about
Things to know about Ellen
Ellen is an explorer and a seeker who has always had a passion for food and local markets wherever she travels. She was able to turn her passion into a highly successful career as a food photographer. With her eye for detail, love of collaboration and extreme patience on set she turns even the most ordinary plate of food into a mouthwatering photograph.
Her interest in food photography goes beyond the assigned recipes. Her BA in cultural anthropology instilled in her a keen interest in people, culture, customs and the why and how of where recipes and the people who eat them come from. An example of this is after traveling to Cuba for the first time in December of 2010 she felt compelled to keep going back working on self assigned projects based on her interests in the kitchen, food, food markets and homes. After creating a series of photographs of Cuban Kitchens she co-produced and shot The Cuban Table which was nominated for a James Beard Award.
She is a self taught photographer who well into her career as a commercial food photographer decided to take some time away from the commercial world to earn a masters degree in Photo, Video and Related Media from The School of Visual Arts in NY. As she is always looking to challenge herself she made video rather than still photography her focus. Her thesis project My roots lie here was inspired by her desire to see if she could make a portrait in motion of interiors and the people who inhabit them. The film was a success and was shown in several national and international festivals including the prestigious Latin American Film Festival in Havana, Cuba.