Dennis J Smith

Hello there. I have been involved in photography for about 40 years. In my photography I try to capture something extra. Yousef Karsh was a great inspiration to me during this time. He had a way of capturing a persons spirit. Yousef is quoted as saying, “Within every man and woman a secret is hidden, and as a photographer it is my task to reveal it if I can. The revelation, if it comes at all, will come in a small fraction of a second with an unconscious gesture, a gleam of the eye, a brief lifting of the mask that all humans wear to conceal their innermost selves from the world. In that fleeting interval of opportunity the photographer must act or lose his prize.”

This has been my challenge, to be able to find that "secret" in all subjects that I photograph, not just in people. When I build an image, there is usually an underlying story, maybe the story is just in my head. But, that "secret" is there, and I have made it my goal to capture that and present it in my images. You might have to look closely, but, it's there, just waiting for someone to find it.

What photography means to me; The one thing I learned about photography; like music, photography has no borders, no race. I may not be able to pronounce the names of some photographers from around the world, but I can feel and see each one in their images. Like, musicians, photographers are a family of people who tell stories of the world as they see it. I get to see the world through the soul of each photographer. When you see one of my images, you see a little bit of myself. My hope is that you can see a little of me in my work.

I currently use Nikon camera and lenses to capture my images.

Thanks Dennis

Photography; 100 percent technical, 100 percent art. It takes a photographer to blend them into an image.