Ellen


Ellen Ellis - The Picture Lady!

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To many in the racing world, Ellen Ellis was known as “The Picture Lady”. Her unending desire to take that perfect picture of drivers, race cars, pit people, fans and yes even friends, then get them developed and the next time she saw you, give you a copy and you can autograph one for her. She did this because it was her quest to give the racers something unique to keep from her. She did not do it for money, she did not do it for attention, she did it for the satisfaction she saw on the recipients faces when she presented them a copy. She wasn’t out to con you out of money, she conned you to accept her unique talent, because it was her way to help racing and it thrilled her to do it.

For nearly 40 years Ellen gave the racing community something unique, one picture at a time. She may not have had the skills of some of our pro racing photogs, but what she did have was her unique view from her perspective and her results were special. She wasn’t your average cookie cutter photographer, but a serious fan who loved racing and lived her life like it was important to racing, and it was!

As I continue to try and soak up the essence of Ellen, I can’t help but look back on her life around me and what she went thru to get her “job” done. She never waivered to make sure she got great pics and passed them out to the many who learned to care for her and her work. She is one of a kind and we all are lucky to have been in her sights over the years of our racing life together.

My goal in showcasing her lifelong picture collage of racing, is to show her work to the world. In her storage room on the walls were over 1800 pictures, sometimes 10 or 12 deep, that have been hung in 8 x 10’s as she created them. In her hundreds of albums are probably thousands more pics, and I am scanning as fast as I can to finish this honoring of her. It will take time so be a little patient. Ellen was a giant among us with her photos!