Bio

For Susan Stava, photography presented a ticket out from the limited opportunities of her rural home town upbringing in upstate NY. So after graduation she moved to NYC; enrolled at Pratt Institute and started to hone her craft.

Early in her career she photographed portraits, nudes and eventually turned to the street, drawn by its opportunity for exciting picture stories.

As a New York Photojournalist she documented everything from the World Trade center terrorist attacks to Harlem prom dates to Clint Eastwood.  Her goal was “to capture life as it really appeared” and avoid the soft focused imagery of fictional America. Along the way, her work was published over 25 years in the New York Times, New York Daily News, Time, Newsweek, People and Vanity Fair as well as several book projects such as America 24/7, May we not forget 9/11 and a collaboration with Joel Peter Witkin in his Harm’s Way.

After moving to the Hudson Valley with her family over 20 years ago, the urban photojournalist turned her eye to her own back yard for subject matter.  However, in 2018 several opportunities were presented to work with humanitarian organizations that sent Susan to Cambodia, Vietnam, Uganda, Thailand and Myanmar.  She covered stories about women’s health, education and sustainable living. Then the coronavirus outbreak shrouded the country and the pandemic stalled all projects.  Black lives matter protests broke out amidst the heartbreaking frontline workers stories brought Susan back into the city life. 

In 2020, Susan filmed and produced a documentary short ‘Vote American’.  This film addressed the contentious, divisive election campaigns and interviewed U.S. women voters from 2016 campaign to the Insurrection that took place in Washington D.C.  She is currently resides in NYC.