
I picked up my first camera at age 13, and my early black-and-white photography was of family, friends, and the Texas landscape where I grew up.
At 30, I landed a job in San Francisco, and there, began to photograph water. The experience had a personal impact. As my internal landscape shifted, so, too, did my photography. The result was a body of work around water—its beauty, motion, fluidity, and the unknown.
When I retired from my restaurant marketing career, I was engaged to teach Mindful Photography at San Francisco General’s Mental Rehabilitation Center. Teaching this class named what I instinctively knew but had never articulated—that the process of photography itself can heal.
It had certainly helped me, as I witnessed dear friends who took their lives, or struggled with depression, or needed emotional support. Now, I saw the power of the medium to help others, especially those coping with mental illness.
Making art comes with a responsibility. Mindful Photography has enabled me to create art and, use it in service to others.
exhibitions
- March-June, 2023, Pretty Pretty Collective, San Francisco, featuring Women in Water exhibition. Juried by Michael Lerner
- February, 2022, Little Sisters of the Poor, St. Anne's, "The Equanimity of Nature"
- January 2022, Sequoias, San Francisco, “The Equanimity of Nature” Exhibition, Juried by David Jamison
- September 2016 PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury VT – Personal Narrative, Juried by Susan Burnstine
- September 2014 NIDO Gallery, San Francisco CA – Land + Earth, Curated by Alex Ray
- July 2013 PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury VT – Water, Elemental & Fundamental, Juried by Laura Moy, Photolucia
- January 2013 Center for Photographic Art, Carmel CA – Juried Exhibition, Juried by Dean Brierly, B&W Magazine
- January 2013 See Exhibition Space, Long Island NY – Juried by Emily K., Director
- June 2012 Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series, San Francisco CA – Juried by Daniel Simmons, Andre Guichard, Charley Palmer
- June 2012 Surf Spot, Pacifica CA – Restaurant Opening, Curated by Derek Burns
- October 2010 5 Claude Lane Gallery, San Francisco CA – Retrospective Work (solo show), Curated by Leila Seppa
- December 2010 5 Claude Lane Gallery, San Francisco CA – “A Community in the Making” non-profit for the Women’s Building
- May 2009 Kelly Street Gallery, Half Moon Bay, CA – Juried by Deborah Penrose
- May 2007 San Francisco City Hall, San Francisco CA – Curated by Louise Dawson
- April 2006 Texas A&M, Women Alumni Invitational, Commerce TX – Juried by Stan Goodwin
accolades & publications
- Photographic Connections Podcast by Kim Grant, 2023 "The Healing Benefits of Mindful Photography"
- Medium, “The Motivation to March for Women’s/Equal Rights for All” 2018
- Our Town: Best of the New Fillmore – included in retrospective 2018
- Ms. Magazine, Online Blog Personal Pictorial Essay on Gloria Steinem Impact 2017
- Medium, “Gloria Steinem’s Indelible Impact on Me” 2017
- Design Good Community, Suzie Biehler Photography, featured in “Creative People Rockin’ Their Later Years” October 2015
- CBS Bay Area Local, “How to Take Better Pictures with Your Phone” (expert column) July 2015
- BayKeeper (Protectors of San Francisco Bay) Newsletter, “Water Photography for Clean Water Organization” July 2014
- Juried Exhibition Catalog, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA January 2013
- The New Fillmore, San Francisco pictorial essays 2009 – 2020
- San Francisco Magazine, Half Moon Bay Coast July 2012
- Decline Magazine, Photo of Shelby Smith, biker feature March 2012
- Lumosity, self-published book May 2006
- 7×7 Magazine, “Bring on the Night,” top 25 honored November 2006
- Austin American Statesman, Napa Valley story/photographs June 1986
- Suburban News, pictorial essays, Dallas, TX 1975 – 1977
- East Texan Newspaper, A&M staff photographer, Commerce, TX 1973 – 1974
- First Place, Sigma Delta Chi Photographic Contest, East Texas State, Commerce, TX May 1974
- Second Place, Sam Houston State Judged Photographic Salon May 1974