Elliot Mandel
This yearβs Big Portrait Grid features friends and colleagues, some of my earliest clients, and a few new - mostly human - faces. Itβs an honor to be part of your new projects as we all find our way forward. Many thanks to stylists Angela Brasington, Lillian Sakamaki, Karen Koenig, Kimberly Cox, and Gina Scalpone for their magic touches.
If you like these portraits, youβll love yours! Find out how to book your session here.
Some days, it was enough to take the camera out and see what happens. As always, it helped me find new vantage points, new life, new ways through the dark.
The photos in the beginning of this gallery are fond reminders of the communal beauty of music. I have come to see in them not what was lost, but what can be regained, and the importance of those things that have never left us.
As the year went on, I found myself expanding my view. I hiked through prairies, forests, and mountain trails, looking for details of changing seasons. I gazed upwards at the vastness of space and found light from impossible distances. I reveled in the predictability of moonrises, sunsets, and orbital paths.
I married Bridget. It was the best day, full of sun, flowers, love, and beauty.
Here are some of the things I saw, heard, witnessed, and experienced this year.
Hereβs to getting through. Hereβs to new directions forward.
Fourth Coast Ensemble records music by Lori Laitman for her new album.
Acclaimed trumpeter Alison Balsom performs at a private event with Jane Glover and Music of the Baroque.
The Chicago Childrenβs Choir makes a joyful noise during its Englewood Community Concert.
Scott Speck leads the Chicago Philharmonic in an all-strings program.
Sir John Eliot Gardner leads the Orchestre RΓ©volutionnaire et Romantique in a beautiful, though bittersweet, performance of Beethoven at the Harris Theater.
Millennium Park in downtown Chicago falls silent and empty as the stay-at-home order takes effect.
Getting used to staying indoors.
Needing a break from the city, I drove to Headlands International Dark Sky Park along the northernmost shores of Lake Michigan to watch the stars dance.
Finding comfort and new life at the Kent Fuller Air Station Prairie in Glenview.
Fireworks under a full moon on the Fourth.
The newly discovered NEOWISE Comet makes a faint appearance in the pre-dawn hours.
The brightest, happiest, most magical day of my life: Bridget and I got married! (Photo by Eric Snoza)
Stars swirl above Bear Lake, while Hallett Peak is illuminated by a half-moon, in Rocky Mountain National Park.
From the stage of the Green Mill, Kurt Ellingβs live performance is beamed out virtually to a worldwide audience.
Chicagohenge: the sun sets along Chicagoβs east-west street grid during the autumnal equinox. This year, the haze from the western wild fires created an eerie gray sky.
Took myself on an artist retreat to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michiganβs Upper Peninsula to catch the last of the fall colors and the brilliant turquoise of Lake Superior.
A pathway through a golden maple forest in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
A full blue moon rises over the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse on Halloween.
Things are looking up.
A big golden sunset over Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
The last visible (99% full) moon of the year.
Bridget walks in the snow at the UW-Madison Arboretum.
The many faces of 2019! Thank you to all these wonderful musicians, arts advocates, and educators for tolerating my witty banter, flashing lights, and entire cans of hairspray while making portraits together. Additional gratitude to Angela Brasington, Christine Sciortino, Kimberly Cox, and Lillian Sakamaki for their hair and makeup styling expertise.
Photos Β© copyright 2019 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Look at all these wonderful people making the world better with beautiful art! Thanks to all for their trust and enthusiasm. Plus, I joined in and got a new headshot myself. Hair and makeup by Angela Brasington, Christine Sciortino, Kimberly Cox, and Andrea Samuels. Photos Β© copyright 2018 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
A year of big performances, big venues, big voices, and big ovations. Hereβs a look at my favorite music photos from 2018. Applause to all!
All photos Β© copyright 2018 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano and pianist Shannon McGinnis open the 2018 Collaborative Works Festival (Sept 5, 2018).
Cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han celebrate the Harris Theaterβs 15th Anniversary (Oct 3, 2018)
Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard accepts the ovation at University of Chicago (March 6, 2018).
Jane Glover leads Music of the Baroque in its Millennium Park debut (Sept 12, 2018).
Kurt Elling in full voice at a packed Green Mill (June 22, 2018).
Chicago Childrenβs Choir belting it out in Millennium Park (May 24, 2018).
Fourth Coast Ensemble opens its 5th season in Frank Lloyd Wrightβs stunning Unity Temple (Nov 2, 2018).
Soprano Nicole Cabell and pianist Craig Terry melt all the hearts Beyond the Aria (May 17, 2018).
Bella Voce stand and sing as one during their annual gala at the Museum of Contemporary Art (May 19, 2018).
Axe-slinginβ at the annual Bitter Jester Music Festival (July 4, 2018).
Victor Yampolsky and the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra after a blistering Mahler 5 (Feb 3, 2018).
I found a neat little corner at the Copernicus Center for this angle on Scott Speck and the Chicago Philharmonicβs season opening concert (Nov 10, 2018).
Eric Snoza is the bassist in blue for Daren Hagenβs βOrson Rehearsedβ (Sept 14, 2018).
Stephen Burns and the Fulcrum Point New Music Projectβs annual Concert for Peace at Harris Theater (Dec 19, 2018).
The Zukerman Trio headlines the Music Institute of Chicagoβs gala weekend (May 20, 2018).
Maestro Stanley Sperber leads the masses in the International Music Foundationβs DIY Messiah (Dec 17, 2018), though one face stood out from the crowdβ¦
β¦Applause for Mr. Claus. (Dec 17, 2018).
In 2014, I was newly unemployed and tired of applying for jobs. With the encouragement of close friends and a career advisor, and the blessing of my parents, I compiled my best photos to date, built a website, invested in new equipment, and told the world I would like to get paid to take pictures. It was a risk and I had no idea how to make it happen. Now, I'm wrapping up my fifth year in business, and I can't imagine doing anything else. So I thought it would be a good time to share a few things I've learned along the way:
1. Be a good colleague. Do good work. In that order. Yes, your product must be good, but business will suffer if you're difficult to work with. Basically, being a good person is never a bad move.
Chamber musicians play well together: David Finckel and Wu Han for Harris Theater. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2018, all rights reserved.)
2. Stand by your work. Only you get to determine the value of your product/time/expertise. There are many factors that go into determining and assessing value, and many factors that go into negotiating fees and terms with a client. But ultimately, it's your name on the thing. Do it well and defend it.
In the spotlight: Chicago Childrenβs Choir. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2017, all rights reserved.)
3. Good. Writing. Is. So. Important. Most of my time is spent writing: quotes and contracts; social media posts; emails and emails and emails. I'm constantly choosing the right words to convey the appropriate tone. On the other hand, I can tell if a client will be a good fit by the way they communicate in writing. Why is any of this important? Because once I arrive to your shoot, nothing should get in the way of making good pictures. All the expectations, guidelines, fees, and logistics have been arranged in advance, and everything is in clear writing in case we need to reference it later. The only thing left to do is concentrate on the photos.
Every word matters: Rep. John Lewis addresses the American Library Assoc. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2017, all rights reserved.)
4. Build relationships. Yes, it's the long game, but it's the one thing that has served me well from the start. When a client is about to pay me money, they need to trust me and I need to understand exactly what they want. Now is a perfect time to say I'm tremendously grateful that my earliest clients have become longstanding colleagues, and have allowed me to grow with them: The Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, Cedille Records, Chicago A Cappella, Chicago Children's Choir, Chicago Philharmonic, Fourth Coast Ensemble, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Northwestern Bienen School of Music, and UChicago Presents.
βBe discreetβ was the only direction I received before my first assignment for the Chicago Philharmonic. Still the mantra. Maestro Scott Speck conducts the Chicago Philharmonic. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2018, all rights reserved.)
5. There is plenty of work for everyone. I think about this one nearly every day. Metaphor time: one day, during a particularly slow month, I decided to take an aimless photo walk downtown. I stopped at one of my favorite spots, the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park. It was early summer and the bees were all over the garden flowers - so many that you could hear them buzzing. The garden is relatively small; there are certainly bigger parks with more flowers. But the bees were happy and diligently doing their work. There were plenty of flowers for them. Yes, there are more self-employed professionals now than ever before. Yes, there is always someone willing to do the same job for less. But there is always a need for quality work.
Plenty of pollen: Lurie Garden in Millennium Park. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2015, all rights reserved.)
6. Ok, one more for the new year, and it's another one I think about regularly: the only guarantee is that if you say "no," nothing will happen. When you take a risk, sometimes the payoff is six months away and you don't know it yet. Or you don't even know what the payoff will be. Or something small leads to something larger. But if you say "no," it's over.
A photo of bassist Chuck Webb that I grabbed while on assignment to shoot audio equipment at Navy Pier; it now hangs in the window of a Gold Coast bank. (Photo by Elliot Mandel, copyright 2017, all rights reserved.)
Thanks for being part of these five wonderful years. Here's to all of us doing great work in 2019!
The Chicago Philharmonic opened its 18-19 season with a multi-night festival celebrating Polish music and the 100th anniversary of Polish independence. I began my fifth season as the Philharmonicβs photographer and had the pleasure/challenge of shooting in some unique and grand spaces around Chicago. Hereβs a gallery of my favorite shots from the festival. Pictured: the Silesian Quartet at Fourth Presbyterian Church; jazz pianist Piotr Orzechowski at the Polish Museum of America; director Scott Speck, pianist Εukasz KrupiΕski, and the Chicago Philharmonic at the Copernicus Center; and Marek Mos conducting the Philharmonic in Wojciech Kilarβs Mass for Peace for 1700 people at St. Hyacinth Basilica.
All photos Β© copyright 2018 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Summer is even more unpredictable than the rest of the year, but the last three months gave me some wonderful shoots with longtime friends and colleagues, cool kids being their cool selves, lots of great tunes, and a big open look at the Milky Way on a perfectly dark night in Colorado. Behind the scenes, I've made significant investments in my business and I'm looking forward to sharing some big projects, news, and more views in the fall!
All photos Β© copyright 2018 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Spring has come and gone, and I spent most of it among wonderful artists and beautiful moments. Here's a sample of everything I saw:
The Chicago Children's Choir singing their hearts out in grand spaces. Galas for Bella Voce and Music of the Baroque. A beautiful spring evening on stage at Millennium Park. A surprise proposal and engagement tomfoolery. The Chicago Philharmonic's Scott Speck puts on the conducting gloves. Lots of portraits of lovely and talented artists. And the best rooftop view a photographer could ask for.
All photos Β© copyright 2018 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Chicago Childrenβs Choir at Navy Pier.
Patrice Michaels and Kuang-Hao Huang for Cedille Records.
Bella Voce Gala at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Pianist Shannon McGinnis.
Scott Speckβs entrance before leading the Chicago Philharmonicβs season finale.
Chicago Childrenβs Choir in Millennium Park.
Composer/conductor/bassoonist Steve Ingle.
Audio/video engineer Aaron Gottl.
Nicole Cabell and Craig Terry for Harris Theaterβs βBeyond the Aria.β
βBeyond the Ariaβ overlooking Millennium Park.
Jamie surprises Erica after a run with a ring.
She said yes.
Engagement session with Kristi and Greg in Lincoln Park.
Engagement silliness.
The Zukerman Trio at the Music Institute of Chicago.
Jane Glover toasts the crowd at Music of the Baroqueβs gala.
Back for chamber music at St. James Cathedral for the International Music Foundation.
The view from the roof after a storm.
A look at my first portraits of 2018: Musicians! Ensembles! Actors! My brother!
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All photos Β© copyright 2018 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
If there's a way to sum up the start of 2018, it's that I photographed some pretty awesome and beautiful things. The year started off with a Supermoon in sub-zero temps. After the feeling returned to my fingers, I drove out to the Mississippi River to watch the bald eagles before concert season picked up again. I spent a dress rehearsal with the Lake Forest Symphony; covered the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra's final concert before its China tour; and shot the Chicago Philharmonic (with two pianos!). The Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra - with Victor Goines and Don Vappie - blew out the best Mardi Gras tunes north of New Orleans. I shot my first concert for the Harris Theater on the stage of the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, and watched in amazement while pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard performed Ligeti and Beethoven before a rapt audience at the University of Chicago. Fulcrum Point New Music Project closed March with a rollicking performance of music by Wynton Marsalis. Now, on to spring!
All photos Β© copyright 2018 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
A Supermoon rises over Lake Michigan on January 1, 2018.
A bald eagle hunts over the Mississippi River in Davenport, IA, January 13, 2018.
Vladimir Kulenovic leads the Lake Forest Symphony, January 24, 2018.
Victor Yampolsky leads the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra before a packed house at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, February 3, 2018.
Victor Yampolsky and the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, February 3, 2018.
Scott Speck leads the Chicago Philharmonic in Saint-Saens' "The Carnival of the Animals," March 4, 2018.
Victor Goines leads the Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra on Mardi Gras, February 13, 2018.
New Orleanian Don Vappie performs with the Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra on Mardi Gras, February 13, 2018.
NUJO leads the second line parade on Mardi Gras, February 13, 2018.
Harris Theater presents "Beyond the Aria" with Heidi Stober, Lindsay Metzger, Andrew Stenson, and Craig Terry at Millennium Park, March 1, 2018.
Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard takes a final bow after his solo recital for University of Chicago Presents, March 6, 2018.
Stephen Burns and Fulcrum Point New Music Project perform music by Wynton Marsalis at The Promontory in Hyde Park, March 28, 2018.
Here is a selection of my year in music photography, leading off with an image from the Chicago Children's Choir that sums up 2017 in general. It's a pretty awesome privilege to be able to do this for a living.
All photos Β© copyright 2017 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Chicago Children's Choir raising voices at its 61st Annual Red Jacket Optional Gala.
The triumphant Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra performs at its 70th Anniversary Gala.
Victor Goines at the Green Mill. Selected as "Best Photo in a Club" during the Logan Center for the Arts jazz photography exhibit.
Bitter Jester Music Festival
Chuck Webb at Navy Pier
Birds-eye-view of Bella Voce at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Benny Golson plays his classics at Jazz Showcase.
Kurt Elling lights up the Green Mill.
Myra Huang, Shannon McGinnis, Sarah Shafer, Douglas Williams, and Nicholas Phan at the Collaborative Works Festival.
Susanna Phillips and Myra Huang give a glowing recital during the Collaborative Works Festival.
Jorge Federico Osorio plays Brahms for the Cedille Records gala.
My on-stage view of Jane Glover conducting Music of the Baroque.
Chicago Children's Choir Gala
The Chicago Philharmonic opens its season with Carmina Burana.
Third Coast Percussion premiering a work by Augusta Read Thomas with the Chicago Philharmonic.
Nicholas Kraemer conducts Bach with Music of the Baroque.
Kate Carter and Louise Chan perform on the Dame Myra Hess series at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Steve Reich backstage with percussionists at Northwestern University.
Steve Reich takes a bow with percussion ensembles at Northwestern University.
This was a wild ride of a year. I shot tons of fabulous music. Philip Glass signed my photo of Philip Glass playing Philip Glass. I covered Kurt Elling in the studio and created his latest batch of publicity portraits. Spektral Quartet's album "Serious Business," which includes my cover photo, was nominated for a Grammy. I sat next to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for 15 seconds. I gazed at the Milky Way from the tiny island of Islesford, Maine. And right in the middle of it all, I presented my jazz photography portfolio at the American Embassy in Vienna, Austria. Thanks to all of you for being a part of a wonderful 2016! Enjoy this gallery of a few of my favorites.
Chicago Children's Choir 60th Anniversary Gala
Kahil El'Zabar with Fulcrum Point New Music Ensemble
Branford Marsalis, Victor Goines with the Northwestern Jazz Band
Glass/Glass/Glass
Kurt Elling at the Green Mill, on film
Kurt Elling in studio recording "The Beautiful Day"
Kurt Elling's "The Beautiful Day"
Ailyn Perez, Craig Terry during the Collaborative Works Festival
Kelley O'Connor, Matthew Gemmill at the Collaborative Works Festival
Justice RBG, photo by Liz Markel
eighth blackbird 20th Anniversary Gala at Thalia Hall
Grammy-nominated album!
Scott Speck, Chicago Philharmonic
Presenting jazz photos at the American Embassy in Vienna
Ramona Steiner at Jazz Land, Vienna
Vienna, my old friend
Milky Way in Maine
What a thrill to hang with the incomparable Kurt Elling and his band last week. One of the best voices in jazz, a top-rate entertainer, and overall good guy. He welcomed me into his dressing room at City Winery - fresh off his all-star performance at the White House for International Jazz Day - and let me fire away during two high-flying shows. I joined Elling and company in the studio a few days later to document some of the recording of their upcoming holiday album. Pictured: Kurt Elling, vocals; John McLean, guitar; Stu Mindeman, keys; Clark Sommers, bass; Kendrick Scott, drums.
Photos Β© copyright 2016 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Earlier this week, I drove up the coast to Grand Rapids, MI to watch Ashley Bryan give a presentation to a packed hall at the Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin College. He spoke about the African American spirituals that run throughout his books for children, how the spirituals contain themes of positive self image to which all children can identify, and how a child's view of the world can be cultivated in adults. As usual, Ashley jumped from art to history to episodes of his personal story, including his time as a stevedore in the segregated army during the Normandy invasion. He closed with a particularly moving recitation of John Keats's "When I have Fears That I May Cease to Be" before a standing ovation. It's always an honor and a pleasure to be in the presence of this artist, and to see how much joy he finds in the world.
Photos Β© copyright 2016 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Look at all these wonderful people!
Top, L-R: Bridget Skaggs, Juliet Petrus, Ashley Bryan. Mid, L-R: Lauren Haselberger, Robert Nordling, Alexandra Ganser. Bottom, L-R: Penelope Turgeon, Sarah Forbes Orwig, Anna Sanders Lee, Charles Thomas.
Photos Β© Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
I've followed the Spektral Quartet since I first saw them at the Empty Bottle in 2011 (a string quartet in a punk bar??). I was hooked. I wrote about them. I saw them perform a bunch of times. I came to photograph them in concert. But this is the coolest. SQ's newest album, "Serious Business," features my cover photo. This is the quartet's fourth album, the first to feature their image, and my second album cover. "Serious Business" is a disc of new and commissioned work (plus one very old joke) that explores the theme of humor in music. Since the days of "Abbey Road," quartets have been photographed walking to - who knows where? We tried the same thing, but Doyle kept falling. The album is due out in late January 2016, and you can catch the release concerts in Chicago on January 29 and 31.
Photos Β© Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Throughout my work with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, I've been introduced to one of Chicago's newest vocal quartets, Fourth Coast Ensemble. I've shot the individual members of 4CE in several master classes and coachings, and it was a pleasure to shoot their performance of music by Lita Grier and Ned Rorem at Ganz Hall with pianist Dana Brown. Pictured: soprano Karen Ann Baron; mezzo-soprano Bridget Skaggs; tenor Zach Vanderburg; baritone Zach Angus.
Photos Β© Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
