SmugMug Corner #72: Kerry Ellis

We've got a fantastic edition of our semi-weekly series "SmugMug Corner." Every other week we have the chance to read an interview with a great photographer, and look through some of their favorite photographs. Below we have one of my favorite interviews so far this year with thirty-something editor, world-traveling, Texan living on the East Coast Kerry Ellis. Enjoy her entertaining interview and 12 stellar photographs!

Name: Kerry Ellis
Websites: originalblackcat.com (Portfolio), theoriginalblackcat.com (Personal)

Tell us a little about yourself.

I'm Kerry Ellis, a thirty-something editor who was raised Texan yet somehow now finds herself on the East Coast near the nation's capitol. The summers out east are much worse, and the politics much harder to hide from.




What is your background/training in photography?

No formal training to speak of beyond a Photography 101 course a couple summers ago at my local art league so I could learn how to use my D80. About four years ago, a friend took up a photography class at a local community college, and I was fascinated by the resulting images. I borrowed his film SLR for a day and badly handled the beast, resulting in really poor prints - or really artistic, overexposed, blurry impressionism, if you wanted to be generous. My friend for some reason didn't give up on me and gave me a small point-and-shoot the following Christmas, and that's where I started. These days I do a lot of reading, analyzing photos from other photographers I admire, and attending workshops to learn from talented creatives in the field.






How long has photography been a passion for you? When, where and how did it start?

Four years now. I'm a toddler to the craft. After I received that little point-and-shoot and toted it around Boston and the local Old Town, I decided to kick my dreams for overseas travel into gear. I was preparing to head out with friends for Reykjavik, London, Paris, and Madrid, and as much as I loved that point-and-shoot, I didn't think it could do Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower justice. So for the trip I bought my first dSLR: a Nikon D80. Feeling like a "real photographer" then, I shot on auto everything that entire trip. Composition has been hammered into me after years in other artistic endeavors, but I was bedeviled by overexposed skies and noisy indoor shots. When I returned, I signed up for the Photo 101 course, and everything suddenly clicked (pardon the pun). I haven't been able to stop since.




What equipment is in your camera bag? What piece of equipment will be added to the collection next?

I'm in the middle of adjusting from a crop-sensor kit to a full-frame one, so the mix currently is a little odd.

The next addition I hope to make in a few weeks is the 24-70/2.8. Much later (i.e., after the wallet recovers from the initial shock) the 14-24 and 70-200/2.8 will follow. A LensBaby may sneak its way into my bag before long, too.




What are your favorite places/subjects to photograph? Why?

When I first started, I was all about photographing architecture and landscapes. Being less a fan of operating tilt-shifts and obscenely early wake-up calls these days, I find myself shooting more portraits and staged work. People's faces fascinate me, as do different cultures. Since I travel overseas each year, I'm hoping to learn more about travel photography, not just the shots of landmarks and scenery I usually take during my trips. Staged work fulfills the storyteller in me. I've always been an avid reader, and my career is in publishing, so reading and writing stories are a big part of my life, and they have kept my imagination active. With photography, I can show others the stories or scenes I imagine; I can bring them to life - to an alternate reality - instead of relying only on words to describe the frequently odd machinations of my mind. Surprisingly, I've found many models willing to endure all sorts of glop and goop and makeup to help me bring these ideas to fruition.






Who are your biggest photographic influences? Why? What about their work influences your work?

Being relatively new to photography, I'm still finding influences. I love Edward Steichen and George Hurrell. What they did with light and posing and composition are so stunning and timeless; I love the classic, theatrical feel of their work. On the opposite end of the spectrum, WeeGee fascinates me. The gritty, very real, very disturbing images he captured are uncomfortable to look at for long, but I love the gut-punch he can deliver with his stark realities. And I still wonder how he got all those people on Coney Island to look his way at the same time!

For pure portraiture, I love Annie Leibovitz and Richard Avedon. While Annie can get a bit theatrical with her backgrounds and props, everything in the frame helps tell part of the story about the subject. And they both always manage to capture something unguarded in the faces of those they photograph: something bare and revealing that you might never have suspected about the person.

And I can't leave Joe McNally off this list. He is a quick-lighting genius. His unending creativity and astounding use of light will help me, I hope, take my own work to the next level. I had the pleasure of taking a week-long workshop with him a few months ago, and it's by far one of the most pleasurable and influential experiences I've yet had.




How long have you been Smug with your photographs? What features do you most enjoy with your SmugMug account?

Wow, uh, four years now? I think? It's been so great, it feels like forever!

I love the customization capability, and the people. Seriously, the crew behind SmugMug does some amazing work, and they're all very talented and supremely affable. Great folks.

I also love the shopping cart and pro lab capabilities. It's so easy for anyone (including me!) to order amazing-quality prints without worrying about the back end.




If you had do sum up in 50 words or less the impact SmugMug has made on your photography/photography business, those 50 words would be...

Using SmugMug gives me a professional site and service that has led to people actually contacting me to photograph things for them, and then buying prints! An achievement I never even imagined, honestly.






If you had to give one piece of advice to those wanting to pursue photography, what would you tell them?

Never leave your camera behind. Always take pictures. Put yourself out there, ask questions, listen to feedback, and never stop trying. If you're just beginning, start small and build your knowledge one skill at a time. Trying to do it all at once can be overwhelming, but if you start small and build big, you'll be amazed at how it all comes together in the end.




Posted by Tim L. Walker on Fri, 2010–07–02 21:27
Categories: SmugMug Corner
Tags: smugmug corner – kerry ellis
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