Charles Millen – Photographer
I work in the realm of landscape & nature photography, my process is introspective & guided by an interest in wild, untouched places…
I am a based in Tasmania, Australia.
About
My interest in photography didn’t emerge until after I left University and decided to head to Western Australia. I purchased a point and shoot in the beginning and then graduated to a crop sensor DSLR. Opportunistic, directionless shooting would be the best way to describe my photography, never really considering pushing it in a more serious direction. Over time though, my interest grew, and I always graavitated towards images that captured wilderness or nature in some form.
Some of my earliest images that I think were at a level above (just) amateurish visual ramblings, were captured in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. A captivating place of ancient geological origin, brutally hot and extraordinarily beautiful in its harshness and wildness. The image below ‘Sunrises Over Deposit F’ was a particulary beautiful sweeping valley that was penciled for open cut mining works in the coming years. To me the images represents a shift in photographic perspective for me, it was an ability to channel a part of myself visually that I hadn’t experienced before. Even when I was at art school I never really found a medium that resonated with me, the camera changed that. This image I still look at with a mixture of emotions, I was able to enjoy that place for a time. I left that site prior to commencement of mining operations in that valley, I am glad I did as it is now hole in the ground.
The Pilbara provided many opportunities to shoot for me, really allowing me to get a grasp the technical side of photography whilst growing visually. A selection of some of my favourite images from that time are below…
From there it was journey of visual exploration and a recommendation from a friend and photographer that I should investigate large format photography. Large format changed my visual style as well as approach significantly. It allowed me to mature visually and really pay attention to what it was I was photographing and why. Introspection became key to my work and in some ways I went full circle, back to the root of what was driving my creativity…