Miranda Remington

I have never met Miranda in person but have corresponded with her via Facebook messenger and one phone call. I am drawn to her work, and like most new photographers I encounter, stumble across them or find them based on a friend’s recommendation.

Mark messaged me one day and said check out Miranda’s work. “We have been chatting online and I feel I know her through her work. You would like it.” As I trust Mark I took his word and was indeed impressed. I, in turn, ended up corresponding as well with her which eventually led to me asking her to do this questionnaire. She is also a blogger that I can identify with.

So the question is why did I ask her to answer and why do I follow her? First, her photos are mostly monochrome which I adore. Next, she has a similar style of shooting to what I do. She travels and sees the country. Finally, for me, she posts about almost every picture. The why what, where and how she decided upon the particular shot.

I am planning a trip in early November and if things work out she may ride over to meet me and my wife. She is an hour away in Illinois. I hope we can make that work. We are also trying to plan a visit for her here to meet Mark and maybe go on a photo walk together.

Being me I had to ask if she was a Bears fan and she responded: “I don’t like football.” Which is a pass because that is better than following the Bears. She is also a Sony shooter that you will see below, and as a Fuji shooter we are supposed to be enemies, but the artistic vision and person behind the camera is what I look at, not the gear they use.

Website: https://mirandaremington.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirandajremington/

Facebook Profile – Miranda Remington: https://www.facebook.com/miranda.remington.33

Facebook Page – Intuitive Traveler: https://www.facebook.com/missremington/?eid=ARAksuFurplpzIa9-jHlRbxM-fFjbXwBJmFL_bybRqxSjn5VOZhdWCkqmSvMHgD1NM9mIXhn-1out9vD&fref=tag

Twitter: https://twitter.com/missremington

YouTube: Miranda Remington https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-h0wdZmmMFM6R3nX_2JPkw?view_as=subscriber

 

Which is your favorite lens? Why?

I’m the last person to ask this. Honestly? The ones in my head. I’m not trying to be a smart ass. But I’m always moving. My style of shooting doesn’t allow me the luxury of switching lenses out at a moment’s notice. Whatever is in my hand at the moment, I push to its limits. If it gets me where I want to go, I’m happy. I like the challenge of that. I’ve taken photos on a fixed body Nikon Coolpix B500, which has a built-in zoom, and been as happy with the output, if not more so, than the Sony E-mount 28-70mm zoom that’s currently on my Sony Alpha A7R III. I’ve taken shots with my iPhone XR and nearly cried knowing how much I spent on my Sony kit! Are they all going to produce gallery level output? No. But my end game is largely social media. Maybe one day that will change. Truth is, with technology evolving so fast, I’ve not been in a hurry to invest in multiple lenses. Plus, I’m super frugal. If I bought a $1K lens and never used it I’d never forgive myself. I hate waste. Film photographer frugality still squats deep in my marrow. I’ve been debating getting a wide-angle or a 70-200mm zoom for months. I know I’d LOVE it, but what holds me back is the reality that I’m still 98% handheld.

I stuck with my Nikon Coolpix three years longer than I probably should have because I wanted to prove a point—that the best lenses are the ones you peer out of. If you don’t have a vision, it doesn’t matter what’s on the camera. Understand composition, frame, balance, and STORY before you get too wrapped up in gear. Pick a lens and shoot the hell out of it. Push it to its limits. Enjoy stepping outside the box of expectations and predictable results. Enjoy being under duress. It stretches your imagination. You’ll surprise yourself with getting a unique shot you’d never have considered if you had the “right lens” in the camera.

What is your favorite style of shooting? That’s tough. Because I’m in a place where my style is in a growth spurt if you will. My background is journalism/advertising, so a kinetic atmosphere appeals to me. I’m not sure it’s a style but I love “guerrilla photography”—handheld and with as little time to overthink it as possible. Time is the currency I don’t like to waste. If given too much time planning I’ll eff it up. I think it’s natural with people who love the drama of trying to capture lightning in a bottle. That’s my Holy Grail I’m always after. I spend SO much time driving around in my jeep cross country, I’m constantly combing the landscape for a shot or something to investigate further. I shoot from the cab of the jeep, the hip, stop on a dime and chase. My tripod is quite a sad lonely figure. And the pace pushes you creatively, keeps on your toes.

As a writer, I’m looking for a story wherever I can find it—something that can provoke an emotional response, inspire…anything that captures the imagination. I like finding beauty in junk, chaos, and anything people typically walk past. There’s magic in anything if you look at it long enough. I like noticing things. Digging beneath the surface.

In the end, I’m just navel-gazing with my camera. It’s not particularly thinly veiled. Nor do I need it to be. Which is why I’m enjoying candid portraits more and more. Catching people unguarded, vulnerable and pure. That’s intoxicating for me. And I’ve been doing more and more of that lately. The important thing about photographing people is to not be afraid of intimacy… The ability to fall in love with everyone you photograph, for a few minutes, is a muscle that we flex at the moment. I fall in love with everyone I photograph for a minute, an hour, a day and sometimes years. It just depends. Some etch deep because there’s a mirror effect happening. Those are rewarding and can haunt you. But I don’t mind being haunted.

Among the gadgets that you own, is there something that you wish you hadn’t bought? No. I’ve learned from everything I’ve bought, which isn’t a lot. If I had to do it all over again, I MIGHT have bought a Canon 5DSR for the extra megapixel capacity. But my Alpha makes me pretty happy. I debated getting mirrorless for two years. Still, I miss using my Nikon Coolpix from time to time because it’s like a favorite ratty doll.

How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?

I’m super curious… A natural-born interrogator! I pick the brains of people who have something in their wheelhouse I admire and want to know. I invite photographers to go shoot with me whenever I can. It’s why I’ve made a point to meet so many of my Instagram followers in the last year. I prefer being shown and to be able to ask questions as they pop into my head. My time makes it a struggle to commit to a class because I’m traveling so much and I am so bad at sitting still through hours of YouTube videos to get to the morsel of education I’m seeking. I like interactive learning. So… If I ask you to go shooting with me, full disclosure… I have an agenda. Ha! Ha!

Whose work has influenced you most? Tony Duran. Without a doubt. I have a camera in my hand today, the level of passion and confidence that I do today, because of him. He doesn’t even know it, but he has INSPIRED me for decades.

He’s a high fashion/erotic/celebrity photographer based in LA and New York. He’s J-Lo’s bestie. She was one of his first subjects when she had not yet left “the block.” I went to college with him at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. We were both Journalism majors, so we were in a few classes together over the years. He was also an art minor. All he ever took was Intro to Photography 101 in his junior year. For his final project, he did a photo essay entitled, “Not All Girls from Wisconsin Are Fat and Ugly” or something super insulting but tongue-in-cheek like that… He used a bunch of sorority gal pals, styled their clothes, did their makeup and shot them like supermodels. He was a NATURAL. They all looked gorgeous like they stepped off the page of a Calvin Klein ad circa 1988. One of the girls took her shots to a modeling agency in Chicago and it ended up getting TONY noticed. He started doing test model shots, basically had a career, before he even graduated. In the fall of 1988, he set up a desk in the student union with his portfolio of model shots and offered to do high-styled portraits for $80! I signed up IMMEDIATELY. He didn’t like the results of the first shoot, so we tried again the next day. We used a one-hour photo developer and when the pictures came back we were both thrilled. I never felt more beautiful in my life. And the truth is he captured me during the worst time of my life. That was the gift I’ve always admired in him. I remember going out that night and celebrating with him, still sporting the sleek look he fashioned on me.

But while I sat in his basement room, watching him apply my makeup, picked out my clothes, I studied him like a hawk. I changed dong my makeup because of him! He was a genius at 21 and I knew it. I thought, “I want to do this. I can do this!” I immediately grabbed my best friend Mary Race-Gooderham and had her model for me just days later. I did her hair and makeup and shot her with a crappy camera. Not even a 35mm. And I managed to take some really cute shots of her that she has to THIS DAY. I recently reconnected with her and re-edited them for her.

But those two afternoons with Tony… That’s when I knew the power of photography was about VISION first… Not equipment. That comes next.

My life took many turns and I was never able to pursue photography until a couple of years ago, but the whole time, Tony and his raw talent, which he parlayed into being one of the most noted celebrity photographers in the industry. I hope I meet up with him again one day. I’ve tried reaching out, but it’s not worked. But I own my confidence to approach my photography as an artist, not as a technician, to him. ENTIRELY.

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos? I wish I wasn’t self-taught. I wish I had the opportunity to tackle a real semester of intensive photography when I was younger and in college. But the bug for photography literally came to me too late—seven months from graduating college. When Tony Duran shot my portraits, it was just poor timing, but that’s when it all clicked for me. I was on a trajectory I couldn’t halt at the time. So here I am in my 50’s doing what I dreamed of in my 20’s—and writing, which I didn’t realize I wanted to do until much later either. But I like where I’m at now. I like the fact that my life experience bleeds into my work. Others may not see it, but I do.

If you like my work, some of hers are similar and some are different, but she has the eye and spirit of a great photographer. You can see her passion for her work as well as the way she answered these questions.

Until next time,

Tim