Rye photographer Nathan ‘Natti’ Miller is wholly focused on human connection. He’s interested in visually telling the stories of people and the worlds they inhabit, internally and externally. Natti has travelled the globe as a respectful observer. He asks permission to engage with strangers and most are happy to oblige.
As a photographic artist, his mission it to build respectful relationships with his subjects. It shines through his photographs like sunlight. Natti is particularly drawn to places with vivid cultural identities that provide inspiration and an interesting backdrop for his photography.
By catching simple moments in time in places with complex histories, he puts the viewer squarely into the frame. He’s captured the cultural complexities of Havana, Cuba, the Mississippi Delta in the US, India, Haiti, Paris, France, Georgia, Japan, Vietnam, Morocco and Andalucía in Spain.
Natti was born and raised in vibrant Tel Aviv. It was a fascinating start to life but, after his mandatory military service, he wanted to go overseas to see what the wider world had to offer. All he knew was that he wanted to live in an English-speaking country. Because his father was South African, he followed his family ties to Africa.
Having worked in farming on a kibbutz in Israel, Natti brought his experience and knowledge of farming technology to black African farmers. His knowhow with farming irrigation systems was an invaluable asset to the communities he worked in. Natti and his wife, Lindsay, left Africa after four years because it was becoming too dangerous to stay.
The couple then moved to Australia. The climate was favourable for working in agriculture and Lindsay’s brother was here which provided an edge in the points-based immigration system. It also helped that Lindsay had a university degree and was a teacher – a highly valued profession. They chose South Australia where Natti worked in agricultural irrigation.
Regardless of geography, Natti has always had an interest in art and photography. He began taking pictures at 15 when his mother gifted him a camera. He liked to go down to the local stream to take photos. His mother was a painter and she used his photos as a basis for her paintings. Natti taught himself photography.
He most admires the work of Hungarian-American war photographer, Robert Capa, Iranian photojournalist, Abass Attar, German-Australian, Helmut Newton, as well as the work of Americans: Man Ray, Lee Miller, Walker Evans and Robert Frank. “Their photographs interest me and give me ideas about how to look at things,” he says.
For his 50th birthday, Natti travelled to Havana, Cuba. The images he took there formed his first photographic exhibition. “In Cuba, everything is a photo,” he says. He was introduced to Cuban photographer, Alberto Korda, famous for his iconic photo of Marxist revolutionary, Che Guevara. This meeting left an indelible impression and the trip inspired Natti to focus on photography.
From there he worked on several overseas projects. His passion for the blues brought him to the Mississippi Delta. He visited for three weeks every year for six years forming relationships with some fascinating characters whose portraits make up his first photography book, Notes from the Mississippi Delta. They were also exhibited at Monash Gallery of Art.
You get a different vibe from film. It can be more attractive
While he shoots both black and white and colour, digital and analogue, his choice depends on the mood of the shoot. “You get a different vibe from film. It can be more attractive. I see things in black and white. Colour can distract from other details. I like monochrome, but sometimes the subject requires colour like my photos in Georgia,” he says.
Natti went to Paris for a workshop with Magnum Photos. He created a body of work focused on District 18, but he was particularly thrilled to capture portraits of his notoriously camera-shy photography idol, Abassa while he was there.
Natti has produced three photography books, Somewhere in Jaffa, Notes from the Mississippi Delta and Without Apology. All feature black and white images. The first two books are an intimate reflection of people and places they inhabit. The third book is a joyful collection of nude portraits in which the trust and easy relationship between the photographer and model is evident. Many of the models also collaborated creatively on the shoots.
Natti has had fifteen solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Sydney, Paris and Clarksdale, Mississippi. His photographs are held in public and private collections in Australia and the United States. His work is also in the Monash University Museum of Art collection in Caulfield.
Without Apology sums up Natti’s approach to portraiture. He has no need to apologise. He doesn’t secretly steal images of people in passing. He collaborates. Whether it’s a chain gang in Mississippi or stockmen in Outback Australia, Natti fosters respectful relationships that create insightful, emotive work.
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