CHAPTER 9
Millicent Harvey’s
Vision Quest
In the world of spirit, a vision quest is a journey inward. It
is a road taken in order to reach one’s core, one’s center. The
goal is to receive guidance, messages that will help one to
become more authentically who one is. The road is long with
many turns and the destination is not of importance. It is the
process, the work that itself becomes the answer.
For Boston-based photographer Millicent Harvey, the
phrase “vision quest” defines the process that she began over a
decade ago, one that has led her to develop a more personal
approach, more visual authenticity, and a new body of work that
represents how she sees the world.
A successful editorial photographer and teacher, Millicent
was busy in the late 1990s, shooting assignments for Inc.,
Boston Magazine, and other editorial publications. She created
environmental portraits that gave the viewer a glimpse into the
subject and were colorful and graphic. Clients loved her work.
She was happy to be shooting, as she explains:I loved the creative process. The control was impor-
tant, I would shoot a Polaroid in the beginning and
I kept shooting ’roids until the shoot was completed. I
was able to track lighting, gestures, and angles. Looking
at the first Polaroid and then the last, I could see in
front of me how I had created the entire shoot. I loved
that challenge of starting with nothing and producingChapter 09.qxd 6/25/07 7:17 AM Page 53