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Motorcycles, Mother Nature and Creativity

Thursday, 28 May 2009 13:52 by Team Elledge
  Paul enjoying the great outdoors
 
There are few things that liven up Team Elledge like a weekend in the woods, tearing through the foliage (on environment-friendly designated trails, of course), and feeling the wind and water rushing by.
 
Despite our love for The City and all of the wonders that it holds, we find that getting way out in the Great Outdoors can be a thoroughly refreshing and creativity-inspiring event.  Whether it is riding motorcycles, sitting by campfires or climbing the tallest thing we can find, we constantly find ourselves energized by our times in the woods.  But for now we're back in the studio, and back to producing jobs!
 
Whether or not nature is an inspiration to you, how we approach creativity is a key component of who we are.  HERE are a few words from David Lynch about how to develop your creative process (and yes, in keeping with today's theme, Mr. Lynch is using an analogy from nature to make his point).
 
Enjoy! 
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Thanks

Thursday, 21 May 2009 12:38 by Team Elledge
  Maj. Osten
 
We here at the Elledge studio would like to say a huge, "THANK YOU!" to all of the members of our armed forces (past and present).  We have the utmost respect for anyone who dedicates years of their life to helping serve our country.  Most of you reading this blog probably have a close friend or family member who has served (or have served yourself) and know the amount of discipline and dedication it takes to do this.  So we encourage you to let them know that you appreciate their sacrifices.  All politics aside, we owe a lot to these unflinching servants to society.
 
A lot of things that are necessary for success in the photography industry are mirrored in the lifestyle of the military; hard work, determination, dedication, long hours, routines, organization, efficiency and the ability to be unfazed by someone yelling at you.  It should come as no surprise then to note that the following photographers spent time in various militaries:
 
Richard Avedon (Merchant Marine - Avedon began his career taking I.D. pictures of crewmen with a Rolleiflex his father gave him as a going-away present).
 
Alfred Eisenstaedt (German Army)
 
Henri Cartier-Bresson (French Army)
 
David Bailey (Royal Air Force)
 
Elliot Erwitt (U.S. Army)
 
Edward Steichen (American Expeditionary Forces)
 
This list is surely incomplete, but it is nonetheless impressive.  To this day, enlisted men and women continue to contribute to our society, both in and out of uniform.  So this upcoming Memorial Day - Monday, May 25th - take a moment and thank the military personnel in your life for their dedication and commitment.  We are all better off because of their sacrifices. 
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School's Out For Summer

Tuesday, 19 May 2009 12:45 by Team Elledge
 
  Charro
 
Whether or not you are a graduating senior, a continuing student, a parent or someone who is just a bit nostalgic, odds are that you'll find yourself singing along to Alice Cooper's 1972 classic, School's Out, at some point in the next few weeks.  Yes, the education establishments in North America are winding down for a few months, but that doesn't mean that you have to quit learning!  Summer is a perfect time to focus on educating yourself about things that you probably find more interesting than your every-day routine.  
 
Both the Toscana Photographic Workshops and the Santa Fe Workshops offer students immersive programs in all aspects of photography.  Paul and Leasha will be teaching at these workshops over the course of the summer and fall, and if you haven't already figured out how you want to spend your summer months (and you are interested in learning more about photography) we highly recommend that you consider taking a course at either the Toscana or Santa Fe workshops.  Paul and Leasha will be at the Toscana workshop July 26th through August 1st, and they will be at the Santa Fe workshop from October 18-25.
 

And speaking of education, I'm not sure if you realize this, but something that Paul and our 44th President have in common is that both of them have given commencement speeches at universities.  In 2007 Paul gave the commencement speech at his alma mater, Southern Illinois University (Carbondale).  Last week Barack Obama gave the commencement speech at Arizona State University (ASU).  In case you missed it, you can find out more about Obama's visit to ASU HERE (seriously, you should take a look at that link).

Finally, if you enjoy staying informed about everything photo-technology related - and we do mean everything - we suggest that you check out the site Alltop.  It is essentially a decently well organized news feed site that shows synopsis' from the 5 most recent articles published on hundreds of photo-related websites.  Far more information than any person truly needs, it can be a great resource if you don't get sucked into reading articles for hours at a time. 

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Sprung

Thursday, 14 May 2009 14:32 by Team Elledge
 
Spring is officially in full swing, and there are few things that make us happier than watching a city burst with the energy that this season brings.  The dramatic changes in weather are providing spectacular opportunities for image making, both personally and professionally.  Last night Paul was simultaneously taking a ton of pictures of the incredible thunderstorm and hoping that the good weather forecast held for our job today.  In typical spring fashion, the weather went from incredibly inclement to completely clear in just a few hours.  We could not have dreamed of better weather for an outdoors shoot than what we experienced today (and - of course - we are supposed to be experiencing massive thunderstorms again tomorrow).
 
Another storm has been brewing for a while in the Chicago art scene, and this weekend it is going to hit this city like a Category 5 hurricane.  The Art Institute of Chicago is opening it's new Modern Wing this Saturday, May 16th.  Designed by the architect Renzo Piano, it will house the museum's collections of modern European painting and sculpture, contemporary art, photography and architecture and design.  This new addition now makes the Art Institute the second largest art museum in the United States (pretty neat!).
 
And speaking of openings, Leasha (our Producer, Culinary Expert and Valentino Rossi Fanatic) is having her work displayed in the 33 Collective Gallery's Annual National Self-Portrait Exhibition!  The opening is tomorrow night (Friday, May 15th) from 7-10 p.m., and we invite you all to come check it out! (the gallery is located inside the Zhou B. Art Center at 1029 W. 35th St., 60609).
 
While most people associate ballet with winter (The Nutcracker and Swan Lake always seem to be prominently featured around December), the fact of the matter is that ballet performances go on all year round, and this weekend is no exception.  Ballet Chicago is performing their spring review, Captivating Rhythms, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  If you've been hit by Spring Fever and are looking for a unique event to take a date to, this would be a surefire way to make your date think that you are sophisticated and cultured.  More than one member of Team Elledge has taken a date to a Ballet Chicago event!
 
No matter what you end up doing this weekend, we hope it's a good one.
 
Ciao. 
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Seriously

Tuesday, 12 May 2009 19:18 by Team Elledge

Here at the studio we are incredibly serious.  Serious about all sorts of things.  The following is a list of things we are seriously into right now: 

 
 
We're always seriously into all things Italian (for proof, see Paul's bio on the left).  Paul has been honored to have his images of Italian life purchased by the Mia Francesca restaurants.  A recent addition to this continuing body of work can be seen in the newly opened Palos Park Francesca location.  Good food and good photographs are a combination that we can get behind any time.  Seriously.
 
www.highglitz.com is a website that we are curently enjoying.  Paul's friend, Susan Anderson, has been working on this series for a while now, and everyone at the studio has taken a serious liking to her project.  It is challenging, thought provoking, and all-around entertaining.  You may love it, or you may hate it, but the odds are that you will have some sort of opinion about it, even if you think it's a joke.  Seriously.
 
Team Elledge is also serious about motorcycles.  BikeExif.com is a great website that showcases seriously spectacular motorcycles; everything from pristine originals to insane custom shop bikes show up on this site.  If you are into motorcycles and you aren't quite sure that you actually want to send your kids to college, we highly recommend this site as a resource for alternative uses for that money.  Seriously.
 
 
datacolor "Friends With Vision"
 
Few things get taken as seriously at the studio as color management.  The wrangling of 1's and 0's into harmonious, sychronized viewing and output can either be a serioius pain in the posterior, or a relatively simple task.  We are all about simplifying things (seriously), and so we are happy to announce a partnership between Paul Elledge Photography and datacolor, the Germany-based color management company.  Keep your eyes peeled for the print ads running Paul's images in the datacolor "Friends With Vision" series.  The datacolor products have simplified and streamlined our digital throughput, and we are loving the results. Seriously.
 
Last but not least, we are seriously impressed by the fact that the new White House administration has it's own Flickr photostream.  Even more impressive is the fact that it seems to be updated almost daily with images shot the day they are posted.  The fact that we are able to get such unprecedented visual access into our political administration is something that we here at the Elledge Studio think is pretty cool.  Seriously. 
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ABOUT PAUL

Paul Elledge is a photographer and filmmaker whose clients include major advertising agencies, record companies and corporations.  He has been honored with numerous national and international awards for work that is both individual and uncompromising.
 
Paul has photographed such celebrities as AC/DC, Billy Corgan, Jennifer Hudson, Ministry, Willie Nelson, Trent Reznor, Luciano Pavarotti and Oprah Winfrey, to name a few.  
 
His work has appeared worldwide in galleries and museums, and has been published in such publications as Audubon, Fast Company, Life, Men's Health, People, Rolling Stone, Time, and Wired, among others.
 
Paul's interests outside of image making include vintage motorcycles, all things Italian, music and expressions of creativity. 

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