Sandy Miller
By
Geok Hwa Ventrice
The Camera Corner of the Cookeville Camera Club presents Sandy Miller, a senior board member, and the director of the Putnam County Fair Photography Contest.
Sandy began her photography journey by doing underwater photography through the Nikonos system while diving in international waters. Imprinted by the challenge of keeping a moving subject in focus, Sandy was propelled to procure a thorough understanding of all the controls of her camera. With a hand-me-down camera from her spouse, with the perk of free coaching, and a weeklong course from the Cathy Church in Grand Cayman, her only formal training in photography, Sandy began photographing a variety of subject matters. From wildlife to people, landscapes to close-ups, and local events to foreign trips, Sandy drew on her background as an artist and photographed with a keen sense of composition.
Sandy and Bill moved to Cookeville fifteen years ago and learned about the camera club through guest lectures advertised on the Herald Citizen. Sandy has been a board member a number of times. While she was coordinating the annual photography exhibition at the Cookeville Art Studio and Gallery, Sandy assembled the exhibition poster and adjusted the beam angle to ensure that the photos on display were adequately illuminated. Over the last four years, she has presided over the much-loved photography contest of the Putnam County Fair. With hundreds of entries to log, post and remove, Sandy planned the contest ahead of time and guided the volunteers step by step. As the amateur and professional contests were carried out seamlessly side by side, Sandy found time to photograph the fair, e.g. equestrian shows, fair child, carnival rides, etc. and won a number of awards for her fair collages. Through a collage making workshop, she shared with members her insights in making a compelling fair collage.
Although she is thrilled to be recognized for her images, Sandy is motivated by capturing emotions through candid shots. In spite of her busy schedule, creating art works through different media as an artist, Sandy documents social events and shares her life through digital camera or iPhone. While iPhone has enabled her to upload images straight away, DSLR has given her digital information for print purpose.
I preferred capturing people when they are unaware their picture is being taken to get more personal expressions. This typically requires a lot of patience and frequently throwing away a lot of images where I didn’t get a satisfactory one. But I love these type of photos as I think it picks up on personalities more than a staged shot. Conversely, at gatherings, I also encourage people to get together in small groups and take pictures of them where they have good expressions.
Sandy makes the following recommendations to anyone who is interested in photography. First, learn your camera. Locate the different settings and learn to use them. Familiarize yourself with a couple of settings, master them and add more as you move forwards. Second, shoot under various lighting conditions and learn how the quality of light changes based on the time of the day. Early morning and late in the afternoon give you the best light. If there are clouds in the sky, wait for a cloud to pass over the sun to get more diffused lighting during midday. Don’t discount atmospheric conditions. While fog creates moods, rain gives you more intense colors. Shoot close-ups, avoid reflective surfaces and watch for bright things behind your subject. Last, embrace photographic imaging software, e.g. Lightroom, Photoshop, etc. as they have become a part of nearly every good photographer’s workflow, regardless your level of experience. Watch online video presentations by expert instructors whether they are free or paid. “No matter what level I watch, I always learn something from them” said Sandy.
Join us at our monthly meeting, second Monday of each month between 7:00 to 9:00pm, at the Cookeville Art Studio and Gallery. Enjoy a sense of camaraderie among like-minded people. Check out our schedule at https://www.cookevillecameraclub.com.