Photographic Friends Dean Ellis

    On July 19 of this year, I sat down with Dean Ellis to interview him for this post which was supposed to be published on Aug. 15, 2021. Unfortunately some circumstances intervened in my life and I'm only now able to present the post. Although I've only known Dean for a few years, the ''interview''  was really just a long conversation between a couple of old shutterhounds. Dean acquired his first camera (an Ansco twin lens) from his grand mother at the age of 5. I bought my first camera with grocery store coupons (an Imperial Instant Load 126)  at the age of 9. Together, we have a combined experience of more than a hundred years behind the camera. That's a lot of memorable photographs, a whole pile of cameras and lenses and an even bigger pile of stories and crazy experiences to share.  I recorded our conversation on a small digital  recorder and the conversation ran for more than two hours! Yet, we still have  stories to tell, some  great photos to share and some even better photos to take in the future. Hell, we're just getting started! 

Dean Ellis Photo by Heather Cardle

    There are people that you meet in life with whom you feel an instant connection. They may be about the same age and have similar interests and experiences. In talking with them, you can completely relate to what they're saying. Case in point, when interviewing Dean for this  post, he talked about canoeing in Algonquin Park with a Mamiya RB67 mounted on a low tripod, in the canoe with him. That statement probably wouldn't mean much to most photographers these days. To an old school photographer like me, what Dean was talking about was impressive. To begin with, the RB67 is a beast of a camera! It is a large, all metal, medium format camera that used 120mm roll film versus the more common 35mm film format of the day. It made images on roll film that were 6X7 cm (60X70mm). By comparison, a 35mm camera made images that were only 24X36 mm. Weighing in at over 2kg for the body alone, (minus a lens and film back) the RB67 was one of the largest roll film cameras made. It was so big that, to make a vertical (portrait mode) image, you didn't turn the camera, but rotated the film holder at the back of the camera! Hence the camera name, RB (rotating back)  67(6X7cm image size on negative.)

    So why would anyone use such a large camera? Quite simply, the much larger negatives it produced required much less enlargement to create an equivalent size print. Medium format negatives could provide substantially better resolution and image detail in the final print. The fact that Dean used such a beast of a camera in a canoe is no small feat and is a pretty solid indication of his commitment to making high quality photographs. 

     When he told me that he had used an RB 67 in a canoe in Algonquin Park, that's all he needed to say. I knew exactly what he was talking about. When you've been at this game as long as we have, you can communicate in shorthand. 

     Based in Brantford, Ontario,  Dean is not only a photographer, but a prolific artist as well. For him, the camera is just another tool for creative expression.  Creativity runs through him like a primary component of his bloodstream. He is a member of the Paris Photo Collective and has had showings of his work at various galleries and venues including the Crawford Collective, the Robertson Fine Arts Studio and Gallery and the McMaster Art in the Workplace Exhibit at McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton, Ontario. He also regularly has work on display at the Paris Bohemian Gallery in Paris, Ontario. You can see more of Dean's photography here. https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=dellisartphotographix                  You can also check out more photography and his artwork here  https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=dellisart%20studio

    Dean got his start in photography at the ridiculously young age of five when he acquired his first camera from his grandmother. Since then, photography has always been a big part of his creative productivity. His first influences were his mother and grandmother, both talented artists. An interest in art has been a constant in his life. He holds a degree in fine arts from the University of Guelph. Photographically, he has been influenced by the work of such notable photographers as Ansel Adams, Robert Mapplethorpe, Georgia O'Keefe as well as Edward and Brett Weston.

    Dean's own style in photography is eclectic. He photographs whatever interests him or catches his eye. He often will combine a series of his photos and present them as a collage.

    Formally trained in visual arts, he is well aware of the rules of composition and will use them if they suit his purpose. But, he is never encumbered by them. He doesn't pander to his viewers but allows himself complete freedom to create as he sees fit. In his words, ''A true artist doesn't really care what other people think about what they're doing.'' He will alter his photographs in post if it suits to enhance the mood or message he is trying to portray, but he is never heavy handed about it. He also has a fascination with other photographers making photographs.  If you're out for a photo walk with him, chances are there's a picture of you peering through a camera on the internet somewhere. Trust me. I speak from experience!

A recent get together of some members of the Paris Photo Collective
L-R;  Haether Coombs, Gord Barker, Tammy Doogan, Ryan Eltham, Dean Ellis

Me setting up the above shot.
I'm using my camera bag as a makeshift tripod.
Jim Domke would be proud!
Photo by Dean Ellis 

    In spite of his formal training and the accolades he has received as an artist and photographer, he is never arrogant about what he does. For Dean the joy is found in the act of creation. He is generous and helpful with his time and resources when it comes to helping other creatives. I can remember a couple of meetups of the Collective where we got into moving light photography. Dean walked patiently back and forth  dozens of times swinging a string of lights or spinning a flashlight on a string. The rest of us locked open the shutters on our cameras to catch the patterns of moving light. As of this writing, I still have a Russian made Helios 58mm f2 lens with a Fuji X adapter that he leant to me to try out. That should make for some interesting shots! If you're involved in doing anything that's visually creative,  he's a great guy to have in your corner. 

      I've noticed at meetings of the group or when we're  out making photographs, that Dean almost always has a smile on his face. He's like a kid. He's playing with stuff. He's trying out an idea, he's expressing a visual concept. He's creating. Even if the group meetup is nothing more than a bunch of us sitting around a table at a local café, the smile is still there.  He's in his element. He's talking with people who love creating stuff almost as much as he does. It's that intensity, that artistic honesty, that joy found in the act of making art that is the very definition of the man. The creative world is a much better place for having  a man like Dean Ellis in it.

...more later