Our Member of the week is : Patrick Smith of Patrick Smith Photos.  Patrick is an amazing photojournalist from Maryland.

I noticed each of his photos tells an interesting story and his lighting is exceptional. I asked him how long he had been a photographer. He said, “ I’ve been shooting pictures since sometime in high school. I did a lotof video work in my late years of high school, which developed into a love of photojournalism in college.”

I was curious to know what his favorite subject to photograph was. He replied, ” I am a versatile photojournalist, so I shoot a range of assignments from professional sports to news events. It’s difficult to say what I like the most since I enjoy it all. I love to deliver the compelling images of newsworthy and sporting events to those around the world. I also enjoy wandering in foreign cities and countries shooting feature pictures.”

Patrick says he gets his inspiration from other photojournalists and friends — this list is long.  He would also want to thank photojournalists and editors, young and old, for continually pushing him by producing their own amazing works.

I asked him if he could give himself a piece of advice when he was first starting out – what would it be? He replied, ” That’s a difficult question. As a photojournalist, I wish I would havedone some more internships and got to meet and learn from more talented photographers. But I don’t think I would change anything. I love learning. Life is a journey.”

So we want to know Patrick — what’s in your camera bag?   He said, “ Too much to carry, that’s for sure! I’m well versed in both Canon and  Nikon systems, but grew up on Nikon. I shoot with Nikon D3S and D700 camera bodies. I also have a full gamut of lenses ranging from a 35mm f/2 to a 400mm f/2.8. I am also a huge ThinkTank Photo fan. I have a bunch of their rolling bags and accessories, including the ThinkTank  International 2.0 and their waist belt and pouches.”

Thanks Patrick for being an inspiration and sharing your work.