Geoffrey Ellis: Sadkids

San Francisco-based photographer Geoffrey Ellis’ photo journal blog Sadkids is aptly named: its coverage can be as blue (with posts entitled “Sometimes, progress can suck it” and “Burn Santa burn”) as it can be lighthearted and youthful (“Easter valley of the sun” and “Hawaii + Halloween = Hawaiiloween” come to mind). But no matter the mood, the imagery featured has the same lovingly cluttered, colorful aesthetic as Ellis’ self-published photo zine of the same name, now in its fifth edition. The winner of the Bay Area’s Phelan Award in Photography, Ellis chose the name for his photo collections as a tribute to 1960s paintings featuring large-eyed kids, cats and dogs in the style of Walter and Margaret Keane. When asked how he chooses where to point his lens, the photographer said he likes to shoot “old signs, antique shops, junk shops, flea markets, bars and record stores (unpolished America). My wife [author Sarah Lacy] doesn’t let me bring junk home anymore, so I have to photograph it instead. It’s a good compromise. She’d much rather see a photo than a bunch of crap on the dining room floor.”