A passion for light and land is the modus operandi behind the extraordinary nature photography of Ron Smid. Inspired by the work of great landscape photographers of past and present, Smid set out in his early twenties to forge his own unique photographic style with the wild expanse of Canada as his canvas.
What started with weekend canoe sojourns to the Canadian Shield of Northern Ontario eventually led to multiple cross- Canada expeditions. Driven to pursue photography full-time, Smid left his job at an automotive assembly plant to undertake his first photographic journey across Canada in 1999. The life changing experience took him as far north as Inuvik, Northwest Territories, and as far west as Vancouver Island, British Columbia where he now resides. Since then, Smid has explored and photographed within every province in Canada capturing an incredible array of imagery on 120-transparency film.
Smid´s hallmarks are his masterful use of natural light and his incredible patience, waiting for hours, sometime days, for nature’s most remarkable moments to reveal themselves. These are what sets his work apart from colour-enhanced filter-photography that has now become commonplace.
Committed to continuous growth as an artist, Smid has moved into the world of large format photography, embracing new and exciting challenges. Peering through the ground glass of a modern-day wooden field camera, working beneath the cover of dark cloth, Smid has actually stepped backwards into the future, carrying on the tradition to capture spellbinding images of the incredible Canadian wilderness. His remarkable landscape photography captivates an ever-increasing international audience, year after year.
Smid’s landscape work has graced magazines, environmental campaigns, books, fine art posters and on several calendar covers. The successful release of his exclusive 2004 Canadian nature wall calendar, soon to be followed by a 2005 edition, has decorated homes in more than a dozen countries around the world.
