Bill Smith In Memoriam

August 6, 2006 was the kind of day I was glad to be on my Schwinn and not in my Honda, a warm sun cutting horizontally through the trees, little haze, and just the right amount of clouds, what I like to call a Kodak sky. It was a welcome break from the freak tornedos and rain that hit town in the previous weeks.

Pedaling back from a Sunday morning of Tai Chi in Edgemont Park, I felt the buzz of my cell phone and stopped to see who would be calling so early. It was a friend with the news that a mutual friend, the photographer Bill Smith, had died on Friday. The physically fit, ever positive, unstoppable force that I remembered as Bill had apparently been ill for some time. I couldn't imagine him being unable to overcome any obstacle that came his way. He'd overcome so many, until this time.

Bill was a friend and also a teacher. I assisted for Bill in the 80's on many advertising assignments. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. I helped him with the technical aspects of a commercial shoot, he taught me how to see things in a way I hadn't before. We went on many photography road trips just for the fun of it, learning the value of going out and shooting for myself as often as possible. His advice on the business of photography will stick with me always. I am fortunate and thankful that Bill was a part of my life.