Dolan Ellis Photography

From the Navy to the Stage

	These photos are samples of Dolan's large-screen photography. Some include lines from their songs.
From top left, these photos are from: Cowgirls, Therapeutic 4-Wheel Drive, Lake Powell, Many Cherry Canyon Boy (2 photos), May the Road Rise Up to Meet You, Navajo Snow, May the Road Rise Up to Meet You.

Thanks to Susan Kolbe for having these slides scanned and adding Dolan’s lyrics to them. Susan is also responsible for the scanned images on the Tourism and Balladeer pages.

(Click on any image to see a larger version)

Dolan Ellis learned a lot about photography while still in  high school, where he was in the Journalism Club and took classes in photography. While in college and in his first yeaar or so beyond, he was in the Navy Reserves, and his position was photographer.

That early training gave Dolan an understanding of the technical side of photography, but it was his innate ability as an artist that made his work truly special.

Around 1970, after spending a few years writing songs about Arizona while he explored and photographed his beautiful state, Dolan got an idea that was truly innovative. He would flash photographs on a large screen while he sang certain songs. The first venue for his slide shows was the Holiday Inn in Scottsdale.

At the same time, Dolan was producing and starring in TV specials, and started incorporating his slide photography into those presentations.

An example of Dolan's set of slides for a particular song is on this site, on the Song of Spring page. A few of those slides are reprinted below--and if you click on any of them, a larger version will appear in a new window.