Returning from a digital, distanced world, I feel the intense desire for touch, physicality, and analog practices more than anything else. I dream of logging off my computer and stepping back outside into the natural world. Beginning to explore these in-person, natural things once more, after two years in quarantine, has coincided with the introduction of a new medium to my artistic repertoire – the cyanotype. This alternative photographic printing process pulls me out of the confinement of my room and into the captivation and charm of chemical mixing, fabric treating, sun exposing, and makeshift bathtub rinsing. This long, tactile process acts as a refocusing; pulling my freshly printed fabric out of the green-tinted water with both hands is an emergence of my own self as well, a rebirth and a cleanse. As my own life returns to an appreciation of in-person connection and community, my art practice has evolved into an exploration of what I value most in that in-person world, which are the subject of these images; they are what hold me in this space of complete presence and attention. To join my friends and family once more, to collaborate with other artists, and to look introspectively and place myself in front of the camera remind me of the joy of making art. This project is an exploration of the cyanotype process, and its ability to captivate my attention and remind me of the tactile, physical things most important in my life.
Ella B. Rose is a Los Angeles-based digital, analog, and alternative process photographer, who has been creating since birth. Her work blends the desire for connection and touch with tactile mediums and processes such as analog developing and cyanotype printing. Alongside her upbringing in a home and community of artists eager to teach, her formal education in the arts includes numerous studio and design classes at her high school, advanced photography and printing courses at Santa Monica College, extracurricular classes at Otis College of Art and Design, and the Teen Academy Imagemakers program at the International Center of Photography. Outside of academics, she photographs and works as an assistant photographer, working with individuals and organizations such as Homeless Health Care LA and L.A. Dance Project. She also works as Creative Director on her school’s newspaper, The Samohi. She will soon attend CalArts to study photography and media in the class of 2026.