Meet Ella Miracle | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ella Miracle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ella, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?

I have always wanted to be a creator and artist and am fascinated with photography, photographs and paintings. I am not really a painter however, I love looking at art, seeing older black and white photographs. People are art pieces in themselves. Older photos of a town or place that once was. Raised by a single mom we moved away to a small town. Growing up I never was able to communicate things with people very well. So naturally I got into trouble. After many years of snooping through my mother’s room while I was home alone. I discovered her Minolta film camera and all of her lenses. Not only did I start to discover more about my mom. I discovered my life passion. Seeing the world through a device with a lens that saves a photo. SO COOL. The device that created the photos I was always looking at. Naturally, I was never allowed to play with it because I was misbehaving by snooping around. But there is one thing I can say about my mom through every ruff road we traveled… she always rooted me to pursue my dreams of becoming a photographer. From eventually teaching me everything she knew about her Minolta…LOL after the 100th time of me begging her to bring it out. From the time when I was a little older watching America’s Next Top Model with her on our TV in the early 2000s fascinated by the photos they produced, To the horror movies that would keep her up at night but turned into my favorites to this day by intriguing me with the cinematography and special FX. I would sit there with her, and dream of being able to create art with actors or models, hair and make-up, and wardrobe. I would always be asking to use her cameras to take photos. Even if it was just of me and our chickens in the back yard, Or helping me with a school video project. I always played with a camera and took photos on my free time. She always encouraged me to do what I love and always encouraged get into the industry. And so I did.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I feel like I have a style that really sets me out from the rest. I get a little creepy. A little dark. The strange and unusual if you will. My style wasn’t always the way it mainly is now. Same with my personality. I’m a bit quiet and reserved nowadays. I tend to hide. But I wasn’t always that way. I was the photographer who always had a good self-portrait. Mine were just unique. And don’t get me wrong. I can adapt to whatever style my clients want. but it’s when my clients let me be me, and show my style. I love that. It wasn’t easy. I started off really young before I even had a nice DSLR, but started freelance in Phoenix with a Canon 40 d. At the time that camera was freaking awesome. I had bought it with tip money from the waitressing job I had in Kingman, Arizona before I decided shortly after leaving town. I left my small town to get away. I just happened to get into the right crowd walking around the mall having an open bubbly personality and getting a job at a T-Mobile kiosk. From there I met so many different people. My four crazy cosmo room-mates. A lot of my photo work back then was outdoors. I didn’t have access to a studio. But then I started working as a bartender at Fantasy Grill at the time in Tempe off Baseline and College. That place was where I really got into photography a lot more. It was a bar-n-grill, not the most popular, but the theme of the place was that you could dress up as, say a sexy geisha or cheerleader, it was like a wannabe “The Library” off Mill Ave. Anyway, you were a waitress or bartender that dressed up. That place was a trip but it led me to meet so many different people as well as models and people who were willing to get in front of my lens. Even some of the girls who worked there modeled for me. Megan was this 6ft rockabilly girl and gorgeous. Hell, the amount of cool people I met working at that place. I learned so much about Phoenix. I had one regular who always came in for lunch, he even had his buddy come from Cananda to meet me. He was a cool guy and he introduced me to the event-life in Phoenix. Zombie Proms, Raves and other private events. Granted, I was barely 18. I was already working under the table. At that time I was no professional. But I was creating art. I was at these events, was taking photos. doing what I dreamed of doing. Being an event photographer, I thought was the coolest thing! Fast forward a year later. I left Arizona and moved to LA, Long Beach to be precise. I wanted to pursue my photography dream, right? I didn’t even have a car. I made a one-way plane ticket and never looked back, took over my friend’s studio lease, started a new job and my new life in big ol’ California. I was just barely turning 20 when I made the move. I lived next to Ocean Blvd. I worked at Sprint downtown and took the Red bus to work every day. Eventually I got a car and I was able to start college as well. I lived in LBC for a little over a year while I finished school and doing small club nightlife event photography. Night life was where it was at, at the time, and let me tell you how entertaining it was. I was just barely 20 and couldn’t drink, working, walking around clubs asking the people there if they wanted a photo, so that the club could promote and post on the web page the day after. It makes me smile thinking of the experiences I went through during that time of my career. All the wild photos of nightlife at clubs. I’d occasionally drive down to San Diego to photograph nightlife there as well as some fashion shows for my friends who were art students. While in living in Long Beach. I used to hang down on 2nd street an area called Belmont Shore, where I met Josiah. His Brother Sameul Lippke was a huge inspiration. Sam taught me alot. He introduced me into the world of wedding photography. So, I started working weddings and doing makeup for weddings. I was in pure bliss. After my 21st birthday I moved to Huntington Beach to the Tropicana Apartments. I got lucky, my neighbor Danny was a retired pro surfer who still surfed, he showed me the streets of HB, even taught me how to surf. Anyway because of him, I ended up being one of the photographers at the 2010 Huntington Beach US OPEN Surfing competition event. It was awesome, Weezer? performed. I got a taste of much larger event photography. Shortly after I helped photograph his good friend who had passed, the Andy Irons memorial paddle out?, that was heart wrenching. But so amazing to see the surf community get together. He was one of my best friends and to this day I have a printed copy of the original photo I took of him surfing that was hanging in the Hyatt on Beach Blvd. I worked with models from Model Mayhem here and there as well for fun. I did some product work for some swim lines. Small college films, and I was proud to do a few sample sets for RVCA. 2010 was a good year. It was a good start… Shortly after all of that, I also experienced one of the biggest restarts. My apartment got broken into in 2011. Which was ruff. They took everything. My Macbook, my hard drives, cameras, lenses, even personal items and even my clothes. I was completely wiped out. It was one of the hardest things I have been through. I lost everything. I had to completely start over and almost gave up. But did not. I got a used smaller DSLR and started a new photo company with my friend. Thats when I learned, brand new equipment is really truly nice, but it’s not what makes a photographer. I have always struggled with anxiety and depression. It’s been a ruff road. I have allot of people to thank for me still being here. Photography included. So many times, I’d just pick up my camera on a day and go for a drive and snap photos of everything. To remind myself how lucky I am to be this human and live on this world and be able to capture a moment in time. Naturally I got down on myself a lot and sometimes would almost give up because some would say “that’s not a real job” and “you are just wasting your time”. Fighting myself and having to prove others wrong has always been a challenge. We are our own worst critics, they say. Well, who said that anyway? I just want the world to know I am here to thrive being my happy self and showing that through my art in photography. Staying to continue creating art no matter what struggles I am going through. I want to show the world the beauty I see but cannot describe with words. I want to create my art in my photography. My emotions. My story. My ability to be a chameleon and create total opposite photography art pieces.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Okay so I live in Kingman, Arizona. What they call the “Heart of Route 66”. If my best friend was not from here and was visiting. I’d have all fun, historical, cheesy and beautiful places to go. As ruff as I have had it here in Kingman. The city is pretty cool. Some would even call it beautiful. Okay so you are coming to town and we are going to get a sweet Air BNB right downtown off Beale St. I’d take them first to the long-time well-known Mexican restaurant, of which yours truly used to work, El Palacio. Grab a bite to eat maybe a margarita and hit the town, downtown that is, we are walking here. Beale St. has so many hidden gems. It also has a lot of history. But I am showing you the best time right!? History can be boring, not with Kingman’s rich history! We’d go get a matching tattoos at one of the awesome tattoo shops, then go check out Kingman’s first metaphysical shop the Eclectic Quail, grab a few teas and tarots. Then check out some more shops across the way at Savon and get some soothing bath treats. Then I am going to take them for a drive. Show them part of Route 66. Head to Oatman and show them the secret spots, feed. the donkeys, watch a gun show. Maybe the next day grab some coffee and check out one of the local farmers markets. One of the days, Travel to the canyon and show them the skywalk. Have dinner at Matinas one night and Garibaldis the next, because the bestie and i. we are Italian lovers. Id introduces them to some of my favorite friends and also check out some of our local hiking trails. Catch a sunset or two, or three. Drive them to the dry lake. Or even show the Gold King Mansion. Let’s not forget we are onky 30 minutes from Laughlin and two hours from Las Vegas.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shout out to all of the people that get in front of my lens. Shout out to you for helping me create what’s in my head. To helping me bring my art to life. To trusting me. Without them, it would just be litte ol me and my camera taking photos of random places and things. Haha. To everyone who loves my random photos of places and things. Encouraging me to submit my work. To all my friends who continuously spread my name and talent with positive words. Thank you.

Website: www.miracle.gallery

Instagram: @photomiracle

Twitter: @photomiracleaz

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theELMphotography

Other: www.ellamiraclephotography.com

Image Credits
Chelsea Elizabeth, Katarina Callahan, Jeremy Malott, Ivy Lavonne Vanrees, Nicole Cook, Ashlynn Perry, Cheyenne Triplett, Ollie Prosser