A few years ago I realized that making pretty pictures came very easily to me. What came hard were the “swimmers”. Those are the images that pull the soul inside the frame and take it for a passionate swan dive. They’re the response evokers, the story tellers, and become, at times, the wide open windows to a wry humor. Because they hold such a personal meaning for me, they’re an uncanny reflection of my personality. In the end, they convey my message and tell the tale to others.

“Nikon shooters-normally a flinty, hard-bitten, hard-boiled, no-nonsense lot..” -PHOTO TECHNIQUES Nov/Dec 1997

“Through Merrill’s myriad of experiences, photography has been a constant thread and her portfolio is the pudding proof. Her technique is based first and foremost, on her unique life view, and her witty camera lens has captured touching, hilarious and infamous moments which may otherwise have disappeared from memory.” -Cynthia Payne

My life has been filled with a constant passion for making photographs.

I am a native of Ortonville, a small town founded by Amos Orton on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan. The daughter of a professional artist and a mail order entrepreneur who once sold electronic mosquito repellers and wingless fruit flies, I began taking pictures as a child with a Kodak Instamatic.

In 1978, I moved to Seattle. I pierced my nose 20 years before it was cool and once saved a life on the Aurora Bridge by giving mouth to mouth resuscitation after witnessing an accident. One of my first excursions into the wilds of the North Cascade Mountains took me and my hiking companion face to face with a grizzly bear. My friend has since become schizophrenic, but I’m okay. I took my wedding vows at The Enchanted Chapel/Telephone Answering Service among red heart-shaped lights and Elvis songs.

After nearly 20 years of city life, I decided my friend Mildred was right when she said, “They don’t need no more skyscrapers. What they oughta do is build a bowling alley, give folks something to do in this town.” I moved to Tokeland, Washington. I have since become the Miss Grays Harbor Pageant’s official photographer (sanctioned by the Miss America Pageant…it’s not a beauty contest! It’s a scholarship program!).

I like to travel to different parts of the world and spend an occasional summer with my extended family on Cape Cod. I live with two cats named Lampo Ben and Cousin Pat, a dingo dog named Heidi Jane and a husband named Bob.

I work with a variety of photographic processes, sometimes shooting with

Junk Store Cameras, sometimes a Mamiya RB67, but, most likely, a Nikon. To view my works in progress click here.