hey, I’m elm

a little about me,

Emily Whiting.

- she/her

- august leo

- queer

- gen z / millennial cusp

- vegetarian

I’m into:

trees, journaling, slow living, the colour yellow, mediterranean food, sustainability, sleeping in, tattoos, swimming in lakes, being around kids, matcha, embracing sensitivity, small batch ice cream, mountains, vintage clothes, gin, & social justice.

my partner, Dylan, and I reside in a cozy, one bedroom apartment in Kitsilano with our dog & cat; my favourite muses.

I was born and raised on Lake of the Woods in Northwestern Ontario. My appreciation of nature comes from the land I grew from + my eye for composition comes from my mother (as well as one of my favourite film cameras - the Canon EOS 500 she shot my baby photos with in the 90’s). My identity is tied tightly to my upbringing on the lake and my art tied tightly to my identity, hence, I hold my photo work very close to my heart.

how I got here

a young Elm photographed on a bright orange Canon PowerShot.

2 frames from my first roll of film, age 15. taken on a Pentax K1000 and developed & printed by hand at my high school’s darkroom.

I was living out my truest 2014 Tumblr hipster dreams.

me, in action.

why film?

a theme I’ve found flowing through my work is the placement of humans in their natural habitat: in their homes, with their loved ones, and my favourite, outside & in the nude.

film fits seamlessly into this vision of mine as it seems to capture the moment as it is, not as we intend it to be. I like the way film feels: raw & nostalgic, classic yet artistic. I like the practice of film and how it pushes me to slow down and be intentional with the shots I take (I only get so many).