Elizabeth Johnson, Contemplation, 2025, 120 film, 12 x 12 in

Elizabeth Johnson works exclusively in film photography, drawn to its ephemeral and unpredictable nature and the surprises it offers. Working with film allows her to step away from the immediacy of image-making and remain present with the moment itself. She photographs places and people with reverence for what has already passed, seeking to capture emotions as they exist in time and space.

Her work is especially interested in the juxtaposition of past and present life, as well as the wide range of communities across the Pacific Northwest-from rural ranching communities to artistic communities in Seattle. In addition to traditional film processes, she works with alternative techniques such as gum dichromate and cyanotype printing, acknowledging the history of the medium while adding depth and dimension to her subjects.

She is currently developing a project that examines lost sites of westward expansion, tracing the Oregon Trail, the Central Pacific Railroad, and the routes of Lewis and Clark. Through this work, she explores how locations central to the narratives of settlement in the Pacific region were used in the past and, in many cases, have since been forgotten.