I was raised in an alternative community of 1,500 people in rural Tennessee. I owned no toys, rode my horse to school and lived in a money-free society. My father’s role as media liaison and photographer for the community resulted in us regularly hosting journalists from Good Morning America, 60 Minutes and global media outlets as they reported on our lives.

Shy by nature, the camera helped me transition into the unchartered territory of American society. At 16, I discovered a picture of myself in a chapter of my US history book about my community within that context of the 1960s. For the first time, I truly saw this world from the perspective of an outsider.  I became both the seer and the seen.

Part outsider, shutterbug and social misfit, I discovered a passion for chronicling life in stories and photographs. After a brief stint in New York City, the Middle East and a fellowship to graduate school, I joined the staff at the San Francisco Chronicle, followed by the San Jose Mercury News, where I produced front-page photos, in-depth photo essays and multimedia shorts for the web.

For the past ten years, I have captured everyday moments and covered a wide range of social issues, including ostracized widows, refugees and politics. I have stalked childhood ghosts in the woods of my youth and worked with kids on visual storytelling as a form of self-expression and empowerment.

Along my journey I’ve garnered awards and recognition from competitions like the Pictures of the Year International competition, the Best of Photojournalism, and a United Nations-sponsored international traveling retrospective Alexia Foundation exhibit. My work has been published in several photography books, including “Photosynthesis,” “Eyes on the World.” For three years, I’ve worked with underserved youth, helping implement photographic storytelling workshops for the National Geographic Society’s Photo Camp program.

I live for family, community and capturing the intersection of art and life in the real-life stories, triumphs and issues of everyday people. Today, I shoot in a variety of formats, producing editorial and commercial digital photography print products as well as film and multimedia presentations for the web.

^{All photographs are ©Susanna Frohman, ©Susanna Frohman/San Jose Mercury News and ©Susanna Frohman/San Francisco Chronicle}