Meet Miranda Remington | Photographer & Observational Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Miranda Remington and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Miranda, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Being willing to explore without any input, without a project or a client. If you aren’t creating for your own satisfaction, you lose sight of your potential. You become hamstrung by expectations of others. I was lucky. I spent years creating without even establishing myself as a business. I had no clients. So I had no one dictating my creative process. Being a “late bloomer” in my field, I was also in a position where I didn’t need to be a “gun for hire.” I had the means to go out on the road with my camera and explore North America and beyond. Whatever inspired me, I stopped to captured it and started making some stories for my social media. People came for the photography and stayed for the stories because they came from an earnest place because no one was telling me what to do. I could explore, play and make mistakes with no consequences. I have a confidence I’d never have if all my creative pursuits were predicated on a client’s whim or needs. Creative people need to allow themselves time for exploration. It’s as necessary as oxygen. Otherwise, you will burn out, stagnate and never reach your potential.

Also, I started later in life, after raising my autistic son as a single parent. Time and opportunity were drastically unavailable in those years. When he was grown, and I had more time to pursue my art, they became highly valued factors I never took for granted. Sensing my mortality had a way of fast-tracking me into becoming the artist and writer I am today. At 50, when I started to seriously shoot and write, I knew who I was as a person, knew what mattered to me. It came at a time in my life I no longer needed to impress other people. I craved and allowed myself a true, unadulterated journey of self expression. No pretense, no client expectations. It was pure. Now, as I’m about to turn 55, I have my first solo art exhibition at the Borrego Art Institute and I’m starting to market my work. My approach is counter intuitive to what a young hungry person might do. There’s a strength in knowing what I want. I’m not swayed by the dollar insofar as I don’t create to sell. I create. If the work is honest, it will find its way to the right buyer. I believe that. But it has been and continues to be an investment in myself first.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think what sets me apart is I didn’t get to truly become an artist until I was in my 50’s. I’m a late bloomer, but not for lack of trying. I encountered life altering roadblocks. I knew I wanted to be an artist since I was a little girl growing up in rural Wisconsin. But I had “practical” dad who never got to go to college like me. He wouldn’t let me pursue art in college. Back then you did what your parents said, believed them. It didn’t occur to me it was an act of tyranny against who I really was, what I was capable of. I made due and compromises by going into advertising, even when I had a latent epiphany that what I really had always wanted to do is be a photographer and write.

Starting out in advertising, I had seven jobs in seven years out of college before I realized I was never going to succeed as an employee. I needed autonomy. I think most artists do. I started a graphic design/advertising company when I was in my late 20’s. I loved it with all my heart and was creatively fulfilled having my hands in many different aspects of the job.

I was married and creatively on a roll when I got pregnant. Just a few weeks after giving birth to my son, my husband dropped a bomb on me. He blindsided my desire to return to my career by refusing to contribute to child care. I worked from home, but needed a nanny to help out. His salary was far higher than my income still. I couldn’t work 40 hours and turn all that money over to a sitter. I was trapped. It forced me to give it all up. I was devastated.

I buried my rage for years, thinking, “OK… I’ll just wait until my son is in preschool and work my way back into it.” But that didn’t happen. At age three, he was diagnosed with autism. My fate was sealed for an unknown duration and I was at a point I loathed the freedom my husband had and the prison home life had become. I had no creative outlets to speak of and I had lost all my power in the marriage. I divorced him and set to raising our son largely on my own.

Over the years, I dabbled with a camera, but nothing serious. I devoted my time to raising my son not knowing if he would ever be able to live on his own. Eventually, as he matured, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Opportunities to explore photography started to emerge. By the time he graduated high school, I was ready to take back my life.

In 2017, I turned 50 and bought a Jeep. I started exploring America and never looked back. By the end of 2018, I had a dream of going to Paris to write my memoir. All I had to do was sell my house now. In the spring of 2020 it sold. And then the world changed. The Covid lockdown thwarted my plan. Here I was without a home, all my life in storage and no way out. After three months of living with a friend, I broke out and went out on the road. I’ve been there ever since.

I started shooting with abandon, pouring all frustrations, angst, disappointment and rage into my work and it was revelatory. I had been chronicling my life through stories on Instagram and developed a loyal following as a result–my audience becoming as invested in my fulfilling my dream of writing in Paris as much as I was.

But by the end of 2021, I still hadn’t gone and my personal life, upon reflection, started to feel very empty. I had failed at career, marriage, motherhood (or so I had felt), and nothing felt worth anything anymore.

On January 2, 2022, I was invited to have a solo exhibition of my photography and it changed my life. I was at my absolute lowest and finally felt like I had a promising future again at age 54. I took all of my photos and assembled an allegory of my life that has been described as “evocative, moving and deeply emotional.” There is something in the exhibition for everyone. It touches on many themes people struggle with… Trauma, neglect, divorce, abuse, religion, abortion, marriage, motherhood, raising a special needs child, losing yourself, finding yourself, martyring yourself to something that you were programmed to do, purging old wounds and finding a new path for yourself. My photos tell deeply personal stories. They tell the truth, cut to the marrow of life, yet offer hope, against all odds, that eventually you may find yourself… And, hopefully, love your path and who you’ve become.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
With my exhibition going on at the Borrego Art Institute, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to host friends and family who have come in from around the state and the Midwest to see the show. And while they’re here, I’m taking them to some of my favorite places between Borrego Springs and the SoCal coast. I love Carlsbad. The Wednesday farmers market is delightful! I often grab a smoothie at Choice Superfood Bar & Juicery. But if I’m there later in the day, dinner at Vigilucci’s Seafood & Steakhouse across from Tamarack Beach is an exceptional treat at sunset. The staff there are so amazing. Even the valet guys are incredibly hospitable.

I can’t resist a drive down the 101 to Encinitas where I love to visit the Self Realization Fellowship Meditation Gardens. I’ve been going there since the early 90’s. Sitting up on a cliff, you’ll be peacefully surrounded by exquisite flora and koi ponds as you meditate. And once you’re done, watching the surfers below on Swami Beach becomes a rare experience. You feel like you have the entire coast to yourself! Afterwards, a short walk down the hill to their gift shop always results in my purchasing a scarf or some other artful treasure from India. It’s a lovely spiritual break most never expect when I bring them there.

Further afield, as we make our way towards Borrego Springs, I like to take the route that takes me through Ramona, Santa Ysabel and Julian. Just past Ramona on Hwy. 78 is Trumper’s Honey & Fruit Shack. I’ve been buying my honey from there for years. Their Raw Orange Blossom is simply the best. But they have MANY flavors to choose from. I’m on the road all the time and I always have bottles of it on hand!

In Santa Ysabel, I have to stop at Dudley’s Bakery, They have remodeled and revamped their offerings in the past couple of years and it’s better than ever. A proper bakery with French inspired pastries, it also offers delicious sandwiches on the most exquisite breads. Wheat, rye, sourdough and so on… All fresh each day. Within walking distance is the famous Julian Pie Company. I love their Mountain Berry Pie but their chocolate covered peanut butter bars are INSANE! Up the hill in Wynola is a great vintage and repurpose store called The Barn. It’s an antique lovers paradise, but it’s SO artful. And… Housed on the premises are two EMU’s that you can get up close to! For lunch or dinner, I always visit my friend Chef Jeremy at his restaurant Jeremy’s on the Hill. He always puts so much love into his Cordon Blue-inspired creations. Not only is his food clever and outstanding, he’s wonderful at making dietary accommodations with his farm to table offerings. His outdoor dining area is as charm-filled as it is relaxing.

Once you make your way into Borrego Springs, I highly recommend visiting the Borrego Art Institute. It’s a “small town with big art” and I’m proud to be exhibiting my photography there until October 2, 2022. They have a wonderful array of artists-painting, sculpture, jewelry, mix media, water color and textiles. Next door is Kesling’s Kitchen which is great for lunch. But across the street you can get a juicy burger at Carlee’s. For dinner, I love The Red Ocotillo!

The Anza Borrego desert is something to behold. It has a healing vibe that transcends its vast badlands. I can never get enough of. If you have 4 wheel drive, you must take it off road to Fonts Point for one of the most extraordinary sunsets you’ll ever experience in your life. It’s 4 miles off road down a wash, so take plenty of water, mind the elements and you’ll be rewarded with a desert sky like none you’ve ever seen… Who can say “no” to seeing the Milky Way with the naked eye?

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I owe a great deal of gratitude to Celebrity/High Art/Erotic photographer Tony Duran. He doesn’t know it–probably wouldn’t even remember me–but he inspired me to pursue photography when we were still fellow journalism students at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Nine months before graduation, he set up a table in the student union offering portraits for $80. Up until then I hadn’t even spoken with him despite having several classes together. As I poured over his portfolio, I saw it was inspired by fashion world of the late 80’s. I don’t enjoy having my photo taken, but I was at an extremely low point in my life. I signed up for a sitting. The images he captured of me literally saved my life. I felt beautiful for one moment in my life. It was clear he was a gifted artist as I watched him work, style my wardrobe, apply makeup and work with light so effortlessly. In that moment, I realized photography was something that was always inside of me. I just didn’t know how to access it. I avoided it for fear of the technical end of it. But that day was a jolt to my system. That afternoon, sitting for him, in October 1988 planted a seed for a dream. And while it took over 35 years for me to have the opportunity to finally pursue it I never forgot that day. I hung onto it all these years for inspiration. Now in my 50’s, it’s like I’m a freshman in college all over again, with my life ahead of me. A second chance, my second chapter and a new lease on life.

Website: www.mirandaremington.com

Instagram: @mirandajremington

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirandaremington/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miranda.remington.33/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-h0wdZmmMFM6R3nX_2JPkw

Other: https://linktr.ee/mirandaremington