Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Daniels.
Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Daniels.
Hi Elizabeth, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was lucky that both of my grandfathers were amateur photographers-one a photographer for the US Army in WW2, and the other an eye doctor who made travel films and photos. They both gave me cameras at a very young age. My photography teacher in 7th grade (Kevin O’Malley) showed us Blow Up and introduced us to photographers with really great slide show lectures. He let us do our own assignments which was my first taste of freedom. I spent most of high school in the darkroom. Later on, after college, I became friends with Leonard Freed. He let me follow him around and taught me how to shoot. I learned so much from him.
I had wanted to be what people called a “fine art photographer” but couldn’t make that work-same with shooting portraits. I was doing it but couldn’t make a career out of it. For many years I worked for Michael Wilson, a photo collector and the producer of the Bond movies. He has one of the most comprehensive collections of early photography. Spending time caring for images made in the late 19th and early 20th century was a wild way to learn what makes a good image.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle- free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
No. After the curating job ended (the collection was moved to London) I worked temp jobs and was a receptionist and floor mopper at a yoga studio for years. I shot weddings and parties. The mopping was more enjoyable, much more zen and I didn’t feel like an hors d’oeuvre paparazzi. I was always shooting series of photos for myself, I knew I would always be a photographer, but didn’t think I would ever get to do photography as a profession.
Eventually, through a friend I went to college with, I got a job shooting restaurants for Eater. The blog had no followers then and I didn’t want to shoot restaurants, but it didn’t hurt my soul like event photography. It ended up being a great adventure and I was on staff for Eater Racked snd Curbed for the better part of a decade. I worked very hard, but to be clear, I wouldn’t have been able to make a career out of photography without the privilege I’ve been afforded.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I shoot architecture. I recently had a show at the Farnsworth house called “For Edith”. The history of Edith Farnsworth’s incredible life and involvement in the construction of the house has languished in the shadow of its architect, Mies van der Rohe. I showed my photos of her house with poems she wrote and translated. There was another show by a female historian about Edith shortly before mine. Last month they officially changed the name of the house to the Edith Farnsworth house.
I also just shot and wrote a cover story for the Frank Lloyd Wright Quarterly. I used a drone to shoot the Chemosphere for the cover, and despite losing it in the hills for an hour, it worked out well. I didn’t know I could make a photo imbued with emotion using a drone. But then, I didn’t think I would be able to do that with a digital camera after shooting film for so long. I also did some photojournalism in 2020 and am trying to pursue that as things deteriorate societally. I’m currently looking for a media outlet to shoot for. One of my photos from this work was recognized by the AIA LA in their social justice photo award category last year. Awards are the opposite of the point of that work but it is encouraging right now when I can’t get an return e-mail from the Associated Press.
I have been working on a Zine project with My Friends Place-a daytime shelter and resource for unhoused youth on Hollywood Blvd. It’s called Freeway Zine (@freewayzine on insta). We give the kids disposable cameras and help them lay out the photos they bring back. Glen Luchford does the photo edit and Toby Mott is also a co-founder. The third issue was released last year.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
The first photo I remember shooting and feeling like it was expressing something I felt was a squirrel in mid-jump. I have that photo framed and I think it’s where things really started for me. I got to shoot lots of cool people when I was in high school. Back them not a lot of people were doing it and to a young person people, were happy to say yes to a portrait. Annie Leibovitz helped me shoot her with a 4×5 large format camera after a book signing at Book Soup. I actually wrote my college application on that photo. The most incredible portrait shoot I ever did was Allen Ginsberg sitting next to Philip Glass. I was so excited that I developed right when I got home and accidentally switched the chemicals and killed the negative. I still got to have the experience shooting them. I really should try and find Philip Glass and shoot him again. He was the one who let me shoot them. Ginsberg, who I had worshipped, was less friendly. Never meet your heros is not my policy. If it were I would have missed some of the best experiences of my life. Like when I shot on the streets with Leonard Freed in Florence, Paris and NY. We lost him years ago but those experiences live on. I owe his wife a call actually.
Contact Info:
- Email: elizabeth@
elizabethdanielsphotography. com - Website: elizabethdanielsphoto
graphy.com - Instagram: elizabethdaniels01 elizabethdaniels.02
