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Within the realm of all that is photography, there is a wide range of styles, subjects, and concepts. My main goal, as an artist, is to maintain a fresh approach to visual problem solving. I achieve this through studied ventures into a variety of photographic techniques and processes, combining conceptual methods, and finally, relying on the basics of visual literacy. The results may be dramatic or quite subtle.

In homogenizing techniques, aesthetics, emotions, and concepts into a cohesive work, I hope to reach the viewer on a number of levels. I believe that it is important to balance aesthetic prowess with technical competence, as long as the technique does not eclipse the focus of the work. It is important to attain technical competence in order to gain control of the media, but not to meet some false expectation of craft. On the other hand, a wonderful concept, poorly executed, fails to be wonderful. One of my goals is to find an appropriate equilibrium.

My work covers a wide variety of photographic modes. I have worked extensively in color and black and white photography. Alternative processes I have worked with range from cyanotypes to carbon printing. I have been involved in digital imaging since 1989. Electronic still photographic technology is simply another tool for photographers. It is, however, a very different tool than most photographic processes. In my opinion, digital imaging has yet to reach its stride. Much as pictorial photographers in the 1800s and early 1900s strove to make their photos imitate other art media, so now are most digital imagers retracing techniques and visual styles of other media, including photography. The continuing goal of my own digital imagery is to transcend this "pixeltorialism".

I am intensely interested in industrial archeology and the visual exploration and examination of 20th century technology. My project Abandoned In Place is one example of this pursuit. The photographs in this body of work examine the abandoned and deactivated space launch and test facilities that were crucial to America's early manned space exploration efforts. A unique combination of documentary and abstract approaches to the subject allows the viewer to interpret Abandoned In Place from many standpoints. Light, color, and design are my main visual interests in this subject. Various references to major archeological sites are hard to miss. Text on signs and labels open another avenue for interpretation. The less abstract images lend a send of place to the project. It is my hope that the work avoids sentimental imagery and allows viewers to translate the photographs from their own perspectives.

Portraits of Stanley, Idaho is a portfolio of panoramic black and white portraits of the residents of a small Idaho town located on the edge of the largest wilderness in the contiguous 48 states. The panoramic format allows me to better show the individual's relationship to his or her environment, natural or manmade. My goal is to capture the subject's individual spirit and, at the same time, the strong sense of community in this rugged setting.

In the end, I hope that through my photography the viewer sees things not necessarily from my point of view, but from a new point of view.

-Roland Miller