Episode description

Rodney Smith was a photographic visionary, with an allegiance to the image above all else. Long acclaimed for his iconic black-and-white pictures—not to forget his later jewel-like color scenes—Smith captured enchanted worlds full of subtle magic and lighthearted humor. Using only analog film and the aesthetics of natural light, his dream-like photographs are matched in quality by the craft and physical beauty of his prints.

Smith died in 2016, yet the enduring precision, elegance, and whimsy of his world view is nowhere more evident than in our conversation with Leslie Smolan, his widow and executive director of his estate; and his long-time assistant, master printer Terence Falk.

Listen in as Smolan discusses key aspects of Smith’s career development and describes her recent collaboration with the J. Paul Getty Museum on the book, Rodney Smith: A Leap of Faith. And Falk provides firsthand anecdotes about the unique experience of working on a Rodney Smith shoot—an experience that led one powerful New York executive to call his secretary from a midtown pay phone and exclaim, “I feel like I’m in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off!”

As New York Fashion Week ushers in the fall season, we’re looking back on the career of one of the most distinctive photographers to infuse business and fashion with a timeless sense of style and grace.

Guests: Leslie Smolan and Terence Falk

For more information on our guests and their gear they use, see:
The Estate of Rodney Smith Website: rodneysmith.com/
The Estate of Rodney Smith Facebook: www.facebook.com/rodneysmithphotography/
The Estate of Rodney Smith Instagram: www.instagram.com/_rodneysmith/
The Estate of Rodney Smith Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/rodneysmithpics/
Rodney Smith Lecture at the B&H Event Space: www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photog…mith-1970-2016
Conversation about Rodney Smith at FIT Amphitheater: www.fitnyc.edu/museum/events/index.php
Rodney Smith Exhibition at Staley Wise Gallery in New York: www.staleywise.com/exhibitions/rodney-smith2
Rodney Smith: A Remembrance with Dr Rebecca Senf: santafeworkshops.com/creativity-con…-rebecca-senf/
Rodney Smith: A Leap of Faith book: shop.getty.edu/products/rodney-s…th-978-1606068465