Growing up on the East End of Long Island, Ellen has always felt the need for a creative outlet. “I am one of five in my family and my parents were both teachers. We di​dn’t have a lot growing up, but distant relatives would occasionally send a package of hand-me downs and a few other goodies. In one such package was a Brownie camera. It was missing a corner piece which had appa​rently broken off. At age 10, I was thrilled to have a camera. I figured if I could just block out that hole, I could still take pictures. So I covered it with the only thing I could find, a couple of band-aids, and then, with bandaged camera in hand, I went for a walk in the woods on my first photo shoot.”

          Ellen's grandparents lived in Florida, so they exchanged letters on a regular basis. Grandpa Kingston was a talented artist in his own right and his letters were filled with colored drawings in a rebus style. It was like solving a puzzle to read his letters where painted images substituted for words. These experiences encouraged Ellen to draw and helped her develop an eye for color. Her mother, Anne, after retiring from teaching, delved into watercolor painting. She sold her work at arts shows and fairs and created works by request for individuals. “A few years ago while on a benefit house tour, I stood in one home’s beautifully decorated living room and suddenly caught my breath. There, above an overstuffed chair was one of my Mom’s watercolors.”

          After graduating from high school in Sag Harbor, Kingston went to college in Washington D.C. On her return to New York, she studied with the New York Institute of Photography and became a founding member of the East End Photography Group with then renowned photographer Jay Hoops. One of her happiest moments was to see one of her own photos gracing the front page of the Holiday issue of the Southampton Press. The photograph showed her young daughter looking totally enthralled as she watched a toy train in a holiday decorated shop window. Ellen and her young daughter moved to Florida, where she focused on raising her daughter and continuing her education to earn a Bachelors and then Masters Degree in Education. Teaching elementary and middle school as well as on the college level, left little time for photography. Once her daughter went on to college, Ellen relocated to her beloved East End.