In mid 2013 the opportunity to photograph in The Miller Theater presented itself. A friend/mentor of mine had access and wanted to know if I would want to take a look. Not really knowing anything about the building or it's history, I said sure and we met a few days later downtown. For that meeting, I brought nothing but myself, no camera. Long story short, at the end of that tour I got a key, had access to The Miller anytime I felt like it, and knew I would not enter the dressing rooms downstairs alone for fear of "her." Whether she still haunts it after the remodel...
Below you will find the beginnings of that year "internship" in The Miller Theater. The first portion starts my journey in exploring the building itself and it is interesting as I go through the photos how my focus shifted through my visits. The first set will run at 25 per post, and I will due my best to talk about some of the things I see with each set.
The second portion concerns the people I have shot at The Miller. It is not, or should I say was not, the most hospitable place to shoot. No heat, no air, old and falling apart, dirty, grimy, and well, still pretty fucking awesome. The first "official" shoot we did was with the incomparable Mary. To this day, she spoiled me when it came to shooting because Mary shows up and when you need her she just, "goes." Where she goes I don't know, but she was just effortless to work with and a dream to shoot.
the miller
Words that come to mind: I still see a smiling seven | Texture, texture, texture | Working only with available light, each time I came I just wanted to see what the building gave up naturally | That one ceiling part always reminds me of a muscle and tendon sheath | Superhero telephone action | It will become apparent how much I love this stairwell | Ahhhh, the secret yellow room
lens: 20mm2.8 | 50mm1.4
date: 5.21.13 | 5.28.13
the portraits: mary
In exploring the building and looking at it first from a natural light perspective, I soon discovered what areas gave me the light I was looking for at the time. It is interesting looking back to see where I started to experiment and explore different looks as I got more intimate with the space. I also tried early on to create a unique look for each session utilizing different areas or using them in different parts of the day which created drastic changes in the look. This was an afternoon shoot with Mary, as this particular side of The Miller and the stairwell was getting plastered with light. Got a little Yellow Room action in, and then finished the day on the roof. I remember flying home to edit these and quickly seeing what worked (some) and what didn't (a lot), and learning from that (a little) and applying it to the next session. Below are the best of what I captured that day.
lens: 20mm2.8 | 50mm1.4
date: 7.5.13
