Intimations: Intuitions beyond Subject

As another reviewer stated: "This book is a real treasure."Martin Miller's photographs capture the beauty and complexity of nature in a way that is both awe inspiring and thought provoking. Rather than simply showcasing the beauty of the natural world, he uses his photographs to encourage the viewer to consider their own relationship with nature. Each image is accompanied by a brief, poetic caption that invites the reader to reflect on the deeper meaning behind the photograph.Overall, Intimations: Intuitions Beyond Subject, is an outstanding photography book that is sure to delight and inspire anyone with an appreciation of the natural world. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves nature, photography or both.AD Puckett (posted on behalf by a family member)

Though I was intrigued by the description and sample images, I didn’t quite know what to expect from this book. Normally, I view pictures rather literally, but with the author’s exhortation to look beyond subject for meaning, I just let the images wash over me and tried to suppress the normal associations of the thing depicted. Every turn of the page was a new adventure. Some of the images are quite abstract and therefore easier to view in this way. By entering a state of free association, I found that the forms, textures, and shades of gray provided an experience that truly was beyond the realm of words. I fancied that I could “feel” the visual experience. I don’t know if that is what Miller is trying to get at, but it proved to be an interesting experience for me. At first, this was more true for the portfolio called “Resonances” but, with practice, also true for most of the images. The short description preceding the last portfolio, “Contending Realities” was actually pretty profound and the images a little creepy. All in all, the book proved to be a challenging and rewarding experience and one I will want to reengage with.

My own field of portraiture would seen to have little in common with these landscape abstractions, yet I found myself moved by these images in a way I didn't expect and cannot really articulate. They persisted in my mind even after closing the book, and it was through this river of mental afterimages that the disparate subject matter of the various portfolios merged into a consistent artistic vision surprisingly not so very different from my own. The book is a treasure.

Dr. Miller's work in science was marked by uncommon creativity, technical skill, and meticulous attention to detail. And so it is with his photography.Beyond his photographs, Martin's essays on his creative process are, like all his work in art and in science, illuminating. His essays are meditations on intuition informing art - the wellspring of the creative process. His writing style is disarmingly straightforward and frank - like his photographs, it seeks to inform.These photographs range from natural materials to complex biological systems to weapons of war and the factories that produced the Bomb. I first saw his work on the armor of war more than a decade ago and was staggered by their brutality and power. This work is truly unique.Our minds are good at capturing patterns and, I suspect, part of Dr. Miller's intuitive skill comes from his remarkable ability to perceive pattern. We see that in this splendid book.R W Shaw, US Army Research Office (ret'd)

This is another in Mr. Miller’s series of excellent photographic studies of important subjects. As always, the photography displays skill that should speak to any purist. Perhaps even more important is the commentaryThat calls the observer to examine the feelings that are evoked beyond the picture itself- hence the name “Intimations”.Let me take the opportunity to recommend Mr. Miller's photography essay on war machines to any who love military history as do I.Bunky BlalockMarietta, Georgia