Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Ellis.
Hi Sarah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My story is as multi-faceted as my collection of photographs; each image is a different perspective on a world viewed uniquely through our experiences. As an artist, I always enjoyed the occasional sketching or painting and traveled with compact cameras before I honed any skills. As a child, I coveted a then-expensive roll of 110 films for a hand-me-down Kodak camera with cumbersome flash bulbs. I remember being disappointed my processed photographs were not the masterpieces I imagined. My husband always supported my creative expression, so while I was burying myself in coursework when returning to college, he bought me my first DSLR in 2013. I quickly enrolled in my first college photography class, and I haven’t looked back. Perhaps full-time art is a missed calling, one of many, but it is my foremost passion and interest outside my career as a communications instructor. Photography is the one hobby that has maintained my unwavering interest for years and where I have experienced the most growth while enjoying the knowledge that I have so much more to learn and many new opportunities to practice. I currently teach full-time at Mitchell Technical College in South Dakota, instructing courses including Mass Media and Culture, Interpersonal Communications, and Fundamentals of Speech. I’m also challenging myself through a doctoral program, now over the halfway point to earning my Ph.D. Finding time to invest in photography is an act of prioritization, but it is where I find myself most at peace.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The conflict in my story is the inability to center on just one thing. I cannot focus on one style of photography, which some may see as a shortcoming in my portfolio. Even two college degrees are interdisciplinary because I am intrinsically curious and reject limitations. However, I consider my most significant photos those with a life of their own, the ones that tell their own stories that one would want to step inside, stories that exist across diverse landscapes where we long to find ourselves. Someday I want to develop my creative work and photography into a sustainable side business. Although I appreciate the cliché that “there’s no time like the present,” I recognize the importance of life balance in our busy culture.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Growing up in central South Dakota, I appreciate the beauty of vast prairies, stunning skies with ever-changing palettes, peaceful lakeside reflections, and beyond the plains, the rugged beauty of the Badlands, which give way to Black Hills National Forrest. These natural backdrops and the wildlife in our state are the primary focus of my work, and my camera bag is the first thing I pack for any traveling. This summer, July 2022, I spent a week with my husband in Minnesota from Duluth to Grand Marais. The bustle of the harbors to the calm, open waters in the fog provided a spectacular retreat, and to be honest, I took fewer photos than I had planned as I just enjoyed the vacation.
Summaries of the attached images:
2022©Needles Highway August 2022, behind Needles Highway in Black Hills National Forrest, South Dakota
2022©WaterInTheCanyon July 2022, Badlands National Park, South Dakota
2022©BehindTheStorm July 2022, a random field in Central South Dakota following a downpour in a thunderstorm
2022©BuoysInTheFog June 2022, Oahe Recreation Area, South Dakota
2022©AmericanCentury July 2022, Duluth, MN, exiting the Lift Bridge canal
2022©ThreeFishermen July 2022, Two Harbors, MN Black and White in fog
2022©SailboatFog July 2022, Split Rock Lighthouse, view of a sailboat in fog on Lake Superior
2022©LoneKayaker July 2022, Two Harbors, MN
What matters most to you?
What matters most as an artist is creating for yourself. There will always be trolls and critics in life basking in causing us to second-guess ourselves. Still, photography – or whatever medium you love – is our opportunity, our outlet, to bring ourselves into the beauty in the world through whatever expression we want.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.behance.net/sellisart
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sellis.art/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sellisart
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sellis_art
Image Credits
All images © Sarah Ellis 2022; All Rights Reserved
