Today we’d like to introduce you to Nic Smith.
Hi Nic, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started with an iPhone 4, like many Photographers, journalists, artist I know. It was handy, it had great quality at that time around (2013-2014), specially for a point and shoot type camera that you could instantly edit and upload to social media through one source, your phone. I was paying $50 a month for the service so, I better have gotten my moneys worth before getting an actual DSLR. Practice was an understatement when it came to taking photos, I always stopped time with my eyes, always staring at people and things. The type of behavior your mom would smack you in the back of the head for and tell you to “stop.” It didn’t hit me that I liked photography until my senior year.
I wasn’t playing sports anymore I was graduating and had no ambition to go to college, not long term at least. I locked in with social media hard and wanted to express the transitions I was going through from where school was ending an adulting was beginning. Plus I needed a little extra money, I linked up with a lady from my church that was really good at taking wedding photos her name was Meosha. She took me in as an intern to show me a little bit of what she knew. Some months go by, I had graduated and ended up couch surfing from place to place. After my internship faded I kept taking pictures but still was a new-by. Taking pictures became more a hobby taking images of flowers, cars, “the homies.” A year goes by and still couch surfing until a great friend of mind (Morris) started doing photography too. He taught me a-lot of fundamentals of photography I didn’t get during my internship. I started to receive more confidence and the potential I had as a photographer, period. From then to now, I am still perfecting the type of visionary I want to be while using the gift of sight to reflect ever lasting moments. From portraits to still life, candids, food. I try it all because I am great at it. I also want to leave it all on the table. Film photography has now been a great challenge to me hoping to introduce journalism and maybe some documentation photos in books in the near future while developing my vision of my art.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road, I actually had to sell my first camera to buy food while taking room and board at my sister’s house in Houston, TX for about a year. I didn’t grow up an hustler so I wasn’t that good at it. I’ve worked with people that have taken advantage of the gift I have and also recently gotten one of my camera stollen. But God has always put me in a position to grow through these cracks in the road. I’ve create some of my best work though the struggles of my life using emotion and character to drive and move me forward.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a photographer, I am known for having a good eye and vision for a image from freelance to even documenting Dallas on film. I am most proud of the confidence I’ve built within my craft. The mental challenges I am breaking through. At one point in my life I was afraid to achieve in this community of great photography. A lot of photographers are great entrepreneurs. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the money and the exposure. But I don’t know how many photographers can say they’ll still be taking photos if social media and income wasn’t a priority. With that being said, I also know a-lot of photographers that’ll put their all into a photo with no gratification or pay. So I don’t know what sets me apart, I just know I am blessed to be apart of this time period of life.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
My personality plays a big part in my work. I crave a great image like a great conversation, I receive the same gratification. Personal taste and authenticity to an image creates a long-lasting feeling. I never try to pressure a great photo or a conversation. Small talk is small talk and a snapshot is a snapshot. It’s fairly meant to say hi and proof I was there. I want to connect with an image like I connect with a conversations about Food, culture, and art. The trust that I have in who I am and what I see plays a huge part in the way I talk to myself while capturing an image, it’s emotional.
Contact Info:
- Email: Sundaysareforclouds@gmail.com
- Website: sundaysareforclouds.mypixieset.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicmonreaux/?hl=en
Image Credits
@typeinpeace @devin_trip @devinpapillion @alexismhicks_ @goldonmydeck
