Jody Miller's haunting horse portraits have been drawing a lot of attention since they went up on the walls of Prescott's Grayleaf Galleria in March. Grayleaf owner Katherine Koenig found in Miller's work a perfect complement to the gallery's southwestern aesthetic. "I chose to bring Jody’s work into our gallery because of her unique eye and soul-stirring Western photography," Koenig relates.
Like so many Arizona photographers, Miller came here to leave the rat race behind, to work with long views and the clear desert light. Alongside her day job, she set up herself up as a commercial portraitist and art photographer, doing business as MillersReflections. Miller has won awards from the Prescott Fine Arts Association and the Phippen Museum, where her work appeared in the Emerging Photographic Talent of the West exhibit. She supports the community with ongoing donations of services and artwork to Horses with Heart, the Soroptimists, Habitat for Humanity, and Future for KIDS.
Before becoming an Arizonan, Miller's love of horses led her to spend a number of years on a working horse ranch in the California desert. She says, "I have loved horses ever since I was a teenager. They are majestic, powerful, glorious animals that love to perform and show off their beauty. I enjoy the challenge of capturing that special connection people have with their animals."
So it was natural that as she took up photography, the horse would stand at the center of her focus. Miller designs her commercial portraits to show off the distinctive character of each animal and the flavor of the relationship between human and horse. Her Western art photography also centers around the horse and the humans who love and work with them. The images focus on details (spurs, chaps, hands on the reins, flying hooves churning dust) as well as featuring long shots of riders in open country, splashing through a stream, working stock or gathered around the chuck wagon.
Miller's greatest strength appears to lie in a strong command of the atmospheric possibilities of a scene, transmitting a sense of nature and mood. As Grayleaf Galleria owner Koenig puts it, "Jody Miller’s compelling images seem to capture an essence of something almost surreal for those who admire fine art photography. Her glorious images are inspiring, depicting the extraordinary in Western photography. Art patrons continually ask, 'How did she get that shot?'"
Jody Miller's work can be seen on her website, www.millersreflections.com, and at Grayleaf Galleria, 124 South Granite Suite D, on the banks of Granite Creek in Prescott. Grayleaf Galleria will celebrate its Grand Opening on April 25, in conjunction with Prescott's 4th Friday Art Walk, from 5 to 8 pm.
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