"As far back as I can remember, I've loved photography. In fact, I think I look at the world through rectangles!"
So confesses Saratogan Susanne Karlak, an admitted shutterbug for whom "anything to get the right shot" is her motto and looking at the world as though through a viewfinder is her modus operandi. As a child, she remembers seeing her father's prints frequently floating in the sink.
Although her profession is assistant principal at Lynbrook High School, Karlak has made time to become a self-taught photographer, mainly of flowers, landscapes, buildings and people. She learned her craft through reading photography-related books and magazines and just going outside and letting the shutter fly.
"So often I'd think 'oh, that would make a beautiful picture!' but I didn't always have a camera at the time," she says. Now, she adds, she almost always takes her camera bag with her wherever she goes, especially on the frequent hikes, road trips and vacations she takes with her husband.
It was during a simple detour on the way home from work last spring, however, when Karlak's eye was caught by the riotous display of color from Icelandic poppies in the parking lot of a Saratoga Avenue strip center housing Kinko's Copies and Pier One Imports. She didn't know it at the time, but this spontaneous photo opportunity would later lead to another--first prize in the nature category of Popular Photography Great Picture Contest. Her winning photo, among 60,000 entries, was published in the January 1999 edition of the magazine.
Although not dressed for what she calls "belly photography," Karlak pulled into the parking lot, set up a makeshift tripod with her camera bag and began composing shots of the poppies, which she says were beautifully backlit by the late afternoon sun. Among her biggest challenges, she says, was selecting flowers from the sea of red, pink, salmon, orange, yellow and white that did not look too "hot." After 20 minutes, Karlak was satisfied she had captured the flowers' glory.
"I'm sure shoppers and people driving home must have laughed at a nicely dressed lady contorted into various positions on the sidewalk and grass!" she recalls of the scene.
Although she still takes photos for fun, Karlak has also gone public with her hundreds of nature images. A participant in the Saratoga Rotary Art Show and the Saratoga Christmas Goose event at the Foothill Club, she also exhibited at the gallery of the Keeble & Suchat photography store in Palo Alto. Word of mouth has been another great source of sales.
"When a photo is good and I know it's working, it's like I hit the jackpot," Karlak says, explaining why photography is such a consuming hobby.
"Being a photographer forces you to really look at things. My life is enriched because I don't think I miss much. And I like the concept that how I once saw the world becomes a part of other people's lives and homes."
Saratoga, California Since 1975
