Elisha Woolf is a photographer who has just finished her photography degree at Derby University. Fresh from having her work exhibited at a London show called 'Freerange', Chris caught up with her for a quick chat about her work and her plans for the future.
In Elisha's own words: "As a short introduction, I have been working with a toy camera to bring photography down to a simpler level, so that I can concentrate fully on the subject I am photographing, in this case it is the trees of the Derbyshire Countryside, these are becoming further under threat from redevelopment as well as disease. The Holga is such an unpredictable camera when it comes down to the negative, you can never be quite sure what you are going to get. Hence the title of the work "The Gift" as I see each negative as a fortunate stroke of serendipity."
At the end of her 2nd year studying, feeling like she had run out of ideas, Elisha decided to make a move towards exploring making images in a square format and also, started planning her first project using her Holga. And so began her work on 'The Gift'.
Shot over 8 weeks in March of this year, 'The Gift' is a series of images of Derbyshire countryside featuring the skeletal forms of lone trees. Since she spent almost half of her life living amidst the picturesque landscape of Northern Ireland, the Derbyshire countryside was always going to be an obvious choice for this project.
So, after the success of her London exhibition, what does the future hold for Ms Woolf? Well, she's moving to York where she hopes to continue her collection of old cameras (her most impressive...for me anyway, is the Ensign Midget that she bought, complete with a used film inside!), to keep on experimenting with making her own cameras and print-making and also, although keep this under your hat, to start a blog for any photographers with a passion for film and print photography.
Sounds like she's going to be busy! Keep an eye on Elisha by bookmarking her website: - http://www.ewoolfphotography.co.uk/
Photos by: Chris Seddon