A year and a half after his election, Mr Olaf Solz is a mystery to many. Perhaps it is also due to the fact that almost all the coordinates of German politics have changed during this time. Miller just before they start asks for only one thing: absolute concentration from the chancellor and he obeys carefully. For the photographer this is very important and means for him that he is a person who focuses on the moment. Miller manages to capture the German chancellor in an unusually relaxed moment, which is probably because his neck is not constricted by a tie, as he wears a black sweater.

If you look closely, you will notice that the chancellor’s left eye is slightly smaller than his right, giving him a slightly ironic tone when he speaks, as if he has a raised eyebrow. However, his face during the photo shoot is calm, even if the chancellor’s political course is just not calm. The photo was taken at the chancellery last November. This particular portrait is the best answer so far to the question of who Olaf Solz really is.

The 83-year-old photographer has photographed every chancellor since Konrad Adenauer. His work is different from other portraits. His portraits are more intense and as if you can recognize the person behind them. Miller states that for many years he accompanied some chancellors and observed them in their very private moments when they did not know that he was present and that is why he managed to achieve such shots. Other times it only took a few minutes to achieve this effect.

Always analog photos and without help

Miller always takes minimal photos. To this day he still photographs analog, having used only two cameras in his entire life, the first of which was made in 1936 and came from his father. He also never carries lights, tripods or other accessories other than his camera, something he says he’s heard a lot of ironic comments about. He was born in Berlin and lives permanently near Bonn in Königswinder. The sun’s rays illuminate his large drawing-room table, on which the photographer has made a selection of portraits of chancellors.

Talking to him is like taking a journey through German and French history, starting in the 1960s. Miller managed to capture in great detail every aspect of the face of the first Chancellor of the newly formed Federal Republic of Germany, Konrad Adenauer. Himself only in his 20s, he accompanied Adenauer to a congress of his party, CDU, but also to a few appointments. For Miller, the chancellor, who had no security men around him at the time, seemed like a demigod. Miller confesses: “You could shake hands with Adenauer, talk to him. Today this is unthinkable.”

Ludwig Earhart, Kurt Kissinger and the legendary Willie Brandt followed. From Müller’s collection of portraits, one understands that apart from Adenauer, Willy Brandt, the first chancellor of the SPD, had really impressed him. “He was my hero.” Miller’s photographs seem to show the inner rift and intense mood swings of an entire generation of people who went through a period of depression. A special relationship developed between Helmut Kohl and Miller, although politically they had rather different beliefs. Chancellor Kohl, whom contemporaries consider less elegant and somewhat provincial, is portrayed by Miller very differently.

Black and white portraits of modern German history

In January 1990 Miller was there when Kohl visited François Mitterrand at his home south of Bordeaux. Miller was allowed to go with him as he had previously created a photo album for the then French President and was fluent in French. Kohl later misunderstood him because he developed good relations with SPD successor Gerhard Schroeder. Miller only managed to photograph Angela Merkel once. “Two minutes, it was no more.”

As a freelancer he has realized countless photography projects. His work consists of a total of 2,800 unique photographs, which he would like to donate to a museum. Photographs of chancellors are more likely to survive through time. He hopes that in 2024 there will be an illustrated volume and an exhibition celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany. Olaf Solz has already agreed to support it, says Miller. “I would like to experience this.”