About Richard Miller

This is how you 'd normally find me when I'm shooting a sporting event: face pushed to the back of a camera, cargo pant pockets bulging with stuff for the shoot, and laden-down like a pack mule with extra gear and cameras.

I'm a professional photographer from Kill Devil Hills, a beautiful coastal town on the Outer Banks of North Carolina where I live with my wife JoAnn and best friend Buddy, a miniature Schnauzer.

While I've always been a photographer, my journey as a professional photographer began about 20 years ago. I first started out doing only part-time work because of my main profession as a research scientist. I transitioned full-time to doing photography in 2017.

Much of my previous professional life was spent as a scientist conducting Ocean research. I have four college degrees (Duke, LSU, NC State), including a Ph.D. So yes, I spent a long time in college. I worked for NASA for 21 years and I was a professor at East Carolina University for 10. I’ve traveled the world, seen some incredible places and events. Everywhere I went, I had a camera. I had to take pictures, it is part of my DNA. My research also involved light (studying Earth from Space or remote sensing). All my research and travels have helped me immeasurably with my photography. The word “photography” literally means “drawing with light”. The word is derived from the Greek words phōtós meaning “light”, and graphê meaning “drawing or writing”. And I am comfortable both with the technical and aesthetics of "capturing light."

My goal in taking photos is simple: to capture or freeze time. To capture a moment that will never happened again. What I've discovered is that a photo can often reveal details of a moment that are too intricate, or too complex for us to see when we observed the moment with our eyes. Photos can pass on knowledge of an event or of loved ones to future generations. Photos can trigger an image in our mind and bring back the taste, smells, and emotions of a time that we experienced long ago.

Photos capture our lives, who we once were, who we are now. Being a photographer is an awesome job and responsibility, one that I cherish.