DAVID ELLINGSEN PHOTOGRAPHY

More from my Lost + Found collection of portrait photography.

See other images from my foraging trips at the following links, or click on the Lost + Found Category down the right hand column:
Brothers and Sisters
Tintypes

Photo by Pat Clancy

More from my Lost + Found collection of portrait photography. These two gorgeous little tintypes were jumbled in amongst hundreds of other regular photographs in a big box…I would guess they are in excess of 150 years old.

See other images from my foraging trips at the following links:
Brothers and Sisters

Recently I’ve been very interested in Found Photography…especially as it relates to the art, craft and evolution of the portrait.

There’s something about finding a portrait from 1869 in a shoe box at the back of a thrift store that really gets my mind going. Initially, just the fact that it has survived 140 years to end up in my hand seems important enough. The craftsmanship that this implies always impresses me and sometimes makes me consider our current popular archival printing techniques, not to mention all the photographs I now store on my computer and where they shall end up.

Often small clues present themselves around the edge of the image or on the reverse…date, studio, city, cryptic hand-writing…but the content of the photograph itself remains the only context available to the viewer. It feels such a pure expression of photography.

I found this series of photographs all together in Winnipeg,  as if someone had sorted them already.
I suppose being one of four brothers gave me an immediate affinity for them…

Photo credit: Shaver, Chelsea, MI

When I was in Winnipeg recently I went to the Manitoba Museum and wandered through the natural history exhibit…love those crazy dioramas. My 5 year old nephew, Angus, is a wildlife nut and I thought since he wasn’t there that I’d take some photographs for him to see. iPhone to the rescue…

Hmmm…I think a “Diorama Photo Contest” may be in order…any takers?

The 3 year old full time Digital Photography Program at Vancouver Institute of Media Arts is putting out some promising new talent and I had the pleasure of being on the Portfolio Review Panel for the graduating class of 2010, better known as DP6.

Along with three of Vanarts faculty members experienced in other segments of the industry (Mary Jensen of Artisan Photography, Ian McGuffie of Exposure Gallery and Advisory Board Chair James Emler), I spent 2 1/2 days reviewing 14 portfolios and was impressed by the quality of the work presented. As with any graduating class, there was the odd exception, but most students showed real talent not only in their photographs, but in their grasp of the marketplace and industry. It seems that Vanarts is following through on it’s claim to “prepare students to master the artistic, technical and business practices for all areas of the professional photography industry”.

As I mentioned there was a lot of great work…but the following students I singled out due to their raw talent in their respective niche and more importantly because I saw a flash of brilliance in some of their images and got that tight, excited feeling in my chest while looking at it (note: if you get a chance to actually see their books it’s worth the effort. The websites are good but don’t show the work off nearly as well as the large prints I saw…a pleasure to view in person.). Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the sheer volume of photography out there but this experience, with all fourteen of the students, was one of those moments that re-confirms just what an exciting, satisfying career this can be and the inspiring creativity within it.

Long careers ahead I’m sure…

In no particular order:

DANIELLE ANATHEMA
Wow. The new Floria Sigismondi. Dark, surreal…amazingly creative.
www.anathemaphotography.com

THOMAS STRAND
Documentary work with great applications for advertising and editorial.
www.thomasarnestrand.com

ESPERANZA GOMEZ
Wonderful live photographs…someone who really knows how to use available light to her advantage.
www.esperanzagomezphotography.com

NEIL LOUIE
Strong, quiet, elegant fine art and portraiture work. Stellar.
www.nplphotography.com

KATHERINE LEE
Before getting her credentials in photography Katherine had a career working with children, and her ease, comfort and genuine interest in people shows in her consumer-directed family photographs.
www.momentosbykatherine.com

ASHLEY PERRY
Live bands and musicians with energetic compositions and timing.
www.ashleyperryphoto.com