photo: A.T. Willlet and Jeff Smith
Photographer: Jeff Smith
Years Downtown: 17
Specialty: Commercial
Favorite Subject: Lightning
Jeff Smith likes to stand out in storms. Attracted to severe weather and the outdoors, he estimates that in the past 20 years, he’s spent no fewer than 800 nights in the desert. He’s made a reputation for daredevilry in the pursuit of photographing extreme weather. He and his friend A.T. Willett market their stock photos under the name of Lightningsmiths, and it’s perfectly apt.
In a less risky or extravagant mood, he also trains his camera lens on nighttime scenes and Tucson’s unique All Soul’s Procession. Commercially, his website includes 10 categories as examples of what he offers, such as Environmental Portraits, Headshots, Travel, Music, Meteorites and Fine Art. Among his many corporate and advertising clients are the University of Arizona, APS, the mining industry and such national brands as Timberland.
Jeff Smith has called Tucson home for 40 years, since moving here as a child. After graduating from Saguaro High, he attended Pima Community College where he met Willett. Both men thrived under the tutelage of Luis Carlos Bernal and Jeffrey Muir Hamilton. He also served as one of Tim Fuller’s assistants, and he has spent 25 years consummating and refining his digital and traditional photography techniques.
One passion is the All Soul’s Procession. He hosted an exhibit from the 2009 event on the wall of his spacious downtown warehouse studio, recently revamped to accommodate more such shows. He’s been in the brick-walled, high-ceilinged location since 1994, and thus is well settled. He says, “A lot of incredibly talented people are hiding out downtown and need a new venue to showcase their talents,” and he anticipates being their active enabler.
Etherton Gallery, which represents Smith and Willett, titled the two men’s 2007 exhibit Out of a Clear Blue Sky: Severe Weather Photography and characterized them as “storm-chasing adrenalin junkies.” But Smith’s brilliant, heart-stoppingly beautiful Procession photographs reveal an artist who brings a similar sensibility to the color-drenched drama of costumed marchers caught up in their somber yet uplifting annual promenade through downtown Tucson.
Among the hundreds of photographers who vied to capture the procession, now busy disseminating results and promoting themselves, Jeff Smith stands out – his devotion to the spectacle infuses his images and makes them sparkle. Taking it further, in conjunction with the non-profit sponsor of the event, Many Mouths, One Stomach and Rialto Theater director Doug Biggers, he’s working on a feature length film titled “Flor de Muertos” with film director Danny Vinik and producer Theodore Abrams. Slated for completion and submission to film festivals in 2011, it will subsequently screen at the Loft Cinema and serve as a fundraiser for all three organizations.
Sample Jeff Smith’s work at JeffSmithUSA.com.
