About G.B.Smith
Patagonia, Argentina.
Born in the industrial heartland of England, G. B. Smith began his photographic passage almost fifty years ago as a teenager in apprenticeship of traditional film techniques in both the darkroom and with large plate cameras. The simplicity and deliberateness of his images today reflect the mindfulness of this traditional approach, manifested in modern digital technology.
In a world dominated by color that invades all of our senses G.B.Smith has inversely grown up with extreme color blindness. This restricts his visual vocabulary and yet both forces and enables him to strip away these distractions to focus on the structures and patterns as he sees them. The joy of his imagery is in fact deeply embedded in this ability to present the canvas in its essential form. His images bring solace to our psyche constantly overwhelmed by the overstimulation of color, and they encourage us to look beyond the color, taking in their essence in a new and releasing way. Out of less comes more.
Given his industrial heritage, many of his studies gravitate toward decaying man-made structures and the appreciation of their form together with their interaction with the regenerative power of nature. Similarly, his minimalist images of modern architecture celebrate the architect’s intent, stripped down to form and purpose.
G. B. Smith’s early enthusiasm in photography, matched by his interest in emerging communication technologies and entrepreneurship, led him down a path of discovery and exploration in countries and cultures throughout the world.
His ability to understand context and distill things down to their essence has also made him highly successful in his other persona, as a technology and business leader and one of the longest serving public company CEO’s in the USA. A truly global citizen, having lived on multiple continents and worked extensively in six, he now resides in Maryland, USA, and combines extensive global travel with a rekindled passion for Fine Art photography.
His much anticipated first book publication PATHWAYS, was published in the fall of 2023, featuring selected works from several of G. B. Smith’s current collections, including many of his more recent award-winning images (all proceeds from the book support The Breast Cancer Alliance Charity).
He is a lifelong member of the Royal Photographic Society.
“I endeavor to take the viewer through a journey of the image, using light to illuminate patterns and forms as signposts along a pathway between spaces. These paths essentially act as the observation track for the journey around the image. My interpretation and initial field visualizations are based on these visual flows. The critical aspect I look for in any canvas is the ability to provide enough space and visual context to facilitate focus on the subject in its purest shape. In essence, I try to distill the scene down to its uncluttered form and flows, to simplify the PATHWAYS.
Therefore, I use only black and white and mostly minimalist imagery, believing profoundly that less is indeed more.”
G.B.Smith
International Awards
G.B.Smith has received international recognition for his innovative imagery across a broad spectrum of eclectic subjects and genres. His photographs have been featured in a wide range of media, including many leading fine art and photography magazines. He has won multiple prestigious awards and accolades. Recent recognitions include three consecutive Gold Medals in architecture, fine art and nature categories at the Prix dela Photographie awards in Paris, Discovery photographer of the year, first prize in the International ND awards for architecture, winner of multiple categories and “Best of the Best” award at the International Architecture Masterprize awards, and multiple category winner for Fine Art and Architecture at both the New York and London Photography Awards. Prior to general publication, PATHWAYS was awarded First Prize in the book category at the 2023 International Photography awards.
Recent selected International Awards include:
