Christopher Mills

Christopher Mills was born in Walsall, England in 1974 and spent most of his life in Stoke on Trent, except for a spell in Derby during his University days. He moved to Durham in July 2010.

Chris says, “I stumbled on photography as a module at Art College. Art study helped me to cope with anxiety and teenage depression and photography became my favourite form of escapism.  I later achieved a BA (Hons) in Photography from the University of Derby”.

Chris has had a varied work history from classic car restoration at Don Law Jaguar racing, a Transport Administrator for Great Bear Distribution, and jewellery operative at Compton and Woodhouse. He currently works for Jacques Vert.     

MY PHOTOGRAPHY

I just react to the light really; I always take a camera everywhere I go and wherever I am try to capture a moment if the light is interesting.  However I am becoming interested in still life so that is a new direction for me where I can take time to construct a picture more.

THE  BIGGEST INFLUENCE

John Blakemore: His craft and intelligence; he was an influential tutor at University.

MY FIRST CAMERA

Petri 35mm SLR

MY FAVOURITE CURRENT KIT

Pentax K20 Digital SLR and a small 35mm Minox

FAVOURITE PHOTOGRAPHERS

Joel Meyerowitz, Ernst Haas:  For their mastery of colour and moment.

ME AND THE DPS

I joined at the end of 2010 so this is my first year submitting work for competitions, exhibitions and portfolios.

THE 3 THINGS I ENJOY MOST BEING A MEMBER OF THE DPS

The friendliness and diverse interests of all the members - The packed programme and choice of categories to enter -  After class pub for beer and chat.

AN AMBITION                                  

I’m certain that through the spirit of friendly competition, constructive feedback and diverse interests that I believe the DPS stands for, my photography will benefit a great deal and I will gain the confidence to show my pictures to a wider audience. I would love that.

THE PEARL (Advice to budding photographers)

My first photography tutor at college said, "Experiment, experiment, experiment!" In this digital age it is more practical than ever.