"Live your Dreams" ~ Ellie

We have no control over when and how we arrive in this life. We begin the journey at birth as a blank slate, thrust into the world with our eyes barely open and our senses ready to come alive. Then, when we leave this world, with all the many things we've learned and done, what lingers beyond our time here, all that truly remains, are the lives we've touched... and the memories held tightly by those with whom we surrounded ourselves.

When we pass on, it seems bittersweet that we are memorialized simply with two numbers--the year our journey began, and the year it ended. However, the dates are merely markers. What really counts is that little dash that separates them. That small dash, which represents the span of time one takes on their incredible journey. That seemingly insignificant dash represents an entire lifetime of memories, experiences, lessons, successes and failures. I see it as our own personal time capsule, containing and symbolizing every moment we have ever lived between those precious dates.

Ellie's dash was incredible. She embraced life in a special, beautiful and vibrant way. She lived her dash with more energy, passion and compassion than anyone I've ever known. Her dash has inspired me to make my dash fuller, to include what I saw, admired and loved of her into my own dash. I don't know what is next for Ellie, but whatever it is, I am absolutely certain she is also living it to the fullest.

- Stephen Oachs

Ellie Stone's experience with photography goes back 30 years. Her photographic interests are quite broad; from landscape to wildlife, weddings to photojournalism, portraits to night photography, and even the fast action trickery of sporting events. Years ago, Ellie combined one of her passions with another and plunged head first into volunteering for animal welfare. Ellie has spent time in Africa, volunteering for Elephant Voices Conservation and Research Project, and the Mara-Noboisho Lion Project. She provides valuable information, along with wildlife photos, which aids in the ongoing research of these projects. Ellie also volunteers her photographic talent on a weekly basis for the Humane society, where her high quality images help homeless pets find their new forever homes. Her work proved remarkable, and she quickly received notoriety by being published in magazines and newspapers.

As a teacher, Ellie's passion, enthusiasm, and affection for capturing the beauty of the world through photography is infectious. Teaching is one of her tremendous strengths as she has an uncanny skill of listening and understanding her student's unique ways of learning. By doing so, she caters to each student's learning style so her students maximize their photographic learning potential.

Besides Ms. Stone's obvious passion for photography, her diversity and interests are infinite! She is a triathlete, accomplished equestrian, chef, business woman and gifted runner. Ellie qualified for and competed in the Boston Marathon in 2011, the most competitive marathon in the world, and re-qualified for 2012.

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You will be learning from only the best!

• Brian Rueb
• Mike Wardynski
• DeAnna Roberts
• Mary Cheung
• Kevin Schofield
• Ellie Stone
• Stephen Oachs