2023 Wrap Up

That's a wrap on 10 years! Here is a fast recap of my view this year. Thanks for being part of it. Happy new year from all of us at Elliot Mandel Photography!

2022 in Portraits

The 2022 Big Portrait Grid! As always, many thanks to stylists Angela Brasington, Kimberly Cox, and Karen Koenig or their expert touches.

If you like these portraits, you’ll love yours. Find out how to book your session here.

2022: year and gone.

A selection of my favorite images from an action-packed year.

2021 in Portraits

This year’s Big Portrait Grid features friends and colleagues, some of my earliest clients, and a few new - mostly human - faces. It’s an honor to be part of your new projects as we all find our way forward. Many thanks to stylists Angela Brasington, Lillian Sakamaki, Karen Koenig, Kimberly Cox, and Gina Scalpone for their magic touches.

If you like these portraits, you’ll love yours! Find out how to book your session here.

Bald Eagles are the best.

I can watch bald eagles all day. Even the sight of one sitting up in a tree is enough for me to pull the car over.

When the Mississippi River freezes in the winter, the eagles congregate at the lock and dam systems to fish the open water. If conditions are right, there can be dozens or hundreds of eagles in one spot.

In the last couple weeks, I visited Lock and Dams 15 (Davenport, Iowa) and 14 (Pleasant Valley, Iowa) where there is unobstructed access to the river’s edge. I packed up the car with a 600mm lens, multiple layers of clothes, plenty of snacks and coffee. On my first visit, the weather was gray and temps were in the teens - lots of eagles, no sunlight. My second visit happened a couple days after the deep freeze began to lift - fewer eagles, but abundant late-afternoon sunshine.

Just as I was about to pack up and head home, the moon began to rise over the dam. I waited another 40 minutes to get one last shot.

Here are my favorites. You can also find prints of my favorite birds in this gallery.

Winter: An Appreciation

Yes, the wind hurts your face, your fingers are numb, your car won’t start, and every other house refuses to shovel the sidewalk.

There is also the silent, falling snow; the gentle shift of lake ice; the burst of sun over a snowy field; the stillness of a cold night.

As much as winter helps us appreciate its opposites, the winterness of these months is its own thing of beauty. A season of introspection for some; a necessary period of hibernation for the natural world. The landscapes of snow and ice that change with the temperature.

I often feel that summer lasts forever, and winter only for a moment. The days are shorter, the opportunities less frequent. It seems to melt as quickly as it blew in, a continuing reminder to take the camera out and shoot.

So instead of arguing about dibs, here is a brief gallery of recent photos from the parts of a midwest winter I enjoy the most.

PS: find these and others available as prints here!

New! Metal Prints Now Available

I’m happy to announce that two kinds of metallic photo wall art are available in the store! Matte Metals and Metallic Print Wraps add contemporary style to your walls. Both products feature vibrant colors and crystal clear details with the added depth of a metallic surface. No additional framing or mounting is required. Matte Metals and Metallic Print Wraps are ready to hang right out of the box. Click the button to start browsing, or learn more below.

Matte Metals

I love Matte Metals for large and colorful landscapes and night skies. The image is printed edge-to-edge on an ultra thin, extremely sturdy aluminum sheet. A matte finish brings out the vibrant color and sharp details without a reflective surface. A hidden float mount is attached to the back, making the piece appear to float off the wall. Sizes range from 6x6 to 30x40. Prices from $75 to $600.

Metallic Print Wraps

Metallic Print Wraps are great for colorful floral images, making bright colors brighter, and bringing out hidden depth from shadows. The image is printed on metallic photo paper with matte lamination, and wrapped around a layer of foam. A thick foam block is mounted to the back with pre-drilled holes, extending the print off the wall. Gives added dimension, rich color, and sharp clarity without a bright, reflective surface. Sizes range from 8x8 to 16x24. Prices from $100 to $285.

Selecting your metallic piece

1. From the gallery home page, click on an album to view individual photos.

2. Click on any photo to view larger.

3. Click "Buy Photo" to view products, sizes, and prices.

4. Select a product: Prints, Matte Metals, Metallic Print Wraps, or Canvases.

5. Select a size.

6. Click "Edit Crop" to view how the image will be cropped.

7. Click "Set Crop," then add to cart.

Note: due to the original file dimensions and subject of each photo, not every photo will fit every item size.

Wide Angles and Long Views: my year in photos

Some days, it was enough to take the camera out and see what happens. As always, it helped me find new vantage points, new life, new ways through the dark.

The photos in the beginning of this gallery are fond reminders of the communal beauty of music. I have come to see in them not what was lost, but what can be regained, and the importance of those things that have never left us.

As the year went on, I found myself expanding my view. I hiked through prairies, forests, and mountain trails, looking for details of changing seasons. I gazed upwards at the vastness of space and found light from impossible distances. I reveled in the predictability of moonrises, sunsets, and orbital paths.

I married Bridget. It was the best day, full of sun, flowers, love, and beauty.

Here are some of the things I saw, heard, witnessed, and experienced this year.

Here’s to getting through. Here’s to new directions forward.

2020 in Portraits

A look at the faces that looked at me this year, and a peek behind the scenes as we made it happen. Many thanks to Ashley, Bradford, Magdalena, Melissa, Michelle, and Bridget for being your fabulous selves; and to Angela, Christine, and Lillian for your expert styling.

Learn about how to make your portrait session happen and shoot with me in 2021!

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Autumn in the North Woods

Autumn is the best. Autumn is also the shortest, especially in the upper Midwest. We never know when the humidity of summer will break, or when the last wonderfully crisp, sunny day will fade. For me, autumn has typically been a season of refocusing and renewal. This year, however, without the usual schedule of client shoots, concerts, and fundraising events that occur in September and October, I decided to take myself for an artist retreat into autumn. Other than driving north, I had no direction and no expectations. Just a cabin in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and a couple days exploring Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore at the edge of Lake Superior. The late-fall days were already shortening, and the heavy cloud cover barely allowed the sun through. Still, I wandered trails covered in golden maple leaves, gazed at the that incredible turquoise of Lake Superior, and drove through the pine forests of the north woods. By the time I started back to Chicago, the rain and early snow had shaken most of the trees bare, and the grayness of winter was rolling in.

Music, stars, and a diamond: my year in photos

My view of 2019 included plenty of great music from all over Chicago, especially my photographer debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I braved the polar vortex along Lake Michigan and gazed at the night sky in far west Texas. And right in the middle of all of it, I stepped in front of the camera to ask Bridget a very important question. Wishing you joy and beauty in 2020!

2018 in Portraits

Look at all these wonderful people making the world better with beautiful art! Thanks to all for their trust and enthusiasm. Plus, I joined in and got a new headshot myself. Hair and makeup by Angela Brasington, Christine Sciortino, Kimberly Cox, and Andrea Samuels. Photos © copyright 2018 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.

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2018 in Music Photos

A year of big performances, big venues, big voices, and big ovations. Here’s a look at my favorite music photos from 2018. Applause to all!

All photos © copyright 2018 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.

Five things I've learned in five years

In 2014, I was newly unemployed and tired of applying for jobs. With the encouragement of close friends and a career advisor, and the blessing of my parents, I compiled my best photos to date, built a website, invested in new equipment, and told the world I would like to get paid to take pictures. It was a risk and I had no idea how to make it happen. Now, I'm wrapping up my fifth year in business, and I can't imagine doing anything else. So I thought it would be a good time to share a few things I've learned along the way: 

1. Be a good colleague. Do good work. In that order. Yes, your product must be good, but business will suffer if you're difficult to work with. Basically, being a good person is never a bad move.

Chamber musicians play well together: David Finckel and Wu Han for Harris Theater. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2018, all rights reserved.)

Chamber musicians play well together: David Finckel and Wu Han for Harris Theater. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2018, all rights reserved.)

2. Stand by your work. Only you get to determine the value of your product/time/expertise. There are many factors that go into determining and assessing value, and many factors that go into negotiating fees and terms with a client. But ultimately, it's your name on the thing.  Do it well and defend it. 

In the spotlight: Chicago Children’s Choir. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2017, all rights reserved.)

In the spotlight: Chicago Children’s Choir. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2017, all rights reserved.)

3. Good. Writing. Is. So. Important. Most of my time is spent writing: quotes and contracts; social media posts; emails and emails and emails. I'm constantly choosing the right words to convey the appropriate tone. On the other hand, I can tell if a client will be a good fit by the way they communicate in writing. Why is any of this important? Because once I arrive to your shoot, nothing should get in the way of making good pictures. All the expectations, guidelines, fees, and logistics have been arranged in advance, and everything is in clear writing in case we need to reference it later.  The only thing left to do is concentrate on the photos.  

Every word matters: Rep. John Lewis addresses the American Library Assoc. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2017, all rights reserved.)

Every word matters: Rep. John Lewis addresses the American Library Assoc. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2017, all rights reserved.)

4. Build relationships. Yes, it's the long game, but it's the one thing that has served me well from the start. When a client is about to pay me money, they need to trust me and I need to understand exactly what they want. Now is a perfect time to say I'm tremendously grateful that my earliest clients have become longstanding colleagues, and have allowed me to grow with them: The Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, Cedille Records, Chicago A Cappella, Chicago Children's Choir, Chicago Philharmonic, Fourth Coast Ensemble, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Northwestern Bienen School of Music, and UChicago Presents

“Be discreet” was the only direction I received before my first assignment for the Chicago Philharmonic. Still the mantra. Maestro Scott Speck conducts the Chicago Philharmonic. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2018, all rights reserved.)

“Be discreet” was the only direction I received before my first assignment for the Chicago Philharmonic. Still the mantra. Maestro Scott Speck conducts the Chicago Philharmonic. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2018, all rights reserved.)

5. There is plenty of work for everyone. I think about this one nearly every day. Metaphor time: one day, during a particularly slow month, I decided to take an aimless photo walk downtown. I stopped at one of my favorite spots, the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park. It was early summer and the bees were all over the garden flowers - so many that you could hear them buzzing. The garden is relatively small; there are certainly bigger parks with more flowers. But the bees were happy and diligently doing their work. There were plenty of flowers for them. Yes, there are more self-employed professionals now than ever before.  Yes, there is always someone willing to do the same job for less. But there is always a need for quality work. 

Plenty of pollen: Lurie Garden in Millennium Park. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2015, all rights reserved.)

Plenty of pollen: Lurie Garden in Millennium Park. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2015, all rights reserved.)

6. Ok, one more for the new year, and it's another one I think about regularly: the only guarantee is that if you say "no," nothing will happen. When you take a risk, sometimes the payoff is six months away and you don't know it yet. Or you don't even know what the payoff will be. Or something small leads to something larger. But if you say "no," it's over.  

A photo of bassist Chuck Webb that I grabbed while on assignment to shoot audio equipment at Navy Pier; it now hangs in the window of a Gold Coast bank. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2017, all rights reserved.)

A photo of bassist Chuck Webb that I grabbed while on assignment to shoot audio equipment at Navy Pier; it now hangs in the window of a Gold Coast bank. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2017, all rights reserved.)

Thanks for being part of these five wonderful years. Here's to all of us doing great work in 2019! 

Scenes from the Chicago Philharmonic's Poland 2018 Festival

The Chicago Philharmonic opened its 18-19 season with a multi-night festival celebrating Polish music and the 100th anniversary of Polish independence. I began my fifth season as the Philharmonic’s photographer and had the pleasure/challenge of shooting in some unique and grand spaces around Chicago. Here’s a gallery of my favorite shots from the festival. Pictured: the Silesian Quartet at Fourth Presbyterian Church; jazz pianist Piotr Orzechowski at the Polish Museum of America; director Scott Speck, pianist Łukasz Krupiński, and the Chicago Philharmonic at the Copernicus Center; and Marek Mos conducting the Philharmonic in Wojciech Kilar’s Mass for Peace for 1700 people at St. Hyacinth Basilica.

All photos © copyright 2018 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.