An admitted photography snob, Smith had dismissed the quality of digital pictures years ago, comparing them to comic books. "I thought, 'you can see the dots'."

Now he says, the industry finally got it right. With insurance check in hand, Smith went about replacing his lost equipment with new, state-of-the-art, digital cameras. He has been firmly planted in his virtual darkroom ever since.

Smith has a long history with his craft, tracing it back to his teens and a makeshift darkroom he pieced together in his family's kitchen. Setting up his chemicals and developing paraphernalia at night, Smith began with photographs he took during a vacation in Mobile.

The self-taught photographic artist said that even though he's never had any formal training, he has "read, read, read, and looked, looked, looked,” spending hours studying over other artists' work, assimilating what he could about composition, lighting, color and form. He also went to the ultimate digital resource - the Internet.

Once he was re-armed with cameras, lighting equipment, and other add-ons, Smith began building his inventory of photos.

At first he would post a few of his pieces online only to fall victim to harsh critics of his attempts at digital photography.

"I got canned, I got trashed, they used words I didn't even know," Smith said.

Going back he realized that commercial art directors were more meticulous than the standard art reviewer. They could enlarge photos as much as 200 percent, or more, to check for any imperfection.

"So, I went back and re-did my homework," Smith said.

Unlike traditional film photography, where a considerable part of image manipulation occurs in the darkroom, Smith said in digital photography, it’s all about setting up the subject before ever hitting that shutter release.

“It can take an hour just to run the color balance,” he said. “It might take hours getting the light just right. Pushing the button is an afterthought.”

A trained statistician, Smith said he doesn’t peek at his photos before printing.

“I never look at the picture,” he said. “I look at the statistical data. I know what the photo is supposed to look like.”

When developing the final photograph, Smith said he uses fine art materials, such as high quality photo paper, even for commercial shots.

“Photographs are two dimensional, there is no depth. I have to put that third dimension in,” he said. “There are techniques that I have learned that when someone looks at a photo it jumps out at them or pulls them in where they can walk around in it.”

Smith’s gallery includes several images that at first glance anyone would mistake for black and white photos. He will be quick to tell you that he does not shoot anything in black and white.

“Color is always there,” he said. “There is always going to be a tinge of color to it. You can’t step into a black and white photo. You don’t see everything in black and white. Color has a lot of meaning. Why throw 75 percent of the photo away?”

When shooting an image that appears to be devoid of color, Smith said he sets his color balance to true black so he can have that “nothingness” needed to make the image have the depth he is seeking.

Smith’s selection of subjects is, by his own admission, eclectic. It could be a potted tulip he sees at the local Winn Dixie that he just has to buy or a line of old, rusting cars along the side of the road.

“I’ve always done that,” he said. “Pick up something, twist it, turn it in the light. There’s not a lot of manipulation.”

When photographing an image, Smith said he relies on lighting and shadows, using the inherent qualities of the subject and simply finding a way to bring that out in his final photograph.

It’s not always the hidden images that he sees; some subjects are as close as next door.

“There is a blue heron in a pond half a block from my house,” he said. F“I’ve photographed him so much, he should be getting royalties.”

Galleries of Smith’s photographs can be viewed on his Web site at Michael Smith Photography or he can be reached at (850) 712-0639. In addition to his art photographs, Smith also shoots personal portraits.

His artwork is currently being displayed at:

• Dragonfly Gallery, 5188 Escambia Street, in Milton (850) 981-1100
• Gulf Breeze Framery and Gallery, 314 Gulf Breeze Parkway, in Gulf Breeze (850) 932-0507
• Native Cafe, 45A Via De Luna, in Pensacola Beach

Smith is also casting models for an advertising shoot to use on his commercial Web site.