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ARTIST OF THE WEEK
RYAN SMITH
That led to the same feeling in all aspects of my life which in turn meant a camera would never leave my side, I guess you could call this serious. Argus: Who inspires you?
AURORA BRAID 2015
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AUGUST 17,
Argus: Give us a short bio about yourself! RS: My name is Ryan Smith. I was born in 1990 and raised on the Gold Coast. I like to feel alive. Argus: When did you first pick up a camera? And when did you realize that you wanted to get serious about photography? RS: I first started taking photos around 2007. I was in my last year of high school and had a bunch of friends who took photographs. Seeing all their photos made me regret not enrolling and made me go out and get my own camera. It’s hard to say when I wanted to get “serious” since to date I still feel as though I’m not taking it seriously. But I guess since I was surfing a lot and going to see a lot of bands I was looking for a way to further preserve the memory than just being there at the time.
RS: I am influenced by a lot of photographers for different reasons. Glen Friedman has always been a big one. His subjects are what (in an ideal world) I’d shoot every day. More recently though Chris Burkard whose photos remind me that there is an entire world out there waiting to be explored, James Hartley who has been my main source of inspiration since first ever holding a camera, and then a long list of photographers turned friends who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting over the years. Argus: What influences you? RS: In short, the biggest influence for me is the earth. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, you can always look outside and see the sky. You can see your surroundings, you can see the horizon in the distance and that just makes me want to document it all. Friends have and always will be an endless source of inspiration. They are what got me to pick up a camera in the first place and I’m grateful and lucky to be surrounded by a lot of creative people.
ARTIST OF THE WEEK: RYAN SMITH
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Argus: You’re currently traveling through Europe, does travel motivate your photographs? RS: Absolutely. I’ve only been gone almost 2 months but already feel as though I’ve learnt a lot about myself and it’s easy to recognise patterns and consistencies in my photos that I haven’t really noticed before. Traveling will always motivate and push me to better my photographs as it is forever changing with every destination and therefore will present you with a new challenge at every place I visit. Argus: Did you study photography? If not, how did you figure it out? RS: I haven’t ever studied photography. I regret not doing it in school but don’t regret not studying further. While I do feel there is a lot to learn from studying at a college or university, I also feel it is something that should be figured out and defined yourself. I feel you can only learn the technicalities from studying, and the rest is progression through trial and error, through experimenting and taking time to find your feet and understand what you are trying to document and how you wish to present what you see. I watched a few tutorials on the internet to master basic camera functions, how to load film etc etc but the rest was just discovering for myself.
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ARTIST OF THE WEEK: RYAN SMITH
Argus: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? RS: It’s hard to say. I’m 24 now and my theory is to not care about much until I’m 30 so I’d hope I’m doing what I’m doing right now. Sitting in a place I have never heard of in a country I never thought I’d visit. I don’t see myself coming home or settling down for some time now but 5 years could be a stretch. Who knows what the future holds, I try not to think about it. Argus: What is your biggest professional moment (so far)? RS: I haven’t had any groundbreaking moments thus far. I had a decent bunch of photographs printed in the Parkway Drive 10 year anniversary book, which was significant for me in a few ways but it was nice to see photos printed in a hardcover book. A few double pages in magazines for advertisements, a few prints hung on walls. Hopefully my biggest moment is still to come. Ha!
ARTIST OF THE WEEK: RYAN SMITH
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ARTIST OF THE WEEK: RYAN SMITH