Missy Prince's Midwest Views
Sometimes quiet pictures speak volumes
I want to spend more time showing photography in the newsletter and less time battling algorithms on Instagram, so I’m launching a new feature dedicated to showing portfolios and driving attention to artist websites. I know that’s old-fashioned, but I think it sounds fun. As always, this is an experiment, and I hope you like it. Please email me if you’d like to show something here. Thanks for looking!
There’s something about quiet pictures that moves me.
It’s hard to explain, but mundane images put me into a reflective state of mind. I have long been a landscape guy, and I have admired Missy Prince’s photography for years. I follow her on Instagram and, though we’ve never met in person, I feel she must be a kindred spirit, because she’s forever pointing her camera at the kinds of quotidian things that catch my eye when I’m out on my walks and looking at the world.
When I saw her mention a print sale she was running to raise money to “support [her] film habit,” I thought it was a good time to dig a little deeper. The question I find myself asking most photographers when their work comes across my desk is, “Can you tell me more about these pictures?” I asked a similar question of Missy, and she essentially refused to answer. She writes:
The most I can say is they are from the Midwest. I only recently moved to Ohio and am just poking around. Looking. Honestly, poking around is what I do. I don’t like to editorialize or couch my work in the language of artist statements unless I absolutely have to. Yes, I’m one of those people. I like a little mystery.
I can dig that. Artspeak can kill the vibe, and the world could probably use a little more mystery, so I took Missy’s feedback to heart and decided to let these pictures mean whatever they mean to me. That’s one of my favorite things about photography: quiet pictures can speak volumes, and each of us can fill in the blanks with our own narrative threads. Slow looking pays dividends, right?
Below are a few of my favorites. I hope you like them.
About the photographer
Missy Prince is a self-taught photographer who has lived and worked in the American West and the Deep South. She currently lives in Northeast Ohio.
One more thing…
Missy is selling prints for a limited time. If you like what you see, please consider supporting her work. Her print sale closes on December 12, 2025. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing. I've been following Missy's beautiful work since circa 2009 Flickr. It's always inspiring to see an artist making work for all the right reasons. Cheers!
A beautiful attention to details, focus and soft atmosphere that move the heart. I love her work.