Episode #19 Photographing Dreams and Memory with Susan Burnstine

Award-winning fine art photographer Susan Burnstine joins this episode to discuss her journey from Hollywood film production to becoming a full-time artist whose haunting dreamlike photographs are created with cameras she built herself.In this conversation, Susan shares how childhood night terrors and her mother’s artistic guidance shaped her creative process. She reflects on her years working in the film industry, the turning point that brought her back to photography, and the moment she first captured the aesthetic she had been searching for.The discussion explores her approach to symbolism, intuition, and dream imagery in photography, the experience of building her own cameras, and the importance of creating from the heart rather than technical perfection. Susan also talks about mentoring artists, teaching creativity, and how her definition of success has changed over time.Website: http://www.susanburnstine.com/*Shownotes*Growing up in Chicago and studying photography in high schoolBeing inspired by films shot at her school and developing an interest in visual storytellingEarly experience working for a professional photographerChoosing filmmaking and moving to HollywoodA personal tragedy that shifted her perspective and led her back to photographyChildhood night terrors and using art to cope with fearRecreating dreams through photography as a form of healingDiscovering toy cameras like the Holga and learning to photograph intuitivelyThe challenge from her father that led her to build her own camerasDeveloping a prototype camera and capturing the first successful imageUsing dream imagery, symbols, and metaphor in photographyCreating photographs that allow viewers to form their own interpretationTeaching photography and helping artists discover their own creative voiceWorking with students online around the worldBuilding a career as a full-time artist for over twenty yearsPublishing monographs and exhibiting work internationallyEmbracing imperfection as an essential part of creativityThe influence of impressionism and pictorialism on her photographyDefining success through self-expression and living life on her own terms*Memorable Quotes*“Toy cameras teach you to shoot differently — to shoot from your heart, not your head.”“When you’re looking through a view camera, you’re not seeing what you’re really shooting, so you have to go with your instinct.”“I wanted to recreate the dream world in a positive light rather than the negative night terrors.”“Imperfection is perfection to me.”“Life is so messy. Life is so imperfect.”“Once I put the image out in the world, it should be your own experience.”“Sometimes when I hit the shutter, I just know.”“I teach what you know. I help people discover what is unique about them.”“The essence of creativity just happened in front of me.”“Success is about achieving self-expression on my own terms.”“I’ll leave this life and say I lived the life I wanted to live.”