Photographer captures moments

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Dec 31, 2000 by Andrea Albright Capital-Journal

--- Philip Carlson/The Capital-Journal

--- Gary Mark Smith/Submitted

KANSAS FACES

"I hate computers. I'm a field man. Every minute I sit at a computer eats my soul.

When I'm out in the street, it brings it back."

--- GARY MARK SMITH, Lawrence street photographer

By ANDREA ALBRIGHT

The Capital-Journal

LAWRENCE --- Gary Mark Smith has been struck by lighting twice in Pennsylvania, fallen off a 45-foot cliff in Hawaii, survived an earthquake in El Salvador and out-run a volcano in Montserrat. He considers himself lucky.

The Lawrence photographer has traveled to 48 countries and every U.S. state but Alaska. He has taken pictures of natural disasters, warfare and upheaval.

But Smith doesn't look only for spectacular sights. His specialty is more mundane.

Smith is looking for reality.

"Bad streets are prevalent in the world," he said. "I'm a global street photographer, and I'm not just going to shoot streets with cafes on them."

Smith graduated from The University of Kansas in 1984 and received a master's degree from Purdue University in Indiana in 1996. This year, Smith was awarded first place in the American Photo magazine Year 2000 Readers Photo Competition for his 1997 image of a Salem, Montserrat, volcanic eruption survivor.

He said although degrees and awards garner him some respect, his main goal is to to continue traveling and shooting photographs of the people and places that interest him.

"That's the joy of this. I go where I want to go," Smith said. "It's out-and-out adventure."

Smith said he keeps costs low on a budget that would make most travelers wince, but Smith said it is specifically that frugality that has allowed him to do what he wants. The photographer said he has been able to pay for his excursions by traveling on less than $20 per day.

Although he rarely partakes of typical vacation activities, he said he finds his entertainment and food affordably on the streets of the cities he photographs.

"I have a wanderlust that probably would have landed me in therapy if I had a real job," he said. "I hate computers. I'm a field man. Every minute I sit at a computer eats my soul. When I'm out in the street, it brings it back."

Smith has published two books of photographs, one chronicling his experiences while photographing the volcano eruption in Montserrat and the other a collection of street photographs from around the globe.

He said he rarely shows his pictures in galleries, but does display some on his Web site at www.streetphoto.com.

He said although it would be nice to be in a financial position to pay for exotic excursions, right now he continues to carry a tent rather than sleep in a hotel.

"I have no backers," he said. "If I counted on selling my stuff, my portfolio would become economy-driven. As an artist, I don't want that. I want my own view because that's all I've got."

Andrea Albright can be reached at

(785) 295-1208 or aalbright@cjonline.com.