Trees, Dusk - Schodack, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

Tree in Courtyard, Williams College - Williamstown, Mass.
c 2006 Curt Miller

Comptroller's Building - Albany, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

In the end, it's all about the light, isn't it?

Going Home (for the first time) - Albany Medical Center
c 2006 Curt Miller

Beaver Pond - Pittsfield, Massachusetts
c 2006 Curt Miller

On the Ellis Island Tourboat
c 2006 Curt Miller


Trinity Church, Lower Manhattan
c 2006 Curt Miller

The above photos are the pictures I from which I made my first exhibition quality inkjet prints. Both images were made with my Leica on color negative film. My pro-lab processed the negatives and made high-res scans on their Fuji Frontier. I converted the images to B&W using channel mixer and made the other typical editing manipulations like contrast, sharpness, etc. I then printed them using my Epson 2000P with continuous inking, using the "black ink" setting in the printer driver. The final prints were made on Epson Watercolor paper and are stunning.

An interesting note on the picture of Trinity Church: when I was a kid, my dad worked in the building to the left of the church. His office was somewhere just above the head in the picture of the athlete. I can remember going there often and looking out the window into the churchyard cemetery below. At lunchtime, we would walk through the cemetery and visit the graves of such notables as Robert Fulton and Alexander Hamilton (one of my heroes). The tall building above that one at the upper left of the picture is the Bank of Nova Scotia, which stands just east of the South Tower of the ill-fated World Trade Center. When all the dust settled, airplane seats were found on the roof of both of these buildings and both were covered in the debris from the collapse, as was the church cemetery.

Purple House - Pittsfield, Massachusetts
c 2006 Curt Miller

US Route 20 - Nassau, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

While I see myself as a traditionalist in my photographic descriptions of the world, I am a strong devotee of minimalism as well. Philip Glass, for instance, is one of my favorite composers. Photographic description, too, can be minimalist in approach and achieve a significant end by communicating mood or intent. I consider this picture to be one of the best I've ever made because it conveys my sense of mood and of place. At its essence, photography is a most personal form of communication.

Academy Park - Albany, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

Old Rocker on Old Porch - Ithaca, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

Corning Tower - Albany, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

A Study in Perspective - Albany, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

(It's actually the underside of a pedestrian walkway roof)

Colonial Theatre Undergoing Restoration - Pittsfield, Massachusetts
c 2006 Curt Miller

The twenty-one million dollars going into this magnificent turn-of-the-twentieth-century theatre is well spent. The theatre will provide a venue for a variety of performing arts. The picture was made with my Leica O-Series camera with a 50mm/3.5 lens on color negative film, developed and scanned at a one-hour lab. I desaturated the image in PhotoShop and then toned it sepia.

Winter Woods - Richmond, Massachusetts
c 2006 Curt Miller

I made this picture on color negative film in my 1924 Leica replica with a 50mm lens. The negative was scanned and desaturated in PhotoShop using Channel Mixer, leaving just a hint of blue in the ice. It was then toned selenium using Color Balance. This is a great example of the opportunities presented by a hybrid workflow.

"Breadhead" - New York, NY
c 2006 Curt Miller

Life is Good, Bryant Park - NY, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

Homeless in Bryant Park
c 2006 Curt Miller

"Eye to Eye in Midtown" - New York, NY
c 2006 Curt Miller

Summertime, Union Square - New York City
c 2006 Curt Miller

Today's record snow made me think of warmer days when I haunt my hometown with my Leica.

Old Maple on South Mountain Road - Pittsfield, Mass
c 2006 Curt Miller

Wild West Ranch - Lake George, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

Bold Ailanthus (Tree of Paradise) - Winter,
Arbor Hill View - Albany, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

House on Swan Street - Albany, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

Grateful - Washington, D.C.
c 2006 Curt Miller

General Sheridan - Albany, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

Lamps, Capitol Building - Albany, New York
c 2006 Curt Miller

When completed in 1893 during Teddy Roosevelt's tenure as governor, the New York State Capitol was the most expensive building ever constructed on earth.

Samuel Tilden's Home During Reconstruction (2/6/06)
© 2006 by Curt Miller

Samuel Tilden won the popular election for president in 1877 but lost the electoral college vote to Rutherford B. Hayes. This structure, located in New Lebanon, New York, was a sushi restaurant for many years and was purchased about a year ago by a new owner. Many months into the extensive remodeling process, the house went up in flames. I expected to see the remains bulldozed to the ground, but low and behold, it was given a new lease on life.

Tables at ICP, October 2005 - For Gabriella, George, Diana and Dan
© 2006 Curt Miller

Rivets and Paint on Bridge, Nassau, New York
© 2006 Curt Miller

Niagara in Winter
© 2006 Curt Miller

In Bryant Park
© 2006 Curt Miller

New York Public Library
©2006 by Curt Miller

Motel - Chattanooga, Tennessee
© 2006 by Curt Miller

Sorry, Full
© 2006 by Curt Miller

Culpepper, Virginia
© 2006 by Curt Miller

Smokie Mountains, North Carolina
© 2006 by Curt Miller

Kinderhook Creek, East Nassau, New York
© 2006 by Curt Miller

On my way home from the hospital today for a second round of plasmapheresis, I stopped along Route 20 in East Nassau to observe the swollen waters of the Kinderhook Creek, flowing fast from the melting snow on a 60 degree day.

Winter Serenity
© 2006 by Curt Miller

There is a certain serenity imposed by merely observing a scene like this. Even the slightest breeze can ripple the surface...and crack the fragile layer of ice.

Biography

Curt Miller was born in New York City in 1952. I am a third generation photographer and have been actively producing exhibition quality prints for more than thirty years. I received international acclaim for my work. "Sunsprinters" in Antwerp, Belgium, at the 5th International Photographic Exhibition (1970). Shutterbug magazine gave me an honorable mention, from thousands of entrants, for an entry in its 1994 Black & White Portrait contest.

As a photographer, I am concerned with the documentation of the landscape and people as I find them. I am interested in interpreting the vitality and beauty of life at it's most essential level: uncomplicated and serene.

I live in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and enjoy photographing in the Berkshire Mountains, Adirondacks and Capitol region of New York State as well as on my home turf, New York City. I believe it is necessary to capture and preserve for future generations, the essence of humanity, through photography. It has become my mission.

I have a bachelor of arts degree from the State University of New York in political sociology and a master of public administration degree from the Maxwell School of Public Affairs at Syracuse University. I am a project manager with the NY State Education Department and am the president of the Adirondack Mountain Club, Inc.

The picture above is of a Zig-Zag Fence, made with an 8x10 view camera in Litchfield County, Connecticut © 2006 Curt Miller