Award-winning photographer Smári grew up in Iceland. He bought his first camera at the age of fourteen, financed by selling the daily Icelandic newspaper, and has been obsessed with photography ever since.

After studying business he left Iceland for California to attend Brooks Institute of Photography. Later he crossed the country to live in Boston and only just recently returned to California, where he now lives on a vineyard just north of San Francisco. Smári loves the challenge of a big production, almost as much as travelling. His work has been recognized by Archive, Communication Arts and PDN and his spare time is spent cooking local food and dedicated to his fine art project, "Walden: A Year" from which he intends to create a coffee table book and a series of gallery exhibitions.

09.03.08

Smoking with Churchill

If you have a degree in what field is it? I have a BA in photography from Brooks in Santa Barbara; prior to that, I studied business in Iceland.

What was your strangest assignment? Photographing a meat factory in Boston, which many people would find disgusting. It was, however, beautiful.

Which photographer would you like to meet? Irving Penn. No, make that Hiroshi Sugimoto. No, make it both. If both Irving Penn and Hiroshi Sugimoto invited me to dinner on the same night, it would be a difficult decision.

What famous person (living or dead) would you most like to photograph? Winston Churchill—and then, even though I don’t smoke, share a cigar with him afterwards.

Aside from your camera and lighting, what item could you not work without? Nowadays, I’d have to say my computer. I haven’t shot film in over two years.

Is there anything you would not digitally retouch? Of course. As a general rule, I don’t do much retouching—I mostly do color and contrast adjustments.

From where do your best ideas originate? In the moment. And, in the shower. I sometimes take really long showers.

How do you overcome a creative block? Everywhere I go there’s something that influences. I look around and soak up life: museums, magazines, movies, downtown, nature.

Do you have creative pursuits other than photography? I’m very much into bread baking and cooking. I just moved to a vineyard north of San Francisco and will be making my first wine this year.

What music are you listening to right now? Duffy’s newest album, Rockferry.

What’s your approach to balancing work and life? I don’t see it as work versus life. It’s an organic mix of life with work and work with life.  

What’s your favorite quote? Not sure who said it, but “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”

Do you have any advice for people just entering the profession? Stay true to your vision. Be sure you’re prepared to work very hard. On a more practical note, seek work assisting photographers you admire—and learn from them.  

What’s one thing you wish you knew when you started your career? That things would turn out okay. If I’d known that, when I came here from Iceland with all my stuff in two suitcases, I wouldn’t have worried so much.