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Patrick Ellis

Photography

Landscapes, abstracts, aerials, nature, and other things that caught my eye.

PatrickEllis Portrait Submitted 2025SDT.jpg

I’ve long drawn inspiration from the Depression-era Group f/64 photographers and their ethos of “straight” or “pure” photography. With the advent of powerful digital editing tools, I held back from their use, as I was bothered by the too-often cheesy exaggeration they encouraged. I gradually came around to using them to lightly tweak sharpness or color balance, but only in service of presenting a straight shot. 

Then I took a phone shot through a grimy airliner window of western Nebraska croplands amid tortured ridgelines. I loved the abstract quilt feel of it, but it was washed-out, fuzzy, low resolution, and utterly hopeless. There was no way I could keep it a straight shot, but I played with it to see what I could pull out. By the time I was done it had become a painterly abstract, and despite my attitudes, I absolutely loved it.

While I continue to do straight shots, often inspired by Edward Weston’s classic California landscapes, I now also pursue abstract and painterly pieces, with digital manipulation and selective cropping to remove context and present a mystery to the viewer.

I am now inspired and learning from the many very talented local photographers I’ve come to know and admire since moving to Gualala. 

Directions to Studio #20 at 36000 S. Hwy 1, Gualala:

From the south, on Hwy 1 at mile marker 3.83. We are 1/2 mile north of St. Orres on the ocean side of Hwy 1. First gate after Serenisea.

From the north, on Hwy 1 at mile marker 3.83, 1/4 mile south of Anchor Bay Village on ocean side of Hwy 1, immediately before Serenisea.

Studio Tour Hours

August 23-24 & Aug. 30-31 
11 am to 5 pm

Closed Labor Day Monday

No public restrooms

No pets, please

 

My studio is also open by appointment, year-round.

Contact

Website: patrickellisphoto.com

Email: PatrickEllisPhoto@gmail.com
Phone: 707-884-1845

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