resenting the Photography of
Connell r. Miller
(PORTFOLIO: 1939 - 1954)
We have some exciting news for you, so...
Please keep reading!
With his original Speed Graphic, he was Texas’ answer to Arthur “Wegee” Fellig, the king of New York City’s street photographers,
Connell Miller Jr.
one of the countries most distinguished publishing houses, the texas christian university press, will be publishing a photobook with over 200 of my father’s photographs taken between 1939 and 1954. The release date is set for June 28, 2024 and the book will be available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart.com and your favorite bookseller.
Over 200 of his razor-sharp, large format photographs are all together in one book. Most will have information about the photo along with the year it was taken. Stay tuned for details on when it will be available for purchase.
My father, Connell R. Miller Sr. (1918-1954), was a noted Dallas, Texas photographer whose camera captured everything from auto racing, future SMU Heisman winner Doak Walker, architecture and law enforcement to movie stars, an aftermath of a tornado, manufacturing and the zany antics of the Dallas Bonehead Club. His original large format negatives have been carefully scanned and the resulting photographs are featured in this book. Most of the images have captions with the “who/what/why/and when” adding interest and historic value to its pages.
Dad’s interest in and dedication to photography began shortly after he graduated from high school and travelled to Berlin for the 1936 Olympic Games. Bringing home a large number of unprocessed rolls of film, he set up a small darkroom where he soon became proficient in the developing and printing process.
He had adopted his trademark, large format Speed Graphic press-type camera by 1939, preferring the very sharp enlargements the 4x5 negatives would give him over those images taken on small 35mm film.
Dad was only 36 years old when he lost his life in a traffic accident on Thanksgiving Day 1954. I was with him on many, many photographic outings and worked with him often in our well-equipped and purpose-built home darkroom and I know this:He would have been successful solely shooting weddings, sports or even pets, but “street” photography was his passion and his domain was the world around him – the city and its people with their activities in a simpler, less hurried time. All caught with his innate artistic ability to frame a moment where his subjects were found without makeup or formal posing.
