Phil Miller
I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest among the trees and streams. Roaming the countryside fishing, hunting, and camping, instilled in me a love for nature, solitude, and adventure.
I attended Oregon State University where I earned a bachelor of science degree and then on to the University of Oregon Medical School for my M.D. degree. My professional life has centered on issues of women’s health and wellness. I have had the good fortune to be able to train student physicians in the art of medicine in the USA as well as New Zealand and Africa.
My love of photography started during a six month overland tour through Africa with two friends, driving from South Africa to Europe. The trip covered 10,000 miles over mostly dirt roads and was filled with amazing sights to record on film. Photography helps me intensify my skills of observation and capture the emotions and beauty of living. I have been able to photograph places and people in many parts of the world including travel portfolios from China, Tibet, Bali, Nepal, Cuba, Egypt, and many parts of Africa.
My exploration of the world through medicine and photography has gradually become fused by focusing my lens on the human body with its beauty and mystery.This fused focus has led to my current portfolio I call “Humanlandscapes,” with the body as the story, told through a narrative of images.
I have been helped on this journey by some fine teachers of photography work-shops including Martha Casanave, Barbara Brundege, Cole Weston, Kim Weston, Steve Anchell, and Philip Raymond. They have all, as well as many others, helped me find my personal style.
My images have been shown in numerous juried shows in California and Santa Fe as well as several books. My own coffee table style photography book called, “Humanlandscapes – Interpreting the Human Form,” explores my vision through images and poetry. It is available from Amazon or the University of New Mexico Press.
I live in Los Gatos, CA with my wife Laurie and pug dog Kiwi. Our son Bryon and daughter-in-law Tracy, live in Florida.
Artist’s Statement
Art: A form of visual communication between the viewer and the artist’s inner world. The artist says, “Come with me and see the world through my eyes.”
Photographic art captures a moment in time that will never exist again and allows that moment to tell a story, capture an emotion, or expose a truth. I have chosen photography to tell my stories. I can only tell the ones that I know best, and that feed my personal passions of beauty, nature, and the human body.
As a child, I was fascinated by biology and the functions and design of all life forms. This fascination led me to medical school where I realized my dream of exploring the human body in detail. I was astonished at its beauty, complexity and ability to heal when stressed. I came to understand the concept of integration and learned about birth, death and disease as well as the sensuality and secrets of our bodies.
My photographic exploration began on an African trip that focused on the incredible world of nature. Over time, that focus has shifted to include my most compelling passion, which as a physician, is the body itself. “Every human body is a landscape, a silhouette of overlapping ancestral shadows, an imprint of paths taken and a map of past and future dreams.” Seeing beauty in our physical bodies is essential for our physical, emotional and spiritual healing, and is our bridge to life and love.
My portfolio and book, “Humanlandscapes – Interpreting the Human Form”, is my tribute to the power of beauty, the feminine and the human body as an integral part of the natural world.