Among film photographers we share many of the reasons as to why we shoot film: the slowing down, the requirement for attention on what you do, the extra care in composition, someone in our past shooting film when we were growing up... you name it! I'm sure some of your own motifs will resonate with a fellow film photographer.
However, there's something else in Ellen's photography that makes you want to stay looking. There's a familiarity that makes you feel at home when looking at her photos.
I have yet to meet Ellen in person, to correspond with the matter that brought us into an online friendship, but pictures like hers can not be made by someone who doesn’t live by what she preaches. Even though there are about 1000 miles, a border between two countries and a ton of cultural diferences between us, it just takes a few moments of chatting and a couple of questions and answers going back and forth to realize that there are similarities. In essence: a profound love for what she does first as a human being and then behind a camera.
You see an evolution in her images that has been hand to hand with her interests as time has gone by: from the meditative and therapeutic character of long road trips and hikes, getting up at the crack of dawn to get a shot in the beautiful morning light, landscape shots of rivers, all the way to documenting her family's most precious moments.
In a world that moves too quickly and cheapens the very things that make our life experience so special you see images like hers and feel like your own experiences are enriched by sharing hers. I often find myself watching these precious moments as if they were a part of my own life.
It's hard to not get caught in thinking too much about the technical and artistic stuff in the shot when documenting your life, but you can really appreciate how she lets go of all the technical as if it was second nature and gets involved in the moment, placing her photos where her heart is… even allowing herself to stay in the moment and appreciate it as it fleets away, knowing that she kept a piece of it in her hands.
The candidness and spur-of-the-moment quality that you see in her photos is what makes it so easy to connect with her. It is as if you were remembering things that are about to happen… if that makes any sense.
I can’t think of a better compliment to your work than someone telling you s/he is moved by what you do. So, I guess, this is my humble attempt at describing and presenting you with the talent of our very own Ellen Goodman.
CONNECT
Born and raised in the suburbs of St. Louis, MO. Fond memories of Kodachrome slideshows of family vacations, her first camera (a Kodak Instamatic) and lots of time in the basement darkroom built by her dad is what still has Ellen hooked into shooting film. She's also passionate about good margaritas, good people and good fun moments. You can see more of her work in her web site, her Twitter feed and her contributor profile in the FSC.