Professional Photography

My maternal great-grandfather stands outside his studio in Paris, Texas in 1909. George Hagey Pratt started shooting portraits in Waxahachie, Texas around 1890. He moved his family and business to Paris in 1908 and retired from the business in 1936. Many of his portraits of pioneer Paris families survive. Note the skylight at the far end of the building used to illuminate the portrait studio.

My father, J. Howard Miller, started his photography career in high school in Clovis, New Mexico in 1936. He worked his way through college shooting pictures and wound up as an advertising photograher in Amarillo, Texas. He soon became the first staff photographer of the Amarillo Globe.After a stint in the Army Air Corps as a photographer, he returned to Amarillo where he and Woodfin Camp united to become the photography "staff" for the newly merged Amarillo Daily News and Globe-Times.He left the newspaper business in 1953 to start his own commercial studio. In 1963 he sold the studio and became photography manager for Atomic Energy Commission's Pantex Plant. He moved to Houston in 1972 to become photography supervisor for the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where he worked until his retirement in 1983. Dad passed away on November 10, 2005 just six weeks shy of his 87th birthday. He still kept the Speed Graphic in working condition-- complete with a box of flashbulbs and loaded film holders!

I think I was probably born in a hypo tray. By 1957 I had my first camera and by the time I was in junior high, I was shooting pictures for school newspapers and yearbooks. Freelance work for the Amarillo newspapers and television stations brought in spending money while I was in high school. In 1972 I became a staff photographer for the Daily Texanat the University of Texas at Austin and in 1974 was named Texanphoto editor. I also started "stringing" for the Associated Press; in the photo above I've drawn a bead on Watergate Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski. After graduation I shot for the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and continued my wire service work and freelance jobs. In 1978 I moved to Dallas and crossed-over to the business side of photography as marketing manager for Meisel Photochrome Corporation, the nation's leading professional photofinishing lab. Since starting my own graphic design company in 1984, I have managed to keep my hand in the "hypo tray" for nearly 40 years now.
The majority of my work is with large multi-family real estate companies. We photograph over 50 apartment communities annually for owners, third-party managers and brokers.
In July 2003, we converted completely to digital imaging thereby ending over 100 years of film and chemistry.

To view my current portfolio of creative (as opposed to "work") photography, please click below:

To view my current portfolio of commercial photography, please click below:

Created: October 1, 2000
Updated: November 16, 2005

Since October 1, 2000


My maternal great-grandfather stands outside his studio in Paris, Texas in 1909. George Hagey Pratt started shooting portraits in Waxahachie, Texas around 1890. He moved his family and business to Paris in 1908 and retired from the business in 1936. Many of his portraits of pioneer Paris families survive. Note the skylight at the far end of the building used to illuminate the portrait studio.

My father, J. Howard Miller, started his photography career in high school in Clovis, New Mexico in 1936. He worked his way through college shooting pictures and wound up as an advertising photograher in Amarillo, Texas. He soon became the first staff photographer of the Amarillo Globe.After a stint in the Army Air Corps as a photographer, he returned to Amarillo where he and Woodfin Camp united to become the photography "staff" for the newly merged Amarillo Daily News and Globe-Times.He left the newspaper business in 1953 to start his own commercial studio. In 1963 he sold the studio and became photography manager for Atomic Energy Commission's Pantex Plant. He moved to Houston in 1972 to become photography supervisor for the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where he worked until his retirement in 1983. Dad passed away on November 10, 2005 just six weeks shy of his 87th birthday. He still kept the Speed Graphic in working condition-- complete with a box of flashbulbs and loaded film holders!

I think I was probably born in a hypo tray. By 1957 I had my first camera and by the time I was in junior high, I was shooting pictures for school newspapers and yearbooks. Freelance work for the Amarillo newspapers and television stations brought in spending money while I was in high school. In 1972 I became a staff photographer for the Daily Texanat the University of Texas at Austin and in 1974 was named Texanphoto editor. I also started "stringing" for the Associated Press; in the photo above I've drawn a bead on Watergate Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski. After graduation I shot for the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and continued my wire service work and freelance jobs. In 1978 I moved to Dallas and crossed-over to the business side of photography as marketing manager for Meisel Photochrome Corporation, the nation's leading professional photofinishing lab. Since starting my own graphic design company in 1984, I have managed to keep my hand in the "hypo tray" for nearly 40 years now. The majority of my work is with large multi-family real estate companies. We photograph over 50 apartment communities annually for owners, third-party managers and brokers. In July 2003, we converted completely to digital imaging thereby ending over 100 years of film and chemistry.