Derek Smith has spent most of his working life working as a meter reader, a deliberate choice of occupation, as it has allowed him to pursue his vocation as a photographer. Inspired by the social documentary style of photographers such as Walker Evans and William Eggleston, and closer to home Robin Morrision and Les Cleveland, he set out 30 years ago to actively record details of the cities, suburbs, small towns and rural areas he was visiting in the course of his work.
His aim has always been to combine the often overlooked aesthetic qualities of everyday objects with a historical record of visual fashion.
After beginning to build up a body of work in Auckland, Derek then moved to Wellington, Nelson, Dunedin and the Coromandel Peninusla in the course of his work. The result is a remarkable and unique collection of images covering the whole country, that are compelling both as photographs, but also as an important documentary record of New Zealand’s social environment.
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