Interview with featured photographer Daniel Mirer

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Interview with featured photographer Daniel Mirer

February 1st, 2025 by Cary Benbow

Pony Express Trail © Daniel Mirer

F-Stop Magazine’s Landscape issue this month includes a wide range of work from photographers around the world. When editing the exhibition for this issue, we felt it was especially important to include work which plays with the idea or concept of what a landscape is, or is not, and hopefully reveal something about what the genre of landscape photography as a whole looks like at this moment in time. Issue 129’s featured work of Daniel Mirer, and his project Indifferent West in particular, explores aspects of humans and nature in the formal, objective manner of many New Topographics photographers, while also recognizing the importance and beauty of the land itself.

Cary Benbow (CB): What inspires your art? What kind of stories do you wish to tell?

Daniel Mirer (DM): The American desert landscape is a realm of extremes—harsh yet delicate, desolate yet teeming with hidden life. What inspires me most in my photography is its raw, untamed beauty and the way light transforms its vast, sculpted terrain. The interplay of shadow and sun, the endless horizons, and the silent solitude create a stage where time itself seems to slow. The feeling of being dwarfed and insignificance helps inspire my imagery.

I wish to allude to some form of narrative in my images of the desert. All my images tell the stories of resilience, isolation, and mystery. Perhaps I wish to capture the stark contrast between life and barrenness—Within a few of my images, for example, the lone cactus standing defiant in the open space of sand and stone or the cracked earth whispering tales of a time when water-shaped its form. In some form or another, the images portray the vastness of these spaces, where the sky stretches infinitely, and the land humbles all who enter.

I also believe my images explore the human interaction with this landscape, either from a time past or within the present—the remnants of lost human presences, abandoned or derelict structures, or the travelers who find themselves in its expanse. I wish to highlight the quiet, meditative stillness of the desert, which are the things that draw me to these desert locations to be witness to the fleeting desert menagerie.

Green Desert Pond © Daniel Mirer

CB: There are elements of nature, wildlife, landscape, man’s inclusion/interaction with nature in your work – can you comment on why you choose to depict these elements in the way you do?

DM: The way I depict elements of nature, wildlife or the lifelessness within the landscape, or the human interaction in my photography is deeply intentional—each choice reflects a desire to explore the delicate balance between presence and absence, resilience and fragility, vastness, and intimacy. Nature and the landscape form the foundation of my vision. The American desert, with its stark yet intricate terrain, is where time feels simultaneously suspended, lost, forgotten and untamed. I aim to capture its raw beauty, not just as a backdrop but as a living presence.

Human presence—through abandoned structures, weathered roads, or fleeting human past existence—is not always central but is significant. I often depict it as minor compared to the land, emphasizing nature’s dominance and human impermanence. Ultimately, I choose to depict these elements in a way that evokes emotion and invites contemplation. I want the viewer to feel the weight of the silence, the expanse of the desert space, and the contrast between what is fleeting and what endures. Whether the story is one of harmony or intrusion, survival or solitude, the desert always remains the true protagonist in my photographs.

CB: How does your work featured in this issue relate to your other projects, or how similar or significantly different is it?

DM: The photographic artwork I submitted, Indifferent West, reflects my ongoing fascination with the relationship between vast landscapes and the natural and human forces that shape them. This series explores the American Southwest desert not only as a physical space but as part of a broader research theme, examining how landscapes exist within photographic imagery as both tangible environments and emotional experiences.

In another project, Thingstätten in Deutschland, I investigate architectural theater spaces with political significance, now standing lost within the landscape. These images serve as testimonials to how we perceive and interact with the natural world—whether as wanderers, settlers, or passive observers. While Thingstätten in Deutschland focuses on the remnants of a temporal architectural theater spaces representing political ideology embedded in nature, Indifferent West shifts toward minimalism and isolation, emphasizing the desert’s vast, unyielding emptiness and allowing the land itself to dominate the frame.

At their core, my overall conceptual intent with all my projects work, the photographs invite contemplation. They ask the viewer to consider their relationship with space and time, to feel the silence, and to recognize the desert as an ever-changing presence—alive in its flux yet seemingly indifferent to human existence.

Desert Salt Flats © Daniel Mirer

CB: Who or what can you point to as main inspirations for your photography?

DM: My photography inspirations come from a diverse group of artists who each capture landscape, time, and human presence in compelling and thought-provoking ways.

CB: If these photographers have qualities that you admire or desire — how does this inform your own creative process?

DM: Some of the photographers who have significantly influenced my work include:

Richard Misrach – His Desert Cantos series profoundly shaped my understanding of how the American West can be both beautiful and unsettling. Misrach’s ability to blend environmental commentary with deliberate compositions inspires me to think critically about landscape photography—not just as aesthetic documentation but as a means of storytelling and questioning.
Robert Adams – His work in The New West presents a quiet yet powerful exploration of humanity’s imprint on the landscape. Adams’ restrained, almost meditative approach to framing suburban expansion within nature’s grandeur influences my desire to explore the tension between permanence and impermanence.
Edward Weston—During the WPA project years, Weston’s abstractions from the natural world fascinated me. Weston’s attention to form, texture, and light encourages me to see beyond representation and embrace minimalism and composition as tools for deeper engagement with my subjects.
Bernd and Hilla Becher – While their typological studies of industrial structures differ from mine, their disciplined, systematic approach to documenting human-made environments has shaped my thinking about research-based photography. For example, images such as “Water Tower” or “Gas Tanks” seem to stand as sentinel monuments showing leading lines of order and layering shapes to move the eye from one end of the image to the other. Their influence is mainly present in my Thingstätten in Deutschland series, where repetition and historical inquiry play a role.
Stephen Shore – His color work, particularly in Uncommon Places, reminds me of the power of the every day and how subtle, quiet moments can hold immense weight. Shore’s approach influences my attention to atmospheric elements—how light shifts across a scene, how emptiness can carry emotion, and how a seemingly ordinary landscape can tell a larger story.

Each of these photographers has qualities that I deeply admire, and they inform my own creative process in different ways:

A conceptual approach to landscape – Like Misrach and Adams, I seek to go beyond mere documentation, using my images to raise questions about space, history, and perception.

Minimalism and formal composition – Weston’s attention to form and texture and the Bechers’ disciplined framing influence my pursuit of simplicity and structure in vast, open landscapes. The relationship between human presence and the environment – Shore and Adams remind me that even the slightest traces of human interaction with nature—be it an abandoned structure, a road, or a forgotten space—can speak volumes about culture and time.

Across all my work, I aim to capture landscapes in flux, whether through shifting light, erosion, or the remnants of history left behind. In essence, these photographers help shape my vision, pushing me not just to see the landscape but to read it—to find meaning in emptiness, depth in stillness, and complexity in its simplicity.

CB: What do you feel are the obligations of photographers making landscape images? Or what obligation do you have to the locations in your photos?

DM: The “obligations” of photographers making landscape images, particularly in places as historically, ecologically, and culturally significant as the American Southwest, go beyond simply capturing beauty. As a photographer, I feel a profound responsibility to approach these landscapes with respect, awareness, and intentionality. Landscape photography has long been associated with romanticized, picturesque portrayals of the natural world. However, A photograph is never entirely truthful or neutral—it is shaped by the photographer’s perspective, choices, and omissions. I believe a photographer is obligated to acknowledge the complexities of landscape spaces and to problematize the image as coming untrue or of any authority from the producer, simultaneously acknowledging the histories, ecological fragility, and the ways in which they are changing. Rather than creating images that merely celebrate aesthetic grandeur, I strive to depict landscapes as dynamic, evolving spaces—places imbued with meaning, tension, and creative narrative. By doing so, my work encourages viewers to question their own perceptions of the land and consider its deeper, often unseen realities.

CB: What advice would you give to someone who wants to take on projects like yours? If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self at the start of your career, what would it be?

DM: One of the best pieces of advice I received as a student was to always have my camera with me. It doesn’t matter if you use it; what matters is knowing that your creative tool is there, ready. Be free to photograph anything and everything. The editing will come later—view your images, reflect on them, and consider your conceptual intent after the fact. Explore your freedom, explore your creativity.

It’s easy to get lost in the weeds by focusing too much on output—getting the “right” shot, building a body of work, and chasing recognition. But real depth in photography comes from patience, from allowing yourself to evolve alongside your interests. Not every trip needs to result in a perfect image. Not every photograph needs to be immediately understood. The most meaningful work happens when you take the time to listen, observe, and let the landscape speak—then press the shutter.

Shortly after graduating from Pratt Institute, I realized I needed more of a conceptual understanding of photography. With deliberate intention, I decided on my career; I was fortunate to attend a graduate photography program at the California Institute of the Arts. Early on, I knew my photography was about more than just the photographic object—I felt a deep need to connect my work conceptually, ensuring it functioned as a fluid, creative process with real thought and meaning. My purpose was to study specifically with Richard Misrach, Allan Sekula, Jo Ann Callis, and Michael Asher, whose work deeply informed their teaching pedagogy, emphasizing the intersection of concept, form, and critical engagement in photography.

Richard Misrach’s exploration of the American landscape and environmental issues shaped my understanding of how place and politics intertwine. Allan Sekula’s documentary approach and critique of economic and social structures, particularly in his body of work “Fish Stories,” influenced my thinking about photography as a tool for storytelling and activism. Jo Ann Callis’ innovative use of staged photography and color expanded my approach to composition and narrative. At the same time, Michael Asher’s conceptual rigor and focus on site-specific work challenged me to think critically about the role of context in artistic practice.

Their teachings shaped my artistic approach and instilled in me a deeper awareness of how photography functions as both a visual and intellectual practice, which continues to this day.

Daniel Mirer is a California-based photographer whose work is included in numerous museum and institution collections. He has presented at conferences such as the Northeast Regional Conference, The Society for Photographic Education, Ubiquity vs. the Sublime works from Thingstätten in Deutschland Photography Installation Presentation. Mirer is a recipient of the New York State Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for photography and the Dana Artist Fellowship for continuing education. To see more of Daniel mirer’s work, please visit his websites: www.danielmirer.com – www.danielmirerphotographer.info

About Cary Benbow

Photographer, Writer, Publisher of Wobneb Magazine

View all posts by Cary Benbow →

Location: Online Type: Featured Photographer, Interview

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