FORUM CHAT
Amy Wilson interviews photographer Martina Milerova

Who or what influenced you to become a photographer?

My father was my greatest influence when it comes to photography. He was a photographer, an artist, a musician, and a true Renaissance man. We lived in a small apartment in Czechoslovakia, and he turned our bathroom into a darkroom. You can imagine how that sometimes went with a wife and a teenage daughter.

How do you choose the subjects for your photographs?

Being from Europe, there are subjects I find interesting here in Texas that a native Texan might consider ordinary. Of course, I think this is probably normal since something that may be an everyday sight for a person in his or her native surroundings may seem completely exotic for someone from another country. Sometimes I post pictures on social media that might seem normal for a Texas audience, like a prickly pear or a purple thistle in bloom, for example, but these little things are very interesting to my friends and family in Europe.

Could you describe how you take photographs?

I like to sit quietly and absorb the atmosphere of a place. Then, I take my camera and wait for the shot I want. At a concert, when people are crowding to the front taking pictures when the band starts playing, I wait around until most people have taken their pictures and left, which often allows me to get pictures from angles I might not have otherwise gotten had I not waited until later in the show. It also helps me better capture the atmosphere I am looking for or helps me recognize a detail I might have missed had I not sat and observed my surroundings for a while before raising my camera.

How do your European roots impact your perspective on Texas culture?

I come from the area around Czech-Saxon Switzerland, a border area where Czech, German, and Polish cultures and languages mix. Culturally, it is a very similar dynamic to what is seen in Central Texas. Also, there is a language in my home region called Lusatian Serb, and the people are trying to preserve this language much like people in Central Texas are trying to preserve Texas-German and Texas-Czech.

About the author: Martina Milerova is a Czech photographer based in Texas. Her work has appeared on the cover of Waylon County: Texas Stories by Heath Dollar as well as on the covers of literary journals. She will make kolaches if she is goaded enough and loves Willie Nelson. She lives in Fort Worth.