Coven through two lenses
Ten photos from Coven Tattoo & Arts Expo, shot by Melbourne photographers Cayleb Ellingsen and Calum McIntyre, and contributed to GOOD DAMAGE.
Coven Tattoo & Arts Expo, through two lenses. Cayleb Ellingsen shot the event, and Calum McIntyre was invited by Straats to shoot it too. Both have contributed their work to GOOD DAMAGE to show the event from the floor.
Photos 1–5 by Cayleb Ellingsen (@lost_carcosa_photography). Photos 6–9 by Calum McIntyre (@calum_mcintyre_photography). Both are Melbourne-based. Artists: @baddog_ink, @nb_tattoos_designs, @straats_tatts, @sharitattoos. Photo 7 shows @raecolliertattoo in the foreground, with Tylar Nol banners in the background.
About the photographers
Cayleb Ellingsen (@lost_carcosa_photography) shot the event, and Calum McIntyre (@calum_mcintyre_photography) was invited by Straats to shoot it. Both are based in Melbourne and have contributed their work to GOOD DAMAGE. Each photo is credited to its photographer.
Cayleb on the weekend
I grew up around tattoo culture. My dad tattooed for bikie gangs in the 90s and early 2000s, and kept tattooing friends and family well into my childhood. He and my mum are both covered, so it was only a matter of time before I was too.
I was going to Coven to get a piece done by Blactatz, who has been my tattoo artist and friend for the better part of five years. I wanted to support her first expo. While I was there I found myself won over by the premise: a new expo championing people in the scene who usually get overlooked. On a whim I emailed them to ask if they needed a photographer. A week or two later I was on the staff roster for the weekend.
My first expo was daunting, and hot as hell on the floor, but it was also thrilling. Thinking about the shots, seeing things from angles I never would have got otherwise, like the upstairs staff area. Talking to people about their art, and capturing it, reminded me why I do this. I couldn’t have asked for a better first expo to work.
Nick, Carly’s husband, also shot the event. He took me under his wing, let me use his equipment and talked photography with me all weekend. I’m endlessly grateful for that.
Photos: Cayleb Ellingsen (@lost_carcosa_photography) and Calum McIntyre (@calum_mcintyre_photography) · Melbourne, Australia
