LAKEWOOD TOWNSHIP — Elizabeth Miller says she first became interested in photography when her parents bought them an expensive Minolta camera as a teenager in the early 1970s.
“They couldn’t figure out how to use it, so I learned it for them. … And I loved it,” said Miller, whose friends call her Beth. “I was pretty good back then.”
But Miller said she put her creative self on hold when her father suffered a stroke and she became his primary caregiver.
“I stopped doing anything creative or artistic – photography, music, knitting – to just focus on my dad,” Miller said. “I quit everything. I finished it when I was 27.”
That was in 1987. Although her father Curtis Miller passed away, Beth Miller continued her 34-year career as a fourth-grade science teacher, 24 of which were spent at Lakewood Elementary School outside Duluth. Ta.
Flash forward to 2013, and Kim Bolf, a fellow teacher at the school, convinced Miller to pick up a camera again for the first time in 26 years. Now, Miller can’t stop it.
“The DNR (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) had a program where they provided us with cameras that students could use as part of outdoor classrooms and nature trails. I saw it,”’ Miller recalled. “She kept pleading with me to get back into photography, and eventually I did.”
Miller, now 64, has dove headfirst into nature and landscape photography over the past decade, especially since retiring from teaching in 2017. After she learned the rounds, she focused her brain behind the viewfinder again and it took some time to get used to digital photography. 1 film included. But she never stepped out.
Miller grew up in Duluth and graduated from Duluth East in 1977, earning a teaching degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth and a master’s degree from St. Scholastica.
The born and raised Northlander continues to be in awe of Lake Superior, the magnet that keeps her in place. She currently lives in Duluth Township, just off the North Shore.
Miller, who is recently divorced, says she has plenty of time to roam the backcountry and back roads of northeastern Minnesota, looking for special spots to take that special photo. However, her favorite places are often close to her home. Stony Her Point along Lake Superior, the Superior National Forest, and nature trails around the beaver pond at the school where she taught for many years.
“I took a lot of great pictures along this path,” Miller said as he walked along the boardwalk near the school. “A pair of gray herons are nesting here, and it was fun to observe and photograph them.”
Miller still does volunteer work (including teaching knitting classes) and serves as a substitute teacher. And her children still call her “Mr. Miller.” “They inspire me,” she said of her students.
Patience and attention to detail
Kim Bolf, her longtime friend and teaching partner, has a combination of intelligence, talent, and perseverance in this field that gives Miller something that others don’t see. He said he could see it.
“We were both looking at the same branch of the same tree and she saw a bird or owl perched on that branch and came back with a great picture. I didn’t even see him looking at it,” Volf said. She is a photographer and currently a retired teacher.
Bolf said he tried for years to get Miller back into photography, eventually convincing her to buy a friend’s used Nikon equipment at a bargain price.
“She always talked about it (photography) in a kind of sad way. But you could tell that she still had a passion for it,” said Borf. “She finally ran out of excuses for her. … And when she finally bought that camera, she just started laughing. And she still hasn’t stopped.”
Miller is a budding birdwatcher who captures stunning images of sandhill cranes, hummingbirds, and songbirds. She’s great at taking photos of wildflowers, but she’ll also quickly move from one screen to another to capture a fox kit at play or a pine marten in a tree. Also, she doesn’t stick to only taking nature photos outdoors, she also photographs surfers and boats on Lake Superior.
“There are certain things that keep your eyes glued to it,” Miller said, referring to one of her most striking photographs, a photo taken at dusk of a seemingly endless train track. (The photo was taken along the North Shore Highlands Railway near her home.)
big lake and night sky
Miller said Lake Superior’s ever-changing atmosphere is what makes the large lake one of her favorite photographic subjects.
“Lake Superior has been in my blood since I was a little girl. It’s deeply ingrained in my family,” Miller said. “You can usually find me at Stony Point when the big storms come and everyone heads to Tete Gauche to catch those dramatic waves.”
The waves are usually not as big there, and there isn’t as dramatic a collision between the waves and the land as seen through the lens. But Miller found the waves at Stony Point to be more beautiful than anywhere else.
“I love taking pictures of the waves passing by and the water spraying over them. I’m tired of those big storms,” she said. “I often take pictures of things that other people don’t notice, but to be honest, they don’t sell as well as the things that everyone recognizes.”
But these days, the northern lights have captured Miller’s attention. She keeps an eye on websites and Facebook pages that predict when solar eruptions will bring aurora borealis to the Hokuriku region, and she recommends traveling closer to home or if a truly special aurora is predicted to appear. Drive to Superior. If you go to a national forest, you’ll see more darkness and great views.
“People think I’m crazy for driving alone on back roads at night in the middle of nowhere,” Miller said. “But I’ve never felt in danger when I’m out in the woods like that. Wolves aren’t going to bother me.”
Miller says he’s lucky to be able to see the aurora borealis from his driveway to decide whether a long night outdoors is worth it.
“I know a place along the coast near my house that actually has true northerly winds. I won’t tell you where, but it’s a great place to photograph the Northern Lights,” she says. I did.
Although she says there’s still a lot to learn about night sky photography, Miller offers some tips for beginners. Go to a dark place and of course always use a tripod (I also use a remote shutter button if available). One is for her phone’s camera), and the photo is more overexposed than I expected.
“Adjusting exposure in post-production is easier than trying to add something you don’t have,” she said.
Miller calls his second career business “Spruce Court Photography,” after the road near his home.
“I don’t really go out and take pictures to sell to people. To be honest, I just take pictures that I like,” Miller said. “I don’t think of this as a business, and I’m not very good at the business part.”
Miller says outdoor photography “keeps me sane,” and uses her photos to convey what she believes and sees as true in the world, such as the value of nature and unspoiled places. He added that it is a method. She said, “I try to use my photography as a way to educate people.”
“It’s my passion. I don’t need to make money from it,” Miller added. “But if other people are enjoying what I’ve shot, then that’s fine, right?”
Elizabeth Miller runs Spruce Court Photography. Her images can be found and purchased below.
sprucecourt.myportfolio.com and facebook.com/sprucecourtphotography.