... our newest member, my friend, photographer Dana Ellis.
Dana recently put up his website and I am sure you will find visiting it rewarding. His fine-art photographs, whether taken with a pinhole, iPhone or dslr camera, are deeply personal, evocative and expressive.
I particularly like his Artist's Statement:
"It's Art because I say its Art. For an artist this is always true, but what it doesn't say is that you, the viewer, must agree. Humans, as individuals, always have a choice.
I am a firm believer in manipulating an image when it suits what I am trying to convey, by any means available, high-tech or low-tech it doesn't much matter. If modifying an image using software and printing it with a century old process like kallitype yields what I have envisioned, so be it. Truthfully, the mastery and then combining of processes is exactly what I find so exhilarating about creating artwork. Using modern technology in no way invalidates how things were done in the past, nor is the reverse true. However, the romantic in me revels in the craftsmanship, and sometimes imperfection, evident in traditional methods. A guiding principle of my work is the search for 'perfect imperfection'. Another is the belief that composition is the essence of any good piece of artwork.
For the most part I am self taught in everything I do well. I think it comes down to the level of interest or passion I have for the subject, and the fact that for me real experience is many times more valuable than classroom experience. I am fascinated by cars, race cars, boats, roads and almost anything mechanical - all have been lifelong passions in one form or another. These figure prominently in my work, but I consider them compositional elements rather than the primary focus.
The medium, method and subject found in some of my images have been the focus of critical debate asking the question "is it Art?" I say "It's Art", what do you think? "
Here is the link to the site:
http://www.haystackphotography.com/And here is a selection of my favorites:
