We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Janet Milhomme. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Janet below.

Janet, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In my previous career as a journalist and photojournalist I had many significant and interesting projects. At heart, I most enjoyed the ones that brought me in contact with people from other cultures. Through my work I not only learned about others, but much—and sometimes more—about myself. Fast-forward to the present, however, as I am now working solely in the visual arts. Nevertheless my work is still heavily influenced by my passion for storytelling. My most meaningful recent project was my work on a series titled “Vanishing Oasis,” which documents the environmental catastrophe unfolding at the Salton Sea and explores its effects on nature and people. It was quite challenging to shoot and video there in the searing sun, plagued by flies and enduring the stench of rot. At first sight, one sees scores of migrating birds seeking refuge and blue herons perched majestically upon this enormous and striking oasis in the desert. But along those shores glimmer the corpses of dead fish and small vertebrates, a result of shrinking, over-salinized waters and heavy pollution. In seashore communities, homes overlook docks stranded forlornly above retreating canals, while side streets give way to houses that have long since been deserted, left to be reclaimed by the wind and fetid blowing dust. As a once-vibrant community dies along with the sea, we are presented with a surreal tableau juxtaposing opportunity and loss, hope and despair, beauty and decay.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a fine art photographer, videographer and mixed-media artist. In my earlier work as a journalist, I found it necessary to learn photography so I wouldn’t have to be dependent on someone else to illustrate my articles. I’m self-taught, except for a few workshops along the way. It was a learn-on-the-job kind of thing for me and I discovered that I really loved it. Photography not only served a practical purpose but became a link to my earlier passion for art. In the past I offered my photography services to companies and organizations but now I’m strictly making artistic work and exhibiting in galleries and museums. While I have several distinct portfolios—spanning portraiture, pop, documentary and conceptual images—my common focus is on thematic expression. Many of the works are composites created through the layering of several images. Some works are painted over or even physically constructed. My work is available through the galleries where it is shown, my website, on Artsy and through my representative Dabster Arts Inc.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I want my work to tell a story and to speak to the viewer. I also want it to be beautiful and poetic. I have a newfound passion for environmental art. Art and the natural world are uniquely suited to one another, and nature has been depicted in art since ancient times. Traditionally, artists using nature as a theme have inspired joy and awe. In more recent times, however, our much-abused planet has aroused new feelings and approaches to environmental art. Though the beauty of nature might still be depicted, it is often with the intention of inspiring us to protect it. More often, the wanton destruction of our environment is the subject, and the purpose is to raise awareness of the harm humankind is causing and to encourage us to action. My most recent series “Closer to the Sun” presents a series of conceptual images that shed light on the dangers of our warming planet and the complex environmental challenges we confront today. It’s a natural progression from my previous work at the Salton Sea. But I want this series to be more than a statement of activism. I want the works to be visually stunning and to serve as beautiful and inspirational metaphors.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

We are a very long way from the days in which workers received gold watches for 40 years on the job. In today’s world, with its rapid development of new technology and changing economic models, there are few people who don’t have to make changes, even when they maintain the same career. In my own life, I have had a great number of twists and turns and various career paths along the way so it’s difficult to think of just one instance. One that stands out, however, is the switch from film to digital and the sudden explosion of photographers and general access of photography to just about everyone on the planet. I’m old enough to have worked in a time when being hired to photograph an event, a person or a place of business meant making a living. Having stock photography could also be lucrative. But the rapidity with which all that disappeared was head-spinning. It meant the loss of an income stream for me and for many photographers, just as technology has always done—and just as people fear AI will soon do. Like the dinosaurs, you adapt or die. So that’s when I turned to fine art photography and took on a new persona.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://janetmilhommephoto.com
• Instagram: @jmilhommephoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janetmilhomme
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-milhomme
• Other: https://www.artsy.net/artist/janet-milhomme/works

Image Credits
Janet Milhomme