Feature Image: A Rare Photo of Neil Miller Without a Camera Around His Neck © Fred Ullrich
March 4th was one of the first nice spring mornings of the season after our real winter here in the “valley of the sun,” and Arizona Photography Alliance members were happy to be gathering at the home and studio of President Neil Miller. Neil shared his photographic journey with members who enjoyed seeing his current work.
For this author, a typical visit to an artist’s studio is emphasized by what’s on the walls, usually with lots of photographic imagery with editions or past projects or “in process images” with a few newly completed images. Neil’s studio however, is an entirely different flavor. There were images everywhere of course, but there were also collections! And I mean collections that centered around specific types of photography and included historical portraiture of people. Neil’s “priceless” collection enticed us all. Early 20th century objects were shared, a series of collectible cyanotypes, carbon color prints and wet-collodion prints were all carefully stored in flat files. Posters of famous objects and events or an oil on canvas of an English countryside were also installed for audience enjoyment.
Neil’s collections all seemed to have their own neighborhood in his high bay garage. Each area was organized in stacks of collections. Neil, who has worked in visual communication his entire career, had much to share with us. Objects like an early 80’s three-tube color video camera that once priced out at over $100,000 and is now used as a door stop provided a memory of a time gone by. Neil also shared with us his highly collectable vintage sports cars that had made their way from their European port of origin to Neil’s garage. Neil’s delightful stories of his experience with each car gave the audience a real peek into the life of this wonderful photographer. In one area in Neil’s digital printing room was an antique book case with vintage still cameras and stacks of old U-Matic NTSC video cassettes tapes with the recordings still on the tapes.
The collections went on and on and all defining in a broad sense what art is in a contemporary view, including everyday objects that were created to help make our lives easier. To me, Neil’s collections show us what we once were and what we are now. The technologies that were required to create these objects that we cherish and in a sense add to the value of our lives made me glad I took the time to tour Neil’s collection.
Finally, I noticed another type of collection or category that was present at Neil’s house. This collection was made up of the people who attended. I noticed each person sitting in Neil’s garage is, as I know it, a good friend of Neil’s. It was clear how pleased they were to be there and how delighted they were with his generosity. As the audience walked through the garage, I could see most walked with a purpose, after all they were going to hear from Neil and see his assembled art. Thank you Neil for bringing your collection to life for all of us.
Fred Ullrich
Contributing Writer
Fred Ullrich studied photography at University of Wisconsin, Whitewater and at Arizona State University, Tempe. He holds a master’s degree in education from Northern Illinois University. Fred worked for nearly three decades at Fermilab, the world renown particle physics research laboratory where he served as manager of Visual Media Services. During this time, Fred honed his skills photographing and video recording on some of the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments associated with the U.S. built Tevatron Accelerator and the European-built LHC Accelerator at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Fred has been published in Europe and the United States and continues to make black-and-white images that are exhibited and sold to fine art collectors throughout the United States. In 2103, Fred moved from the Chicago area to downtown Phoenix where he has established his fine art photographic practice.
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