Smoke and Bubbles

I really enjoy just playing around with my camera and lights. Smoke is particularly fun and interesting to try and photograph. I see a monkey in this first image. The second took split-second timing- I only managed to get this shot once.

Anubis & Annabelle

These two cuties are from the same litter of six. I fostered them for awhile before a good friend adopted them. Working with animals that are lively and mobile presents a whole host of challenges. More than once I had to react fast to prevent a kitty from turning itself into a furry projectile and launching off the table.

Anubis. Image by S. Miller

Annabelle. Image by S. Miller

The Japanese Garden

The Japanese Garden is really beautiful. I took this image in color with a digital camera and did some basic adjustments before inverting the image and printing the negative onto a semi-opaque sheet of plastic. I used the plastic as a contact negative in a normal black and white darkroom. The result is a photo that begins to look like it blended with a drawing.

Underground

One of the coolest places I've done a shoot is underground Portland. A local band and I ventured to the dirt-floor basements in an older part of downtown. The strobes used to light the photos also acted as our only light source in some areas; we carried them like overgrown flashlights. Sadly, despite a reputation for being haunted, no ghosts showed up in the images.

LaDiva & Sash

While studying photography, one of the more interesting shoots I did involved an entertaining duo who go by LaDiva and Sash. In addition to fun illusions and interesting costumes, they brought a few... pets. I restricted access to the studio during the shoot to avoid any mishaps with the live chinchilla, snake, and scorpions. This portrait of LaDiva with her snake is one of my favorites.

LaDiva with snake.  S. Miller