular column for Black & White Magazine (UK), co-founding and co-managing Filmwasters (a site for film photogpraphers), curating exhibitions, teaching workshops, and having work appear in a myriad of galleries and publications, Susan puts the pedal to the metal on all fronts.

The images below are from an ongoing project titled, Within Shadows, that is made up of three chapters: On Waking Dreams, Between, and Flight. “To create the images, I recall a significant metaphor, contemplative moment or pathway into the unknown from a dream the night before. I then capture the fading memory on film that very same day using details from my own imaginings to tap into the collective unconscious. ” All the imagery was created entirely in-camera, as a result of hard work and her unpredictable homemade cameras.

Susan’s mysterious and evocative images have resonated with collectors and curators from the moment she first presented them to the fine art world. Growing up in Chicago, Susan tapped into her emotions at an early age. “As a child, I suffered vivid nightmares that stayed with me for days. Often, I would walk around not sure if I was dreaming or awake, as the lines between the two remained blurred. Existing within the shadows of the unconscious made life a curious synthesis of magic and reality. Portals to the unknown emerged, offering me pathways that seemed to bridge the gap between real and unreal, life and death. Though the intensity of my dreams did not lessen as an adult, my response transformed. Initially, I was lost within the haze of my dreams. But now, it is through my dreams that I truly see.”

Images from Within Shadows