‘You see things in a way that other people don’t. You look at life through a rectangle, always framing the next shot’.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Welcome to the life of renowned photographer, videographer and, more significantly, artist Rob Smith.
He regularly captures the life moments of the local wildlife during his daily jaunt around the Lighthouse Beach area. Lately that has extended to some thrilling photos of feeding magpies at the Tacking Point lighthouse.
Alongside his own work, Rob also judges at national and international events and speaks at conferences alongside giving advice to budding photographers.
His life behind the lens may not have eventuated if he had followed his university training as a zoologist. “It turned out that I never did a day’s work in zoology in my life,” he said.
He fell into a trainee computer programmer job with Essential Energy in his then home town of Inverell where he would spend the next 25 years.
“Life got in the road (he is married with three boys) and photography took a back seat to Saturday morning sport and raising a family,” he said.
Fate’s hand saw him then move away from IT and into a decade as the energy providers’s corporate photographer and videographer.
His love of photography started at the age of 17 years when he inherited his father’s camera and a correspondence art course followed.
In 2004 he purchased his first digital camera and started snapping away with a focus on wildlife, landscape and seascapes. Although if he can see a way of interpreting the beauty of something he will do it, he says.
“It’s not a hobby for me. It really is a way of life; an artist’s way of life,” he said.
“Looking at life through a lens has taught me to be observant. You have to ask yourself why are you lifting the camera; is it because you want to take an artistic shot?
“I particularly love the fantastic coastline around Port Macquarie. The rocky coastline here has so many moods and seemingly its constant change.
“When I look through the lens I really want to make it look as beautiful as possible.”
Rob has some strong beliefs on the impact digital cameras has had on photography as a medium.
He says that owning a camera makes you a camera owner and doesn’t make you a photographer.
I would consider myself an artist and not just a photographer. But it took me a while to come to grips with that.
- Rob Smith
“Taking digital photos allows you to manipulate things too much. You see it on a computer screen and think ‘wow’ that looks great,” he said.
“I am not knocking people who utilise the technology, but it just doesn’t turn heads anymore.
“My advice is to get back to basics. You have to start with really good composition and a compelling subject matter. It has to be something that touches people’s hearts.
“It’s best if you communicate an idea through a photograph. It can be something that conveys a message in it.”
While he doesn’t think the perfect photo exists, he does accept that people could see something in one of his photographs that he doesn’t see.
But what makes the best photo? In Rob’s view there needs to be a few things including, it has to be memorable because the modern world is bombarded with many things. Composition is the most important thing because 20 photographers can stand in the one spot and take a photo but only one or two might come up with something quite stunning.
He has some advice for anyone considering purchasing a digital camera too.
“Don’t place too much importance on the brand of the camera. It’s the way you use it that matters. All cameras are good and nowadays it is pretty hard not to get a photo that is in focus, has brilliant colour because the technology takes care of all that,” he said.
Rob has plenty of praise for professional photographers but he prefers to be acknowledged as an amateur. “In our modern world the word amateur is a bit of a put down. But amateur means ‘for the love of it’ in French and many amateur photographers that I know are far more artist than professional photographers.
“I would consider myself an artist and not just a photographer. But it took me a while to come to grips with that.”
Rob has helped produce a booklet for the local photographic club and is looking forward to an exhibition in November and December at Masterpiece Gallery and Framing on Hastings River Drive.
Rob Smith’s website is www.wowfactorpix.com