David Miller photograph

David Miller was born on Kangaroo Island, Australia's third largest island and about 120 km south west of the city of Adelaide in South Australia. Though relatively close to a major city, Kangaroo Island is a fairly remote place, with unpolluted air and some of darkest skies in the world. It is also close to the stormy latitudes of the Roaring Forties, so it has a wide variety of turbulent weather. David grew up fascinated by the ever-changing appearance of the sky, especially the spectacular parade of colours that herald the rising and setting of the sun. He later taught himself to capture the endless variety of the twilight on film, a preoccupation that is technically and artistically demanding. Living on a farm in this sparsely-inhabited island, David Miller was also always alert to the weather, so it is not surprising he joined the Australian Weather Bureaux as one of its field officers. He deliberately requested postings to some of the most remote locations in Australia so he could persue his passion for photography and study the wide variety of weather this huge continent offers. David Miller's images are all made in the camera, almost always on a single frame of film. many of them taken from extremely isolated locations only reachable on foot. Many pictures require weighty, long focus lenses and heavy gear to track the stars and stabilise the camera, so David's skills in orienteering (map and compass navigation) and distance running ensure he is both fit and knows where he is going, even in the dark. Many of his pictures, such as those of the Moon at perigee and apogee or those illustrating the stages of the sunset require enormous planning and good knowledge of practical asronomy. David Miller's images capture the unspoiled beauty of the natural world and atmospheric phenomena rarely seen from cites and suburbs. He has an artist's eye for a picture combined with the scientific knowledge and technical abilities necessary to capture it. Other are similarly gifted, but David Miller is blessed with endless patience and the essential stamina to find just the right spot in the Australian outback for that perfect, long-exposure picture. David Miller's photographs are managed by David Malin Images

David Malin (dfm@aao.gov.au)
16 January 2001