There are so many amazing photographers and artists that use AdoramaPix to showcase their art. Each month, we are going to share their stories with the series Every Day Artist. Let’s kick it off with Mark Miller of Mark Miller Studios whose fine art photography will inspire you.
1.Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Mark Miller. I am a professional photographer from Mount Arlington, NJ, specializing in fine art, portrait and commercial photography. I am also a member of the Sparta Camera Club in Sparta , NJ. The camera club is where I entered my first photography competition in October of 2011. Since that time my photographs have earned a number of awards and recognitions in local, national and international competitions. My photography has been featured in various media outlets such as Popular Photography, The Huffington Post and WMBC TV to name a few. I’m married and have two children ages 14 and 17. My wife and children are also accomplished photographers in their own right, each having won various awards for their own photography.
2. How did you get into photography?
It’s a path that I can trace back to my youth. I have always had a passion for the visual arts. As a grade schooler in the 1970′s I loved drawing and painting. I would enter local art competitions, and on a few occasions I would come home with a trophy or ribbon. During my teenage years I pursued an education in Commercial Art at Passaic County Technical and Vocational High School.
In the 1980′s I purchased my first video camera. Along with using that video camera for videotaping of family events, I would also use it to try my hand at more creative endeavors, like making stop motion animated stories. While videography was initially a hobby, it eventually led to becoming a professional videographer and video editor in 1991. I then opened up my own video production company “Creative Touch Video” in 1992 producing video productions of weddings, events, school plays, recitals, sports highlights and various forms of commercial work.
Around 2006 I purchased my first DSLR, an Olympus E-500, and started dabbling in digital still photography as a hobby, taking photographs of anything, and everything, that caught my eye. Over the years I have taken thousands of photographs of people, sports, public events, nature and landscapes. In 2010 I decided to take my photography hobby to the next level and offer my photographs and photography services to the public through Mark Miller Studios.
3. You are a fine art photographer – what prompted you to follow this path?
In the nearly 20 years that I was a professional videographer, the main focus of my work then was capturing, though video, a story or event that was focused on someone or something else. Whether it was a wedding, a recital, or even in my commercial work, the videography that I was producing was mostly a reflection of someone else’s story. And while I enjoyed doing that then, and I still enjoy doing that today with my portrait and commercial still photography work, art photography allows me to tell my story. It allows me to portray the world as I see it. I guess in some way my art photography is a reflection of myself. And the wonderful thing about it is that when I put my art photography out there for others to see, some other people tend to make a connection with it. Its a very rewarding experience to make that connection with other people, many times people I have never met before, just through a single image.
4. What have you learned along the way?
A lot, to say the least, and I am still learning every day. I guess one of the challenges that I am continually trying to overcome is how to tell a story in one single frame. Coming from my videography background, telling a story was a different process. Whether it was a 30 second video or a 1 hour movie, there was time, sound, movement and other elements that I was able to utilize to tell a story. Video at that time was 30 frames a second. Even if it was just a 30 second video I had 900 frames to tell that story. With still photography I sometimes have only one single soundless frame to tell a story, and that can be a challenge sometimes.
5. What’s in your camera bag?
Mainly Olympus gear. My first DSLR was an Olympus E-500 so as time went on and I started to acquire more lenses and newer camera bodies it would be Olympus gear. The current main cameras that I am using today are the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the Olympus E-PL5 with a variety of micro 4/3 and standard 4/3 lenses. You ask “What’s in my camera bag?” but many times I’m not even carrying a camera bag. I always like to have a camera on me because I never know what’s going to catch my eye, and the Olympus micro 4/3 gear works great for that. With the micro 4/3 gear being so compact I can wear a pair of cargo shorts and have a camera with a lens attached in one cargo pocket while having a couple of other lenses in the other pocket, and I am good to go. But if I’m going out to do a commercial shoot or portrait session the cargo shorts just don’t cut it, so I do have a large assortment of camera, backdrop and strobist lighting gear (and camera bags) that would be too long to list.
6. Why do you choose AdoramaPix?
“My experience with AdoramaPix has always been excellent. Whether I’m ordering fine art canvas or metal prints for an upcoming art show, or standard prints for one of my portrait clients, AdoramaPix has always provided me with great quality, with quick and friendly service. ” – Mark Miller
Thank you Mark. If you would like to see more of this work, you can visit his website at www.markmillerstudios.com. Or you can also like his facebook page HERE.