About
Solaka Photography - Los Angeles and Culver City photographer
Elizabeth Solaka Photography, Los Angeles photographer esolaka@gmail.com (to speak on the phone 413-262-1306 please email first.)
“ If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.”
Approach
I love connecting with my clients. It’s most gratifying to collaborate with you creatively and deliver pictures that you will love. I specialize in headshots and portraits, and will do up to three weddings and other special events each year.
If you are a couple looking for a wedding photographer
Hello! I only photograph up to three weddings per year. I’m really glad your here, but I’m especially proud of my trusted reviews on Wedding Wire, Google, The Knot, or Yelp from over 100 of couples who have had a wonderful experience with me. Make sure to reach out to me with any questions about your wedding.
Origins:
I am a headshot, portrait, fashion, editorial, commercial and fine art photographer in Los Angeles County photographer based in Culver City, CA. I grew up in Lafayette Park, Detroit the neighborhood that replaced Black Bottom. My mom was a ballerina and owner of a cheesecake and catering business. She hosted and fed the casts of Broadway shows, bands, and ballet companies touring through Detroit. Later she owned a blues bar called the Soup Kitchen Saloon. There, I heard some of the most amazing musicians and watched people, including my mom, dance on tables. I played piano with Willie Dixon.
My father, born north of Mosul, Iraq, was an architect and a grocery store owner. His store was in Lafayette Park. Some of his customers were Motown artists from groups such as the Temptations and the Four Seasons. I got a gift (a giant rubber band after their hit Rubber Band Man) from a group called the Spinners. Lafayette Park was like Sesame Street. I walked alone, safely and freely, as early as 5 years old in the neighborhood. Everyone knew everyone. My dad had a running tab at Zukin’s Deli and I went to breakfast there every morning, greeted by Zukin and eggs and buttered toast with little plastic jelly packets before I walked myself to Chrysler Elementary School.
My dad bartered steaks for concert tickets at Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Hall. As a child, I sat in the Ghost seats, the ones reserved for people just in case. I saw Prince, Madonna, the Cure, U2, the B52s, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springstein, Bob Dylan, Depeche Mode, and countless others. The Cure was my favorite. My dad never went along. He sent me with one of his employees, Bruce.
I draw inspiration from museums, buildings, streets, nature, and also from colors, music, and people. I’ve lived in Paris, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, Jersey City, Northern California, Bolivia, and New York before settling in Culver City. I also create and produce films. At the heart of my work is an appreciation for the subject. I’m energized by creative collaboration.
2010
Let’s talk about your project or event.
Partial list of clients and exhibitions:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Lowell, and Fine Arts
Partial list of exhibitions:
• Essential, New York. Multimedia group exhibition, October 2009
• Arthouse Productions. Photographs and video short, Vespa, October 2008
• Madame Claude, Jersey City. Film short, The Other Side of the Bed, October 2008
• Faces of Grace, Grace Church, Jersey City, 2007
• Cathedral Arts Show, Grace Church, Jersey City, 2006
• LITM Gallery, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jersey City, 2006
• Open Studios, Jersey City, September 2005
• Slow Commotion II: Detroit, December 2003
• Slow Commotion, The University of California, Berkeley, Art Museum Annex, January 2002
• Remember San Francisco Sonntags-Club, Berlin, Germany, July 2000
• Soirée du Soleil, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France, during a residency, multimedia exhibition including performance using electronic sound, video projection, laser light and photography, March 2000
• Brainwash San Francisco, performance and exhibition, October 1999
• On the Page/Off the Page, San Francisco Public Library, slide presentation of photographs through Revelation Gallery, poetry and sound, October 1999
• Leukemia Foundation Art Auction, Revelation Gallery, San Francisco, California, September 1999
• Featured Artist, Artisan Creative, San Francisco, California, October 1999
• The Naked and the Nude, New England School of Photography Gallery, Boston, July 1998
• Women in Photography, Fort Point Artist Community Gallery, Boston, February 1997
• Open Studios, Fort Point Artist Community, Boston, October 1996
• Open Studios Group Show, Fort Point Artist Community Gallery, Boston, October 1996
• Figures of Speech, New England School of Photography Gallery, Boston August 1996
• The Big/Little Show, White Elephant Gallery, Boston, June 1996
Elizabeth Solaka Photography, Los Angeles photographer esolaka@gmail.com (to speak on the phone please email first)
Porthole, 2007
