Modern pin-up photography is all about reinterpreting and re-imagining
the styles and images that came before. The question most current photographers
ask is how can they add something new and original to this classic genre.
Mike Millam, the creative force behind Nightmare Photography,
creates images that appear to come from some fevered dream filled with
exaggerations on standard themes. There is always something wonderfully
wicked and devilish simmering just below the surface.
Here now is an exclusive
interview with Mike Millam of Nightmare Photography.
* * * * *
Java's Bachelor Pad: Looking at your photos,
it's easy to tell you have a difference approach to pin-up photography
than other people we've featured. There is a lot of exaggeration in your
photos. You seem to take archetypal poses and set-ups and give them a twist.
Is this a fair assessment?
Mike Millam: Yes that would be
a fair assessment of my images. The exaggeration is from my urge to be
creative and too look at pin ups as more than just girly images but can
be more creative and artistic. Pin ups now have a need to be pushed and
redefined. That is what I am striving for and I keep trying to push myself
more and more in new directions because pin ups have been around for almost
80 years now so it would make no sense to just copy what has already been
done. I hope my images bring something new to the table of pin up photography.
JBP: How do you balance the classic pin-up
aesthetic with your post-modern sensibilities? (Man, I just used a lot
of big words there!)
MM: I don't really try to keep
any type of balance between the two. I photograph what comes to me and
use the classic pin ups as a starting off point to find inspiration. I
prefer to try and do my own style of work with out trying to keep some
sort of balance or rules as to how a pin up should look. Pin ups
have been around for a very long time and in order to keep them interesting
I like to add my own modern twist to them.
JBP: How did you get started with pin-up
photography? Who are your influences?
MM: I had been photographing for almost
4 years mostly in school and photographing for bands at their shows and
I had a need to do something new. I always loved pin ups especially the
WWII era ones. I came across Danielle Bedics
and Ocativio's images and thought it would
be a lot of fun to photograph in this style, so used my girlfriend as my
guinea pig in experimenting with these types of images. My influences would
be Danielle Bedics, Chad Michael Ward, Chas Ray
Krider and David Lachapelle to name a few
and of course my girlfriend Rebeca has been a great influence on me and
my work.
JBP: If you had a motto for your photography,
what would it be?
MM: "It's like a poke in the eye" I
don't make sense half of the time and neither should this.
JBP: You have used a lot of our Cheesecake
Gals in your photos...Dillon, Tara, Carol (our
first Cheesecake Queen!), Jeanette, and Anneliese just to name a few. Are
these gals as lovely in person as they appear in photos? Is there a certain
type of girl you look for?
MM: These girls are even lovelier in
person and are all of fun to work with. I don't really look for any specific
type of girl to shoot. I do look for girls who are interested in being
more creative with their images and can bring something extra to the shoot
besides just showing up and looking pretty. I love shooting all types
of women and for me keeps things more interesting.
JBP: What sort of projects are you working
on now? What sorts of things would you like to explore with your photos?
MM: I am currently working on a corset
series that is going to be pin up inspired but more on the fetish and macabre
side. I am moving to a darker style of shooting which is something I have
always wanted to do and started when I was first photographing but will
now bring in my influence of pin ups with them.
I have been interested
in using my images to explore the sexuality of women and their roles within
society. Today women are more and more invading a "mans" world, which is
awesome; however there still seems to be this urge to going back to being
treated like sex objects. Just look at a magazine stand, television and
movies. More and more women are told that they must strive to look like
the women on the covers of magazines and so forth. What I find odd is that
most photos in magazines have been severely photo shopped and there is
no way a woman can look that way. So I hope to see my images move
in the direction of exploring this.
