Who is AJ Smith?

Well here’s a photo of me for starters..

I first started seriously developing my interest in photography in 1999 when I was 15, and I bought my first Digital Camera – the Fujifilm DX-8 which, back then, was quite a state of the art piece of equipment with its whopping 640×480 VGA resolution! Though it was a great camera, I have felt the need to upgrade my equipment many times and have loved photography ever since, always seeing life through a lens, exploring every vision with the photographic possibilities, angles, lightings, framing.

I grew up in a small hamlet in Worcestershire, England – unbelievably, called World’s End where I lived, except for a year in Australia, until education was out of the way, and I was able to find new places and new experiences. After a GAP year volunteering back in Australia on conservation projects, I then completed a degree in Creative Computing in the south of England, where I achieved a 2:1. Soon after, I returned to live in Melbourne.

As my photography conveys, I have a great passion for travel, having lived and travelled extensively on trips lasting anything from 2 months to a matter of years throughout Australasia, Southeast Asia, India, Central America, North America and Europe. Most notable photographic shoots include North Africa and the Middle East, when I ticked off two more Natural Wonders of the World seeing the Pyramids and the stunning Petra in Jordan, an ancient city carved out of mountain sides.

One of the most memorable was an absolutely stunning visit to the Arctic Circle!! In the thick of winter!! Definately one of the best trips of my life to date, it was a fantastic opportunity for photography, especially with long exposures on account of 24hr darkness and of course, the reason for the trip in the first place – the fantastic Aurora Borealis! In order to get out to the locations I really wanted to shoot; the fjords, rural norway, the Northern Lights with zero light pollution, the only way I saw fit to really experience the area and get the photos I really wanted to shoot, was to go camping! In the thick of Winter at 70° Latitude (equivalent to the very tip of Alaska!) and approaching -30°C, camping here was one of the greatest challenges I have faced yet and an experience I’ll struggle to again match as it enabled me to get some spectacular views and shots of the Aurora Borealis – something I will never forget, absolutely fantastic!

I shoot what I see and what I love, lifestyles, cultures, experiences, good times, nature, panorama and extreme experiences and situations some people only dream of!

You only live once – whatever your dream, get up and do it!