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an interview with chris milliman
where did it all start? are you a trained photographer (whatever that means) or self-taught?
I was working as an editor at a magazine, they needed some photos taken. It spiraled out of control from there. I've never taken photo classes, but I leaned on photographers I knew and respected when I was learning. So it was training in an informal, in-the-field sort of way.
do the images come naturally, or is there a thin line between success and failure?
It really depends. Sometimes it comes more naturally than others, there are so many factors at play. I can usually tell when it's going to be good and when the images will be pleasing, but even then I've been hugely wrong. Mostly in a good way, where I look at a shoot afterwards and find a lot of good shots I wasn't expecting. It's rare that I think I've killed it only to find the images disappointing. It happens, just not that much. If my images suck I pretty much know it as I'm taking them.
naivety lets the viewer believe that the displayed image has been easily won, but on average, how many hit the cutting room floor for each tagged with five stars?
I had a shoot in Belgium last year where I shot a single roll of black-and-white 120 film, 10 shots in total, and I was really excited with eight of the images. But that's the exception rather than the rule for sure. There's no stable ratio of good shots to throwaways. If you're in a good place and the shots are coming together well, keep shooting and the ratio will always be favorable. But then again, it you have a big lot of really good shots then you start looking for the exceptional one, so you still end up with just a few anyway.
Not every scenario is the same so expecting the same results from every shoot can be pretty frustrating. There are some situations where taking a good photo can be almost impossible. If that's the case I usually tell myself I'll be happy with a single good shot. It usually works out okay.
any preference; film or digital, and why?
I really love shooting medium format film. Love it. That said, I shoot digital probably 90% of the time, it's what most clients are looking for. But the pace and experience of shooting film remains much more pleasing for me. I've sold all my 35mm film SLRs because the images I was getting from them weren't so different from what I was getting from digi files. But medium format has a feel, for lack of a better word, and it's actually pretty easy to see, that I really covet. Waiting for the film to be developed can be frustrating, but it's worth it.
is the difference between a monochrome image and colour at the behest of the image or the photographer?
Well, with film you obviously have to make the decision ahead of time. As for digital, depends on light, subject, mood, all that stuff.
you're predominantly known as a portrayer of cycling in its various forms. is that where you want to be at, or is there a grander scheme at play?
Ha. That's a good question. Cycling is where I started and it's where most of my business remains. But I've made a concerted effort this year to branch out. I have interests aside from cycling and I want to pursue creating images around those interests. There's a danger that people will label you as 'that cycling photographer' rather than that photographer who shoots cycling. I imagine I'll always shoot cycling in some form or another, there are a lot of great people in the sport, but it will definitely evolve.
cycling seems to be particularly well provided for in the creative photographic department compared to other sports. why do you think that is?
It's such a 3D sport. Think about where races are held, where people train, where they ride their bikes for fun. Everywhere. There's no stadium to confine the athletes - hills, valleys, flatlands, woods - you get a bit of everything. Then you factor in the weather, the accessibility, the wide variety of participants, and how much fun you can have while riding a bike. I'm hard pressed to think of another sport with as dynamic a range of variables for photography, and that definitely attracts people with cameras.
having asked ben ingham for tips on how to improve my own photography (such as it is), he told me to follow the light, and the subject would take care of itself. what would chris milliman advise, assuming one phrase is enough?
Think ahead, be ready. If you're caught off-guard you might get lucky with a shot here or there, but, for me, I'd rather not rely on luck.
do you have a mantra by which you abide when following your own path, one that might explain the chris milliman vision?
Maybe not a mantra, but I try to stay focused on what I'm doing in the moment. It's easy to get distracted when you're out shooting and then you get home and look at the shots and you're like, "What the hell happened? These pictures are not what I was looking for at all." That may be one of my biggest weaknesses sometimes as well, I get so focused on one idea or theme or moment that I miss others that pop up around me. But I'm willing to live with that as long as I feel like I'm getting what I came for in the first place.
having recently watched a short documentary about camille mcmillan, he spent much of his time 'shooting from the hip' as he described it. do you find it necessary to frame an image in the viewfinder before shutter time, or are you just as comfortable clicking freely?
Depends how the image is going to be used. If I'm shooting for a company I listen to what they want and then go from there. Because I'm most often working with or for somebody it's super important that I know what they want out of me, what they need at the end of the day. If I just went out and shot however I wanted, without any regard for their needs, I think I'd have a pretty short client list. I really enjoy working with creative people, it's my favorite part of what I do, so the more I can collaborate the better things turn out. So, yeah, I frame it up and shoot.
I don't know about literally shooting from the hip, not looking through the viewfinder. That may work for some people, but it's not my thing at all. I need to see what I'm shooting through the isolation of the viewfinder, that goes back to the focus thing. I do like to go out and shoot loose, but I reserve that for personal projects. And those are really important to me and my work, but they're rarely cycling related.
is photoshop your friend or your foe?
Companion, I don't know about friend.
it seems a photographers' requirement to 'get it right in the camera' a sentiment with which i totally concur, despite photoshop being a large part of my working life. do you spend much time in post production?
Yeah, some. It's part of the digital workflow, anyone shooting digitally does some post work. You have to. But doing post work isn't going to make a crappy photo good. I try to keep the touch light, you can get lost in Photoshop pretty easily and waste tons of time and make your photo look stupid.
I think because I do shoot film I'm more sensitive to the perils of too much post work and the fads that migrate through post work. I have a filter app on my Photoshop that I use for making black-and-white conversions, and I look at the huge amount of filters included in the app and wonder what the hell people do with all of them. Do they really use them on their images?
do you vary choice of camera to fit the subject or mood?
Definitely. But I try to keep the choices pretty simple. Digital 35mm format or my Pentax 67 film cameras. Again, it depends on what exactly the client wants and which medium I think will fit the bill better.
from the narrow point of view of thewashingmachinepost, rapha seem to have been singlehandedly responsible for the current genre of cycling photography in all its forms. as a part of the genre (as i see it), is this the way you see it?
Well, Rapha's look has certainly been very, very influential on a segment of current cycling photography. No doubt about that. But I'd turn it around and offer that maybe cycling photography from the '70s and '80s has been pretty influential on Rapha's look as well, which I love. In the era before Photoshop, fill flash, telephoto lenses and 10 frames-per-second you really had to shoot differently. And the Rapha "look" - for lack of a better word - reflects that, I think.
I've had several marketing directors tell me straight-up they want me to create images for them that have that 'Rapha look'. But it's not just a look, I don't think, it is truly a projection of how the company thinks about its marketing. I know this sounds like straight Rapha party line, but it's true. You cannot fake what they do. I see some photographers try to make their shots look Rapha-esque by manipulating them in post production, but something about it rings hollow to me.
The other piece, and I think this often gets overlooked, is that Rapha tends to use photographers who bring an original viewpoint with them and are just really good photographers. Speaking of the guys I know, (Brian) Vernor, (Dan) Sharp, and (Daniel) Wakefield-Pasley are very different from each other, but they all take great "in the moment" photos. Of course, I've been lucky enough to work with Rapha for the past couple years, so my opinion is far from unbiased.
your creativity currently on show is most impressive. where do you see it going from here? is there a chris milliman master plan?
My wife just asked me the same thing. Honestly, the master plan is to keep working hard at making good pictures and seek out creative outlets for my work. It sounds pretty simple, but that's it. Find and create opportunities to work with other creative people and keep pushing forward. If, in five years, I'm taking the same photos I'm taking now I'll be disappointed.
you've just returned, post volcanic cloud, from the european classics. was this a commissioned trip, or do you make these trips entirely in the hope that you'll be able to sell the results?
No, the trip was part of a contract for a couple clients. I don't shoot on spec, it's just too expensive and risky. Traveling in Europe is not cheap and if you don't have things lined up ahead of time you're playing a risky game. As well, if you want access to certain situations and people you need the connections with clients in order to make it happen. I did a cool shoot with Fabian Cancellara the week between Flanders and Roubaix, without a contract that would have been impossible.
how easy/difficult is it to survive as a freelance photographer?
You have to treat it like any other business and to the extent that a small business has its ebbs and flows so does photography. I won't say it's been easy, but it's never felt like a slog either, mostly because the business has continued to evolve for me. The subjective nature of the business can be pretty frustrating and I don't think I've ever sat back with a contented sigh and said, "I've got this all figured out."
is there any sort of work that you would be loathe to undertake?
Senior high school portraits. Never, ever, ever. That's the top of the list. The event thing too, just couldn't do it. If it came to that I'd do something else other than photography.
with the advent of apple's ipad, and the mode shift being prophesied for online media, the question was asked as to whether we'd rather settle for a photo of the super bowl's winning touchdown or a short video of the same. do you feel any pressure to move into the world of moving pictures via such as the canon 7d and hi-definition video?
No, I don't. I can see that the new video capabilities are super cool - my two new digi bodies are both 1080p capable - but still and video are so different, for me anyway. If you're asking, do I think video is going to replace still photography? I don't. There's crossover for sure, and you're seeing video in new places, but I'm not too surprised or upset about that.
I'm not really interested in shooting my own video stuff, but someday it might be fun to do some directing and producing. Shooting stills requires you to be your own director, so that aspect interests me but I'll leave the technical aspects to the video guys. I have had some clients ask me about video this year, and that's a first, but I usually refer them to those I know who do it well.
is it a necessary part of your existence that you keep yourself informed of developments in the camera industry?
Yeah, it is. But you can get swamped by it if you're not careful. It's good to know what's going on, but it's far from the most important thing in the job.
since much of your work involves bicycles and cyclists, are you an enthusiastic cyclist yourself?
Definitely. I started racing in the summers in college to stay in shape for rowing, which was my collegiate sport. And once I stopped rowing I was all about racing, road first and then mountain bike. And then got into cyclocross, which I've raced pretty much non-stop since '99. I worked in a shop when I was in graduate school and even worked as a messenger in Seattle right out of college. So I've kind of been around the sport in one way or another for quite awhile.
any history of competitive effort on two wheels?
Plenty of effort, I don't know how competitive I've been recently. But I still have so much fun racing, even though my life - family and work - keep me from training how I know I need to. There's something about getting out of your comfort zone that keeps racing fun, even when it isn't. I try to race 10-12 times year, between mountain biking and 'cross.
what is on the horizon for chris milliman as we get nearer the second decade of the century?
This last year I feel like I've done some of the best and most interesting work I've ever done. I had collaborations that opened creative networks I think will take me and my work to new places. I want to refine what I do and get better at it. You'll see more different work from me this year popping up in some surprising places, for sure.
a quick flick through a milliman project carried out for freeman transport.
all photos copyright chris milliman. used with permission.
posted sunday 2 may 2010
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