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Catching up with New Member Susan Weiss

Ellen Gilkerson | Published on 8/15/2024

Susan Weiss joined PACC last month, and there’s lots of news to catch up on.  She tells us a about herself and about just a few of her recent projects:
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I was introduced to the group by Lenore Pereira. I am a visual artist based in San Francisco and Dorset, VT, and work in several disciplines including, photography, drawing, painting and film. I have an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute. In photography, I work with both analog and digital cameras, and the choice is motivated by the look and feel that I want for the final project. I began my photography career in the early 2000s doing street, documentary and NGO philanthropic coverage mostly in health care and social issue subjects. My work has appeared in print, speaking engagements and radio interviews. I teach drawing both live and virtual and will be teaching a class in Lucca, Italy, in September.

I prefer to work on several projects at one time as I feel that the work in each gets energy from the other work. Among my other current projects are Thimble Spell, a series of photographic stories created through AI into manga-style books based on incidents in my life; and 100 Tulips, an AI-influenced piece based on 100 black tulips in my Vermont garden that I photographed using 5 cameras: Leica MP, Mamiya 7 II, Holga, Polaroid SX70 and Polaroid 680. 








My documentary work ended with the onset of the pandemic and strict isolation requirements in Vermont where I spent the years 2020-2022. I took online classes at ICP and LACP, which culminated with a certificate in visual storytelling from ICP. I began to photograph an apple orchard as a way to be outdoors yet follow the isolation requirements of Vermont. I used a plastic instant type camera, the Mint InstantKon RF70, outfitted with a close up lens attachment, and Fuji Instax Wide film, as I did not have access to a dark room. I developed the work into the book THE ORCHARD, which will be published in October of 2024 by Green Writers Press of Brattleboro, VT. The book contains 50 abstract images in color and an introduction by the Vermont author Eve O. Schaub. The book will be available in book stores, on line or order direct from me. 

MbrInNews 2024_08 Weiss Orchard

In July 2022, I started photographing Lia, a female body builder in Vermont. She had just begun to train for her first professional competition. I documented the entire process, including the final competition in San Antonio that November, using a Leica M9P and M10 using 28mm and 50mm lenses. I thought this body of work would hang in a gallery setting. However, it became part of my course work at ICP; and I was encouraged to convert it to a film. Based on that, I created a documentary short film, Lia: A Body Building Story / Director’s Cut, using a series of still images strung together with some video that I took on my iPhone. The film has been on the festival circuit, and it has won over 30 laurels, including 7 first place winners. I am now working on a sequel about Lia training and competing in 2024. This was filmed and photographed with 3 iPhone 15 Pro Max cellphones. The entire story can be followed from the beginning on Instagram @liataylor chronicles.

MbrInNews 2024_08 Weiss Lia

I traveled to Oaxaca in February for a photography workshop led by Stella Johnson. I intended to use my Leica but the sensor was corroded, so I photographed with an iPhone 15. One of those images was selected for the August/September issue of F-STOP MAGAZINE. The theme of the issue was Telling Stories 2024. This image was taken in the town of San Martin Tilcajete during their rehearsal for a celebration.

MbrInNews 2024_08 Weiss Tilcajete