About Cardell Phillips Photography


I'm a photographer living in Chicago. I believe photography is a way to see into the world, beneath the surface, and find meaning. My uncle introduced me to photography when I was in high school. And after I got my first job, I bought my first camera, an Olympus Trip 35. I learned my way around a camera by taking photographs of family and friends. Basically anyone who would put up with me sticking camera in their face when they weren't expecting it.

Years later, I became interested in landscape photography. Enchanted by the images taken by Ansel Adams, Galen Rowell and others, I traveled to the Canadian Rockies for a workshop where I learned some of the finer aspects of photography and gained confidence as a photographer.

My interest in street photography began around 2008, when I came across the work of Walker Evans. His vision of the beauty in everyday life led me to other masters like Robert Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, Vivian Maier, Roy DeCarava, and Wayne Miller. Their humanist approach to photography, to explore what it means to be human, inspired me. It’s what I think about when I’m out with my camera and immersing myself in the flow of life, seeking to capture its disillusionment, solitude, and indigence but also the beauty, joy and everyday wonders.