Parley Edmund Ellis is my great-granduncle. He is the son of my 2nd great-grandparents Frederick William Ellis & Susan Kaziah Davis. On 26 April 1916, he married the lovely Ruth Emma Balmforth. I love his suit and white tie! Don’t they look fabulous on their special day?
This photo comes from the thirty-third page of the album. Here are pages thirty-two and thirty-three to give context for this photo:
This post is part of a series sharing this wonderful old family photo album. You can learn more about the album here.
Such a dramatic photo the way their faces are lit up and the rest so black. Wonderful clarity!
Thank you, Amy. That is what I noticed about the photo as well. I wonder how common this type of portrait was at the time. I haven’t seen many like it, but I sure love it!
Great photo. It’s almost like a theatre promotional shot in composition and lighting.
Thank you, Su. I love it! I just responded to Amy’s comment that I haven’t seen many photos like this one. I wonder if it was a common practice of the time or of this specific photographer?
I’ve never seen that sort of technique in portraiture amongst the family photos I have, so perhaps a particularly talented and adventurous photographer.
Maybe so! I think I have one other that is similar but I can’t quite recall who is in the photo… Maybe it will come to me.