Light Moves

HOW A FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER ADDED SURPRISE TO THE PICTURE.

- Barry Tanenbaum

SO WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? Wave the camera around during a long exposure and produce a colorful mood-and-motion photo.

That’s what crossed my mind when I saw this picture, but the photographer was Michael S. Miller, and I knew him to be a thoughtful, deliberate maker of images—none of which looked like this. His realms are street photography, people photography, and the American landscape, and he’s a workshop instructor in a number of disciplines. Obviously there was more to explore.

“It’s been very rewarding to me as a photographer, especially one who teaches,” Miller says. “The light dancing project is a change from the documentary or factual photographs that I take and those I see from my students.”