Ocean Beauty

Miriam Lorenzi, aka Miriphoto’s slogan is simply: “I take your picture” and she certainly does. She captures her subjects perfectly with portraits that communicate the core human essence of each. Already a fan of her work, I was pretty surprised and blown away by this interview, I must say.

This quote from her website sums it up:
“A bond must be made between us on the inside in order for a great image to be created, so it’s my task not just to get the lighting, focus and angel right, but to receive the person before me, wholly, or they just won’t give it [ the great shot ] up,” she says.

“At the end of the day, we’re all rock stars and celebrities, saints and sinners, and the sum of those parts add up to so much more. I love my job because it gives me the opportunity to know a person who I otherwise might never have met, and for that matter, may never have connected to on personal level.”

You can find more of her great work here:

http://www.myspace.com/mirimotophoto

http://www.miriphoto.com
Miriphoto on facebook.

How did you get into photography?
The short version: While on a road of tears and blood. In detail: I’d gotten permission to leave my full-time graphic design job for an extended period so that I could “soul quest.” There was a time when I was really into throwing clay and wanted to be a potter by profession. So I signed up for a Native American Pottery workshop in Penrose, Colorado to get a feel for a different aspect of the medium. Honestly, I went looking for Indians. What I found was red dust, lizards, scorching heat, dry eyes, nose bleeds, and a static and unrelenting loneliness. On instinct, I took photo after photo of everything I saw all the while distracting myself from the pain. When I returned to my regular life, I got unexpected reactions of praise from the people I shared the photos with. So it was then I decided that photography would save me from sitting on my ass in front of a computer all day every day for the rest of my life.

What’s your favorite aspect or type of photography?
What most seem to cringe or scoff at, portrait photography.

What inspires you?
The Uniqueness, asymmetry, and impermanence of our human features. We are so very beautiful in one way or another.

What was one of your favorite shoots?
Tough one! I’d say shooting Amy Tacner for my Ocean Beauty project.  Amy was a fill-in for another girl I really wanted to shoot and I was reluctant to go through with the project because I couldn’t get what I thought I wanted. But what I got was the best! Amy and I created some wonderful photos at Apollo Beach and I still love the hero shot to this day.

Most unusual gig?
Photographing crack-smoking, lesbian lover prostitutes in the hotel room they lived in off of OBT. They shared their stories of what it was like to work the streets – hustling to get by, getting beat up and raped, smoking all their earnings, and what it was like to make love to each other while on crack. About an hour and a half into the self-assigned gig I got paranoid that I would be affected by all the crack smoke in the room and I ran out in a panic. That was back in 2004, I believe, and definitely the hardest and most unusual gig to this day.

Prostitutes

'In Sunlight' - Art piece created for Surrounded 2, a group show of Orlando artists at Bold Hype Gallery, www.boldhype.net.

Portrait of Erin Nolan