Artist Statement- 2017
Artist Statement
Corbin Miller
Corbin Miller
Nature is everywhere around us. It can be beautiful, dark, and strong. I am pulled toward the outdoors from the sunlight that shines through the trees, to the stars that glow in the night. Being outside is something that makes me, me. The natural vibrant and dark colors catch my eye, and my first thought, that would be a great a photo. My photos come from everyday things that I love in my life. Though my life might be hectic and full of a lot of stuff, I like to keep my photos simple. Just a simple black and white filter with exaggerated shades, is all I really need. Or a little bit of light adjusting will make my photo complete. Though colors look great when they are all combined, one or two simple colors can tell a lot more.
My portfolio is tied together through the different colors of nature. In every photo I can notice a different color that is being emphasized and brought out. When planning my portfolio, I chose to capture brighter, lighter colors found in nature to create a happy feeling image over all. I thought it was really cool when I placed all of my photos next to each other because you could see many different parts of nature and the colors that bring out its beauty all at once.
I edited all of my photos in Lightroom and occasionally in Photoshop. One reason why I worked in Lightroom for every photo was because it makes it really easy to select and edit a certain color. I really like how Lightroom makes it easy to adjust the clarity and details in the photo that are usually hidden in the original photo. I mostly used Photoshop to edit out objects that took away from the beauty of the photo and the purity of nature. I did this by using the clone stamp tool and taking different parts of the photo and copying them over the objects that I wanted to edit out. By doing this, it made the place where the photo was taken look like it was deep in nature. I used this technique in my blue lake photo to remove a house and in my orange sunset photo to remove some telephone poles in the background.
I get inspiration for my photos in my everyday life. I am lucky enough to live in a beautiful, nature filled town called Durango, Colorado. In nature around Durango I can see the shining lakes below the snow capped mountains with beautiful sunsets behind them, that revolutionize into beautiful inquisitive stars looking down towards trees that shimmer from the luminous sun that melts away the nippy snow caring for berries and fruit. Nature is an amazing thing that has engraved itself into my heart.
One of my favorite quotes about photography is “Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” - Dorothea Lange. I really like this quote because it reminds me of how sometimes you just need to slow down in life, and photography is one of the easiest ways to do that. Have fun and take your time while taking photos, enjoy what you're doing now, because someday you won’t be doing it anymore. This quote shows how photography can capture your happiest moments, and your saddest moments. A still image might not be much, but it is the memory of the image that makes it special.
For me, photography makes one feel creative and original. It gives me a sense of freedom because there are endless possibilities for photos. There is no right or wrong answer. Whatever you capture is beautiful. It was your mind and your ideas that came up with the image, not the camera.