I was just "featured" in the Suwannee Democrat. I've been unemployed 11 months now as of this month, so I'm really hoping this brings me some work. I'm really pleased with the layout design work of the hard copy piece! The text ran two pages so I'll just put it here for you to read:FEATURE: Through Jana's lens: Photographer finds inspiration in Branford
By Stephenie Livingston, Reporter - Published: October 06, 2009 02:36pm
On a random summer day, an offbeat brunette named Jana Miller armed with a worn camera aimed her lens at pieces of Branford history and transformed them into raw, intimate images.
Influenced by the music of David Bowie and similar rock artists, this self-taught photographer spends much of her time shooting live shows and bands. However, when she leaves the city and retreats to her home near Branford, she finds inspiration in nature, animals and small town life and history. Miller keeps this part her life as private and quite as possible. Her style is an amicable mix of loud-and-hip meets quiet-and-serene.
"This is my one true love that has never let me down," says Miller, whose favorite TV shows are The Muppets and Monty Python's Flying Circus. "It's my constant inspiration and passion. I got my first camera when I was 6 years old from my grandfather."
Miller says that forever changed her life and the way she perceives nature and people. "One of my all time favorite photos was taken on that old plastic camera," said Miller.
"My name is pronounced Jan-uh: NOT Jay-nuh. As much as I love the country twang to it," Miller says on her Facebook photography page. The Tampa native who prefers the quiet solitude of country living is not yet married and has no children. Miller's love affair has always been with art. Her companions when she's not working and enjoying her rich social life in Gainesville are two stray cats and a mix of other pets whom she calls her kids. She jokingly calls herself a cat and dog whisperer, a healer of broken wings and broken hearts.
Miller discovered Branford's Shrine Club in 2008 while working for the U.S. Geological Survey as a photographer and studying sturgeon in the Suwannee River. "I became inspired after hearing about the building's history and how it use to be a train depot," she said. "And then I noticed the old fire truck." Miller says she finds something new to photograph in Branford each time she visits, whether it be historical buildings, canoeists on the Suwannee or the tea-colored waters of the Suwannee itself.
Miller sees art in everything. She found inspiration in Branford that for most of us would have gone unnoticed, and captured it.
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Photos used in the article - Related photos can be seen in the below links:
Photos taken in Kanapaha Botanical Gardens:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=86331488%40N00&q=kanapaha&m=text
Converted Vintage Train Depot: Branford FL Shriner Club:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gato-ranch/sets/72157621802091092/
Abandoned Vintage Fire Truck - Branford, FL:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gato-ranch/sets/7215762 1691402941/Paddle Florida in Branford, Florida:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gato-ranch/sets/72157622367632671/
Text only online version:http://www.suwanneedemocrat.com/local/local_story_279143648.html ---