Pictured Above: Emily Ullrich and Alexi Lubomirski in Brooklyn
Emily Ullrich is an artist/photographer and studio manager for commercial photographer Alexi Lubomirski. Through Zoom, I spoke to Emily about her roots as an artist and the journey that led her to where she is today.
Emily’s father, photographer Fred Ullrich, is a fellow member of AZPA and Art Intersection Gallery. Emily is close to both of her parents; they’ve been role models for her throughout her life.
“As a kid, art was everywhere. My mom was a collector, spending lots of time in museums, always taking us to exhibitions, the symphony, and hearing different kinds of music. She wanted to expand our minds through creativity. And my dad is a photographer, so I had the opportunity to experience the darkroom at a young age, which I instantly loved.” With such a rich introduction from her parents, it was a natural choice for Emily to get into photography.
At school, her teachers encouraged her creative side, and she was good at drawing and painting. Emily grew up in Geneva, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. When she decided to go to art school, she enrolled at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, (“it was small and on the water”) where she studied fashion design, mixed media, and photography.
Living on your own creates the opportunity to explore and fine-tune goals. And during a Spring Break road trip with friends to New York City, Emily found that New York gave her a freedom she had never felt. Making an investment in the future, Emily moved to Brooklyn after college, where she worked small jobs to pay the rent. She landed a job as an assistant in the Macy’s photo studio, shooting merchandise for their catalog. For two years, she got a taste of fashion photography and chose to focus on that as a career. Emily then took a position with Industrial Color as a studio manager and oversaw as many as 13 shoots per day. The experience and connections she made in New York’s commercial photo industry led her to meet fashion and celebrity photographer Alexi Lubomirski.
She began working at a little office while Alexi was on a job in California. “I walked into the smallest little space, stuff everywhere, and said to myself, ‘Okay! Here we go.’ After thirteen years, I developed a great partnership with Alexi, and I always let him know that I won the ‘job lotto,’ because it is a perfect fit.”
Alexi’s commercial photography brand is highly successful, and Emily is an integral part of the team. His photographs of designer clothing and celebrities regularly appear in fashion magazine layouts for Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. He also photographed the engagement and wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and Emily assisted on both occasions.
Along with photography, Emily is interested in painting — large, abstract designs made with pieces of glitter. She paints “not for fame, but for people to enjoy. I like to paint and see it as meditation. I go on creative spurts, work on a painting for two weeks straight, then take a long break, come back, and work until I finish it.”
With a truly altruistic heart, Emily exhibits her work to raise money for causes such as autism. ”Living in the city offers opportunities to do something to help others; it is a double win. Show your work to a wide range of people and if someone buys it, the money goes to those that need it. Paying it forward is a good feeling.”
Emily also does fashion photography. Her layout Victorian Ghost can be seen at Bleach Online. The photos have a grainy, distressed look, with an ethereal quality. Taken together, the landscape, colors, and clothes create a feminine, witch-like result.
“As an artist I make an expression of my inner self, dreamy and magical, revealing those subtle in-between moments. It’s a mindset, and it doesn’t matter about one’s age.”
In 2020, everything changed with COVID and Emily was no exception. After 100 days of homeschooling her 6-year-old twins in their Brooklyn apartment, working, and feeling overwhelmed, Emily decided to move back to Phoenix, where her mom could help. Emily continues to work for Alexi, but on a remote basis. “We are doing new things and continue to work and grow in the meantime.”
Emily carries a point-and-shoot film camera to capture sunsets or whatever crosses her path, prepared to imagine her next creation.
Her art contains elements of spirituality. “I was always attracted to mystical things as a kid. Astrology and yoga woke me up as a human being, and I got clear about spirituality and the importance of it to have a peaceful life.”
Emily’s resilience juggling her art, fashion photography, and family speaks volumes. She is grateful for the support of her parents during this crazy time. “I am happy that my girls get to bond with their grandparents.” She believes that “What you put out there comes back to you in return.”
Perhaps even more so.
Theresa Tarara
Contributing Writer
Theresa Tarara, also known as Terry, is a fine art photographer living in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband Monte Ewert and two cats. She started her journey into learning about photography from 1978 to 1980 at the University of Arizona. She took a detour from art to get a Bachelor of Science degree in computer Information systems from DeVry Institute of Technology in 1985 and worked for Ramada Inc. and the U.S. District Court of Arizona in data processing user support until 1995. Missing the creative arts she went back to college at Arizona State University and completed her Bachelor of Fine Art degree in photography in 2002.
She makes her photos using both digital and analog forms with a collection of vintage and modern cameras. Printing images using nineteenth century processes as in tri-color gum bichromate, platinum, and cyanotype opened up another world of possibilities of creation. She and her work advanced in a unique direction while opening up unlimited ways to interpret the world around her. As a member of Arizona Photography Alliance, the notion of going it alone as an artist was no longer an option because meeting new people who love photography in its many forms of expression gives one the feeling of belonging and that nourishes creativity in the best way.
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