Please enter your email and website or LinkedIn to receive more information about our free and paid accounts.
Please enter your email address below and we’ll send you instructions on how to change your password.
Since George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, there has been constant debate and conversation around law enforcement in Minneapolis. More than 300 of the city’s police officers have left the force over the past few years, prompting different approaches from activists, officials, and policymakers. One response came from former Minneapolis mayoral and congressional district candidate Don Samuels. Samuels successfully sued the city for violating a charter that requires a minimum of 731 police officers to be employed. He was also in the news for narrowly losing to incumbent Ilhan Omar in the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. Last Fall, The New York Post wanted to report on the politician and activist’s positions, and they hired Minneaplolis-based David Ellis to photograph Samuels in his neighborhood.
The photo editor at The Post found David through Wonderful Machine, enlisting the photographer after browsing his website. She took an immediate liking to his style of photography, which incorporates a variety of layouts that typically give editors plenty of options on the page, print or digital. David’s knack for creating sincere portraits with non-professional talent was another checkmark in his favor.
Once he was on board, The Post essentially gave David free rein. His primary instructions were to photograph Don at several locations around Minneapolis, which he could finalize with Don himself. Don was a good sport and more than up for it, settling on a few sites that would reflect the gravity of the story he was telling, a story that was heavy on the hearts of his neighborhood’s residents.
It’s a story that requires the utmost care and sensitivity from those who would publish it, in the written word and through pictures, ensuring the subject’s point of view is depicted honestly. David’s experience in the field accomplished just that, allowing Don to be exactly who he is in front of the camera.
Don is a thoughtful person, and he understood that his picture is an expression of himself. I always say that I’m going to do my best to make my subject look good. I tell them they need to trust me. You get what you reflect… I convey confidence, and they have confidence in me.
By practicing this philosophy on set, David establishes that much-needed rapport with a subject, welcoming them to open up to the camera, and by extension, the final viewer.
It was just me and Don and a lot of people milling about. Don was great. We had discussed the wardrobe, and he was completely relaxed. He took direction well, and we accomplished a lot in the time we had budgeted. He enjoyed the photo shoot.
The assignment reinforced David’s love for editorial projects. He relishes their improvisational nature, where the circumstances on the ground can change at a moment’s notice, inevitably calling on the photographer’s creative instincts and technical expertise to meet a client’s requirements. It helps that David always keeps his collaborators’ responsibilities in mind.
You have to think quickly and make adjustments on the fly. Whenever the photo editor isn’t at the shoot, I always end up trying to think of the shoot from their point of view. I think that helps bring in more editorial assignments.
However, every story has its poignant chapters, dealing with heartbreaking tragedies that have no rhyme or reason, devoid of fair or justifiable explanations for taking place. Don and David were reminded of this when visiting a memorial for a nine-year-old girl who passed away in May 2021.
The scene with the stuffed animal memorial was heartbreaking. The stuffed animals are a memorial for the homicide of a little girl, Trinity Ottoson-Smith, in north Minneapolis. She was playing on a trampoline in her backyard and was shot in the head. It had been all over the local news, and being at the actual spot was gut-wrenching and terrifying.
Trinity’s death was a stark reminder that much needed to be done to ensure the safety of local communities. For David, it also put his immediate work environment into perspective.
All of the locations were in an area of North Minneapolis that had been heavily damaged during the riots of 2020. The area has a very high crime rate. I spent around 30 minutes at each location (give or take). I felt completely vulnerable standing there with a lot of expensive camera gear. I was very efficient with my directions, and I had planned most of the scenes in advance.
Fortunately, David’s precautions ensured smooth sailing during the photo shoot, and The New York Post featured several of his images in the final article. His work had to portray the impactful presence of Don Samuels with Minneapolis as the backdrop, presenting a facet of a still-unfolding story through Samuels’ eyes.
No matter who it is or what it’s for, I find a person’s essence through his or her environment, an expression or attitude, or anything else I see.
See more of David’s work on his website.