From the African bush to the jungles of the Amazon and the Pantanal, to the frozen tundra of Alaska, to her home in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sue Petterson's photography is versatile and technically excellent. A love of nature, the great outdoors and the human spirit are showcased through her fine art nature photography and her portraits of people and pets. Her enchanting photographs capture the ever changing world and provide others with photographs that they will treasure for a lifetime.

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In the early 1980's, Sue emerged on the local San Francisco photography circuit as a professional portrait and wedding photographer. Sue operated a very successful portrait studio specializing in children and family portraiture for over 25 years.

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She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from San Francisco State University and considers herself privileged to have practiced as a registered nurse for 34 years. She spent the majority of her career in the Emergency Department but also worked in the Intensive Care Unit, Infusion Center, Quality Management and finished her career as a nursing supervisor. She utilizes her understanding of stressful events to help people feel comfortable in front of the camera. Her sensitivity and experience with people of all ages assist her in capturing picture-perfect moments and timeless expressions.

 

Since 2010, Sue's interests in photography have evolved to reflect her love of the outdoors and all of its creatures. She is an avid outdoors woman who loves to hike, camp, kayak, fly fish and explore the mysteries of nature with her cherished and always supportive boyfriend Rich and her beloved Australian shepherds Alfonso and Luka.  Alfonso, Luka and Sue can now be found racing around the agility course and in the obedience and rally rings working on their titles. 

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Sue combines her love of travel with her passion for photography and can often be found scouting the local landscape for challenging photographic opportunities. Her travels have taken her to South Africa, Kenya and Botswana. Other travels include exploring the vastness of Sand Wash Basin in Colorado searching for the wild horse population and then experiencing the "Sombrero Horse Drive," really bringing back what the wild west must have been like. Visiting in 2015 the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and her paternal mother's family home in Finland brought her back to her family roots and a clear understanding of where her love of nature and adventure comes from. She has had the amazing opportunity to travel to the Pantanal of Brazil and the jungles of the Amazon in Peru. Additional projects have included the migratory birds of Texas, the Northern Gannet bird colony on Bonaventure Island, Quebec Canada and Snowy owl irruptions in Ottawa, Canada and Washington State. Lastly, numerous travels to Alaska have given her the privilege to photograph bald eagles, coastal brown bears and the apex predator the iconic polar bear.  

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From Sue's numerous photography adventures she has been fortunate to have had many of her images awarded, published and exhibited in local galleries in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Exhibits & Galleries

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• Filoli Historic House & Garden, Woodside, California Inaugural Art Faire July 2018. Juried

• Golden Gate Audubon's 2017 Centennial Traveling Exhibit to celebrate their founding 100 years ago. A number of her photographs were part of this exhibit. See photo on left of one of their photo panels.

• The Caldwell Gallery in the Hall of Justice in Redwood City, California; An invitational exhibit from San Mateo County Arts Commission curated by Boris Koodrin; 2015 "Nature's Elegant Hand."

• Filoli Historic House & Garden, Woodside, California Juried shows; 2014 "Bay Area Wildlife" - A multiple-media exhibit" and 2013 "Hidden Beauty" - A Fine Art Photography Exhibition

• Coastside Land Trust, Half Moon Bay, California Juried shows; 2015 "California Spring Show," and 2014 "California Raptor Show"

• Main Street Café, Los Altos, California; A month long photography exhibit in 2013.

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Recognition

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• Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International 2018 Competition: Semi-Finalist

• Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International 2015  Competition: Finalist

• 2016 NANPA Annual Showcase - Top 250

• San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory Annual Click Off Contest :

  • 2015 - Category Winner: Bird Portrait, Merit Award: Birds and Their Habitat

  • 2014 - Three Merit Awards: Bird Behavior, Bird Portraits and Birds & Humans

  • 2013 - Category Winner: Birds and Their Habitats, Merit Award: Bird Behavior

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Publications

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• Golden Gate Audubon's, "Birds of the Bay Area" calendar: years 2019 (Cover Image),                   2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014

• NANPA Expressions 2016 magazine - Top 250

• Golden Gate Audubon's, newsletters to their members

• "The Gull," cover image Spring 2015, Golden Gate Aububon's spring edition newsletter.

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Sue supports and believes strongly in the conservation and protection of our environment and wildlife. Through her art, Sue strives to persuade people to help protect what could be gone tomorrow.  

 

She hopes you will enjoy her vision in the photographs you will see in this website.

 

Enjoy!!! 

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