Biography

Susanne Atkin MA, ARPS

After graduating with a degree in the History of Art (University of East Anglia), I worked as an archaeological finds researcher, and then as a professional freelance indexer.

A serious interest in photography developed after buying a digital SLR for capturing re-enactments by the Fairfax Battalia of the English Civil War Society and the Tudor Group: an interest in history intertwined with a fascination for shadow and light. I photograph re-enactment events staged by EventPlan and English Heritage and others, and also local events in my home county of Worcestershire (such as Oak Apple Day), and in Cornwall (such as Mazey Day in Penzance and Truro City of Lights).

In 2009 I graduated from University College Falmouth in Cornwall with an MA Photography. I'm an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society, and a member of the Folklore Society.

I mainly use a digital camera, and occasionally a monochrome film camera. The majority of the photos on this website have not been altered or manipulated on a computer. As I often shoot in low light, adjustments sometimes have to be made to digital images, but mainly I prefer to use natural light and shadows, and 'tricks of the light' to produce images to suggest the uncanny and the odd; stories come from the images, and some will be included on this website, or you can make up your own.

A recent project involved taking images throughout the year in a young woodland, and a selection of these will be uploaded to the website in the coming weeks, ahead of a solo exhibition at No.8 Community Arts Centre in Pershore, in 2012.

Conferences etc
Guest lecturer to BA English Literature students at the University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, on Cornish Victorian Ghost Stories and Photography.
Speaker at 'Mysticism, Myths and Celtic Nationalism' conference, University College Falmouth (2010).
Speaker at 'Myths, Legends and Folklore' conference, Cardiff University (2011).

Photography Exhibitions:
English Civil War, Newark (solo exhibitions at two venues).
Contributor to War exhibition, including the English Civil War, Royal Museum of Denmark.
'Light Rain', MA Photography Exhibition, Dray Walk Gallery, London, 2008.
'Half Stop', The Poly Gallery, Falmouth, 2009.
MA Photography Exhibition, University College Falmouth, 2009.
'Falmouth MA Photography', London Metropolitan University Gallery, Whitechapel High Street, London, 2009.
'Cornish Folklore and Photography', University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus (Tremough), and at the Cornwall Centre, Redruth, 2010.

Contributor to Skirmish Magazine.