FROM A CHILDHOOD fascination with the medium of photography to achieving the reputation of one of the most respected landscape photographers in the industry, Ian Ely has been in pursuit of Mother Nature his entire life. Sometimes he gets the shot, sometimes he falls short, but the one constant in this driven photographer’s life is the motivation and spirit to keep moving forward.
Ely’s passion for the outdoors developed during a childhood spent exploring his home state of California. It was nurtured on family road trips and wilderness camping excursions in the Midwest. But the true catalyst for what would become his calling was his experience as a young boy traversing the mountains of Colorado aboard a backcountry steam train. At the time, Ely was so struck by the powerful beauty of the wild, unfettered landscape it made an indelible and enduring impression on his young sensibilities.
At the age of 10, he was able to obtain his first camera by winning a magazine-selling contest. That win put into place the building blocks of what would evolve into a brilliant career. He also began collecting postcards from across the country, which fed his enthusiasm for the landscape image and became a defining source of his childhood aspiration to become a professional photographer. Never a man content to coast on the strength of his own accomplishments, Ely’s intention is to open 20 galleries over the next decade, located in strategic sites throughout the United States.