 "Photo: Suzanne Bell")
Local amateur photographer, Suzanne Bell, 53, is currently putting on an exhibition in the Integrated Sciences and Engineering Library in the Lederle low rise.
The exhibition, labeled "Naturally Beautiful," showcases some of Bell's most scenic landscapes, including a particularly beautiful sunset captured through a dense fog, as well as various wildlife including a whimsical set of eight photos that show a horse rolling around in the dirt.
"The rolling horse came about one summer when we [Bell and her husband] were at a bed and breakfast in Jackson, New Hampshire," Bell said. "I was standing on a deck over the horse coral, and he started to roll. I snapped a series of photos and around a year later, played with them on Photoshop. My husband loved it, so I printed it and found that it was my most popular photo at my gallery show last summer."
Bell has a problem with labeling herself a true photographer, however. She sets the example as someone who did not go to school for photography nor work for any illustrious gallery or magazine. She has simply had a long-standing love of photography that has carried through to her work.
"A true photographer can get the picture no matter what," Bell said. "I am still learning. I enjoy playing with the camera and finding out how to be more consistent with getting the results I want. When you are happy with your photos is when you stop trying to do better. I didn't actually 'decide' to become a photographer. I've just carried a camera around since I was 12."
As a fellow UMass alum and current staff member, Bell enjoys aiming her camera both around campus and throughout the local culture. She contends that a person does not have to look far to find an interesting subject.
"Sometimes I set up my tripod and point it at our birdfeeder in the winter," Bell said. "I have a long plunger that allows me to be at the kitchen counter away from the camera and shoot when a bird is there."
Though Bell has a strong connection to the local fare, she considers traveling as a great opportunity to practice her talents and find inspiration on a more expansive scale.
"When you see something everyday, you stop seeing it" Bell said. "You have to learn to see things as new to take good photos. Guess you do not need to travel to be a photographer, but it helps to open your eyes."
Her favorite New England haunts include the White Mountains in New Hampshire, the Cape Cod National Seashore including the Provincetown area. Bell highly recommends traveling out west to the country's national parks including Yosemite, Yellowstone and especially Glacier, as great sources of inspiration. Bell's ultimate goal is to reach Alaska so she can both witness and capture the Northern Lights for her fans back home.
Bell's current exhibition boasts a wide variety of photographs from local wildlife to distant landscapes and will be on display until Dec. 31. For more of her work visit the Deerfield Gallery in South Deerfield, Mass.
Keri Letourneau can be reached at kletourn@student.umass.edu.
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