• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Blog
    • All Posts
    • Color Management
    • Computer
    • Dance
    • Exhibits & Publications
    • Family Photographs
    • Gear
    • Genre »
      • Abstract
      • Infrared
      • Landscape
      • Rhode Island
      • Neighborhood
      • Nature
      • Still Life
      • Travel
    • Lightroom
    • Photographers
    • Photography
    • Photoshop
    • Travel
    • WordPress
  • Portfolios
  • Achievements
  • Workshops
    • Digital Printing Workflow and Paper Choices
    • Private Sessions
    • Speaking
  • About
    • The Site
    • A. Cemal Ekin
    • Categories and RSS Feeds
    • Site Map
  • Contact

Kept Light Photography

Photography and Writing by A. Cemal Ekin

Rodney Smith

June 4, 2017 by A. Cemal Ekin

Rodney Smith

There is so much to learn! I found out about Rodney Smith at a small photography group last week and got interested enough from a couple of stories, I searched for his work on Google, and got sucked in! The next thing I knew, I had three of his books on order from Amazon to be delivered in a couple of days. 

The books arrived yesterday and I plowed through them enjoying every single frame, every single page of each book. I still do not know him that well, but cannot hold my recommendations for all three of them:

  • Rodney Smith Photographs is a gorgeous coffee-table book about 12″ x 15″. It will keep me busy for a couple of weeks at least.
  • The Book of Books: a Compendium is a delightful book almost meant as a catalog, 6″ x 5″ but thicker than the first one.
  • In the Land of Light: Israel, a Portrait of Its People is an older book dating back to 1983 but the vision in the photographs are equally strong.

Looking at his work, you will see influences from Jacques-Henri Lartigue with an echo of his brother Zissou, to Vermeer’s Girl With A Pearl Earring. There is a hint of Magritte in many photographs and the ones with jumping people are reminiscent of Philippe Halsman. You may also see glimpses of Avedon and Penn, but in all these similarities one is also keenly aware that they are just similarities and perhaps a tip of the hat to the sources of the inspiration. 

Smith’s photographs are whimsical, constantly experimenting, and of very high quality. His imaginative use of locations, sometimes a narrow ledge or a corner on a building seem to distinguish his works from those who might have inspired him. He must have been a delightful person to know, which brings me to the unfortunate part of the story I heard at the above-mentioned meeting. Rodney Smith passed away last year in 2016. He has left a huge body of work that should be an inspiration to all photographers. I am including a sliver of his work here, search the Internet, get his books, get to know him and his work. There is a great sense of decency in them despite all the playfulness, whimsy, and some tension.

David Pinkham, thank you for mentioning the story about Rodney Smith, 1947 – 2016.

Images are used with permission from Rodney Smith’s wife.

(Below the gallery, there is a video that is over an hour long but worth the time.)

Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith and his wife Leslie

Filed Under: Photographers, Photography Tagged With: Photography

About A. Cemal Ekin

Previous Post: « Film Days – 3
Next Post: Meet Fan Ho »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Binnaz Melin says

    June 5, 2017 at 4:18 am

    Bazen bir kişiyi tanırken, yitirdiğimizi de aynı anda öğreniyoruz. Cemal! Hayat böyle galiba.

    • Cemal Ekin says

      June 5, 2017 at 3:37 pm

      Haklisin Binnaz. Ama hic tanimamaktan iyi galiba.

      Cemal

  2. steve says

    June 23, 2017 at 9:49 pm

    Cemal, Thanks for telling me about Rodney. I enjoyed your words and the B and H video.

    Steve Szydlowski

    • Cemal Ekin says

      June 23, 2017 at 9:51 pm

      Glad to hear that Steve. He has a very interesting and engaging style.

      Cemal

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe for New Posts

You may use the form below to subscribe or to cancel your subscription to new post updates.


 

Hear This

Below are some snippets of information I found interesting and noteworthy to share with the visitors of this site. They will change from time to time, have your bookmarks if you like any; they may disappear from here without notice.

A Rare Bird
Half Male Half Female


In a backyard in Erie, Pa., an unusual cardinal has appeared, displaying both male and female traits. Scientists say it may be a so-called gynandromorph.

See more at The New York Times.

East Meets West

Ppormontory TressleVintage photographs on display to celebrate the meeting of the east and west railroads at Pormontory, UT See more on The Guardian You may also want to take a look at my post about the location and see recent photographs.

The Rest of the Americans


Robert Frank gave us The Americans, the seminal work of his travels across the country. Now, the rest of his photographs can be seen at a new exhibit. New York Times Lens.

Bird Photography


“Pentti Sammallahti’s exhibition focuses on one of his most consistent and compelling subjects: birds. These residents of the land, sea and sky find their way into the Finnish photographer’s field of vision no matter what country he explores” See all at The Guardian

Footer

Return to top of page

Privacy Policy

Copyright Notice

All photographs and writing are:
© 2019 A. Cemal Ekin · Kept Light Photography
All rights reserved. No work may be used for any purpose without prior written permission.
Contact me for more information.

Copyright © 2019 A. Cemal Ekin · All rights reserved.