We are so excited to announce the 2015 DBA Scholarship winner: Ellie C.! This talented young soul has a dream to do incredible things in this world and we are so excited to help her along her journey! Congratulations, sweet dreamer!
See below to read Ellie’s winning essay then click on her fine art gallery to view her amazing work! 🙂
      In all forms of art, there is storytelling. Paintings, sculptures, fashion design, graphic design, music, and my personal poison, photography. I’ve been a writer from a very young age, and storytelling has always been a part of my life. After finding photography at the age of eleven and figuring out that I could put visuals to said stories, everything fell into place.
Of course, I tried every genre of photography under the sun. There was a month where I thought I wanted to do macro photography. Then, it was landscapes, portraits, photojournalism, candid, events, concerts, band promos. I bounced between so many different things in the two years before I landed my first gig and it was exhilarating. I’m thankful for those two years of trial and error because now, I have a few hats to choose from.
I was the photographer for my city’s Chamber of Commerce for a while. That led me to being the photographer of local small businesses, which gave me more opportunity for getting portrait gigs, which is what I wanted to do most. Then, my family and I moved and I had to get re-established in a whole new place. Luckily, I was able to start shooting for the Special Olympics shortly after moving and that, like the Chamber, opened up doors as well. Even better, taking photos for the Special Olympics was so satisfying, so fulfilling, it made every sunburn worth it.
In each venture, I’ve found myself telling stories. Whether it’s a ribbon cutting, graduation party, track meeting, there are stories in all of these photos. There’s a purpose behind every picture and a world inside of them. Taking photos for people and capturing their memories is something I will always love doing, and something that’s inspiring to no end. But, there’s other stories that live inside me that need to come out, too, and that’s where Fine Art Photography comes into play.
I believe that there is beauty in everything. There’s beauty in the normal things, of course, like colors, sunsets, and moments filled with joy and love. But also, I believe there is beauty in pain, death, shadows – the things that don’t get printed. I wondered for a long time how to bring those things out in photos to show the essence of them without painting a tear filled picture. How do you make pain look colorful in a world that only sees it as black? You make your own world, write your own stories, paint your own pictures and turn the darkness into light and showcase pure, raw emotion.
Finding work from people like Lissy Elle, Brooke Shaden, Joel Robison, Rob Woodcox, David Talley, those people changed my life with the way they tell stories. Before, the only stories I saw told were the ones that happened before my eyes. But in Fine Art Photography, storytelling isn’t limited to paper, or just the works of non-fiction.
What I want, now, more than anything is to share it with as many people as I can. Currently, I’m putting together (what I’m calling) an “Art Tour” to do just that. The story I’ll be telling while I’m touring Texas with these photographs is the story of powerful, strong women – while also touching on the issues that women face on a daily basis. Twenty-five percent of all proceeds will go to an appropriate organization which is still being decided.
But, since the photo-journalistic side will always be alive inside as well, the other project that’s in the process of being made is one about law enforcement and firefighters. The idea is to interview them, take their photos, and hold an exhibit to showcase their bravery and courage. Donations from those photos will be going directly to their departments.
If I was to win this scholarship, I’d use the money to help fund the Art Tour, and also put together the showcase for the police officers and firefighters. Why? Because I believe that these are the stories that need to be told. The stories of women who fight every day to not only be treated as equals, but also fight for so much more. And the stories of the men and women who fight to keep peace, and to save others.
Storytelling is something that will always be a part of art, and a part of life. We live our lives every day telling stories. Stories of our own, stories of others. We tell stories just by living! We’re telling the ultimate story of history and of the human race with our joy, pain, anger, wonder, and hope. Stories live inside of our blood.
Our stories is what keep us alive. Thank you for reading mine.
I’m also attaching with the essay a photo I made specifically for this. It’s titled “The Place You Want To Go”. It’s about a girl who knows where she’s going, she’s on her trail walking, and even though it looks dark – she’s light, she’s fighting, she’s storming through to the end.
The rest of my Fine Art photographs can be found here.