Amid continued recognition, photographer Sue Graue shares her philosophy

It was a moment in time.

“When I saw that there was a drop of water in the bird’s beak, I saw how one drop was so meaningful,” Sue Graue, a nature photographer living in Yuba City, stressed. “That’s a whole gulp for that little bird. I thought – oh my gosh.”

The drop filled the whole beak of the bird during a drought.

“It meant so much,” Graue said. “The significance of a single drop of water.”

For Graue, it’s all about perspective.

“As you were turning on the faucet, how many drops are going? How many little birds?” Graue said. “We are connected to the birds. So I’ll give you my philosophy. This is what has been driving me. Because I drove a lot of miles, I told you, I was out every day driving, driving like an addiction – it wasn’t logical. But my inner message was just to keep doing it, keep (taking photos). And that I was privileged to see these things, and I’m the messenger. We are all connected. We’re connected to that drop of water. So that’s how it becomes full circle for me.”

Her photo, “One Drop,” depicts a scene where a water droplet sat in a bird’s mouth. It was received from an outdoor faucet-looking object, and another bird was perched above. For this photo, Graue won first place in the photography category for the annual PBS KVIE Art Auction. Graue’s winning piece, “One Drop,” will be up for bid in the live, three-day auction event alongside over 270 other works of art.

Broadcast by KVIE Channel 6, this year’s auction airs on Sept. 27 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Sept. 28 from noon to 10 p.m., and Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The auction will also be live-streamed online at kvie.org/artauction. Viewers can bid on their favorite artworks by telephone during the live event. Auction proceeds will help support PBS KVIE’s local productions and community outreach services.

“I never would have dreamt,” Graue said. “To think that that little bird won first place.”

The photo is a moment of pause despite the speed with which people move around in their daily lives.

“We’re in the landscape – we don’t stop and see what’s really there,” Graue said. “These are things living with us. All these things, they’re out there right now. There are little subjects that live with us, so I want to say – if you want to know, go slow.”

According to Graue, photography helps you see – you start to see a lot.

“It helps you learn. I have learned so much. I didn’t know the names of things, and I didn’t know the interaction,” Graue said. “I’ve looked this close to a wild animal, a little baby owl. And that’s, I know the reflection of my car was in that little owl’s eyeballs – it’s profound to me.”

Immersing herself in environments, Graue is a plein air photographer.

“I’m just showing up,” Graue explained. “I’m responding to what is there. I’m responding in the moment; I’m responding to the light. I have no control over the movement, the light, nothing. I can’t say, ‘Would you turn a little to the left?’”

However, Graue can adjust where she is sitting, and she considers the background.

“You become very practiced at it,” Graue said. “You see your subject. You start to see beyond the subject – you see the whole composition.”

Some of her nature photography is currently displayed, with art from other artists, inside the Sutter Theater Center for the Arts in Yuba City. One photo on display features donkeys.

“When those donkeys showed up, I got two shots of them,” she said. “I'm driving along, OK? I’m going downhill on a dirt road. I see that: I go, ‘Oh my gosh.’”

Click, click.

Graue said her goal is to get the best possible picture because you can’t make a bad picture look good. So you practice your settings.

“I control all the settings, and I do periodic practice shots because the light changes by the minute,” Graue said. “So I just try to be prepared. I have my camera on; I have it on my lap. I have it calibrated for the light at that moment and what I might be shooting. And then luck. It’s quite a fun thing.”

The Sutter Theater Center for the Arts is located at 754 Plumas St. in Yuba City.