Photo of the Day
Fresh photos from the American Southwest and my travels abroad.
Welcome. This site is primarily meant to be a place for creative daily practice in image making and storytelling. Rather than being an area to view my portfolio, photo of the day is a sandbox of photographs and ideas. One of the greatest challenges artists face are editing and committing to a creative practice of showing up, day after day, consistently. This is my focus here. Although I may not post a finished photograph every single day, I am engaged in writing, photographing, or post-processing on a daily basis. This is my commitment to my craft, myself, on behalf of the natural world.
Red Tailed Hawk Hunting
Red-Tailed Hawk HuntingPhoto Credits: Red Tailed Hawk Hunting , by Susan J. Preston, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge © 2022, all rights reserved ..
More Photos of the Day
Sunshine Through Rain
Truly, the veil between the two worlds is so thin here sometimes it makes my eyes sparkle.
May the Storm Be With Me
So often in this life, the only way to know how strong we really are is through…
Soft Hearted
Sometimes a mistake is a gift of beauty we give ourselves….
Stung
She said, “After you get stung, you can’t get unstung no matter how much you…
Experimenting with Cone Petals
The post-processing experimentation continues with another image I shot at the Bishop’s Garden at the Washington Cathedral. As I rummage through so many…
Chrysanthemum
White Mum Mum's the word the last couple of days on the blog. This is the second mum pic in...
Cascading Petals
This is one of countless flower images I shot at the Bishop’s Garden while I lived in DC. One of my most favorite places
Cabbage
I faded this shot from black and white into color for a reason…
Squash Blossoms
One of the most delightful appetizers you will find during the Santa Fe midsummer are fried…
Best Man
A few months ago a friend of mine said I’d never find a man who loves me more than…
Pink Flowers by the Roadside
Remember to take time to notice the little pink flowers on the roadside. Always.
Seeing the Taste of Honey
Every time I see a bee I see the taste of…
Desert Rose
There are desert roses aplenty in the St. Anne’s neighborhood of Santa Fe.
Waiting for Voltaire
Ahh! Sunset at the Santa Fe Opera!
Magic Lines
An abstract view of a spectacular Taos sunset…
What the Frog Saw: Once in a Thousand Year Storm
Santa Fe was pummelled by the mother of all monsoons a couple weeks ago. After months of extreme drought, it was a dramatic display of lightning…
Meadow Sunset
There is a field. I’ll meet you there….
Self-Portrait
A man is whole only when he takes into account his shadow…
The Gateless Gate
When one passes through this gateless gate,
He freely walks between heaven and earth.
Navajo Rugs on the Plaza
The Numinous Edge
I’ve been touched by the numinal while eating dessert and comforted with its presence while singing a lullaby to my dying…
Cloud Pigsnout
And if you can’t be a rainbow, then be a whimsical pigsnout. Because pig-snouted…
Apricot Harvest
Finally! This is the first time the enormous apricot tree in my front yard has born fruit since moving here…
Shadow Self
I’m fascinated by the shadows we cast, and how the people who seem the burn the brightest tend to throw the deepest…
Sepia Lightning
Sepia Lightning The other day I shot a sequence of lightning shots with my iPhone 6–all handheld....
Ash Moon
With the moon in your sky and beauty in your heart, you are never alone. –Susan J. Preston
Cloud R?
I was driving down to Albuquerque when I pulled over on the side of the highway to document this amazing cloud. It was as though it was…
a little black rain cloud
a little black rain cloud i’m just a liitle black rain cloud hovering over the honey tree....
Paint By Numbers
I always thought numbers were hard to judge. I’ve been told they don’t lie and you can’t argue with them. But lo and behold…
Stuck Between Happy and Miserable
Seems to me you don’t want to get trapped and certainly don’t get squished.
Some Fun Along the Way
A curve is a line that decided to…
A World of Hope
The sparrow that is twittering on the edge of my balcony is calling up to me this moment a world of..
A Prayer for the Wind
May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and…
Synchronicity
I remember standing on top of the boathouse while my dad’s friend shot of rockets down by the Lake Anna shoreline. In a moment of…
The Flying Octopus in Our Heads
She said, “Most of the time, I don’t give a damn about tripods. The good things in life are better hand-held.”
Like most hearts,
Like most hearts, it was complicated, shaded with dark and dappled with…
When I’m covered in pink…
He said, “It’s when I’m covered in pink that my heart is…”
What We Have in Common
The funny thing about ferns is when you’re silent…
Leave a Light in the Window
How did my journey to Iceland inspire commitments I’ve made to myself 18 months later? A new musing about comfort zones, risk-taking, and aspiring to fly higher in the altMBA.
The Art of Uncertainty
“The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then…”
The Soul of Art
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” ― Pablo Picasso
Falling Down
“I loved to fall down.” ― Dick Van Dyke
The Strangest Most Unpredictable Hour
Love has a way of wilting or blossoming at the strangest…
Finding the Edge
Beautiful things usually begin on a threshold. Can you find yours? –Susan J. Preston
The Innovative Color
I believe in tradition and innovation, authenticity and passion. – Jose Andres
King of the Pelicans
I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. I watch, and…
Dune Walk
“The only way we will protect wild lands, in my estimation, is through broader understanding and creating competitive value…
Hooded Oriole
Imagine this striking bird spent his life trying to be a robin. Be the breathtaking creature you already are. – Susan J. Preston
The Trail of a Crab
Noticing beauty is a ability that can be cultivated. In so many ways, this is what this website is about. Learn how to…
Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church at Sunset
Please do not ask me to pronounce the name of this famous Lutheran church located in Reykjavik, Iceland. As difficult as Icelandic would be to become fluent in, I would take on the task 100 times in a row in order to live there.