W Eugene Smith

I have looked at this photograph over and over again for many years.  The mother's love is moving when compared to the stark background and expression of the young child.   Similar photographs have formed part of my formative photographic education.  What I didn't know, and I should have, was that it, and many others, was made by W Eugene Smith.

I grew up on a diet of Life magazine and this is where I first encountered Smith's work.   His bold photographs seemed almost impossible to take less replicate.   This is still so.  Only recently have I become aware of how much Smith's work has influenced my life.   The reason for this revelation is that I am now researching photography in much greater detail and Smith's imagery is becoming a recurring theme. 

There are many words that could be written about smith but I still feel this somewhat misses the point.   It is the power of photograph that is far more eloquent than any word can ever be.   It really is the case that a picture is worth a thousand words.  In Smith's case many times a thousand.