Sean Smith shoots for the moon.
It’s his least cooperative subject.
The Gloucester-based photographer, with a social media following exceeding 25,000, thrives at capturing the night sky. That’s tricky, he said, as the brightness of the moon contrasts with the darkness of night.
His images of the sun rising and setting over the York River and Atlantic Ocean reveal colors van Gogh would envy.
“You might say I’m a weather junkie,” he said. “A cold front, a warm front, any little disturbance in weather makes for some awesome skies and some awesome lighting.”
Smith chases both with enthusiasm. While his love affair with the camera began 30 years ago, he credits age for his increased patience to wait for the right photo at the right moment.
“Sometimes I think it’s a lot of luck,” Smith said with a shrug. “You’ve got to get out there and shoot. Sometimes I can’t believe I’m out here doing this, but when you see the results, you know why you’re doing it.”
When most stay inside, Smith is on the move, his camera gear in tow. He’s embraced snow days like a schoolchild, walking along deserted stretches in search of frosty scenes that are rare in southeastern Virginia. A recent nighttime stroll on a snowy night in Colonial Williamsburg led him to a lone snowman in front of the Governor’s Palace, a coatless student at the Sunken Garden on the William & Mary campus and an elderly couple holding hands along Duke of Gloucester Street.
The streetlights in his pictures offer a nostalgia similar to a Thomas Kinkade painting. His images could be calendar shots or Hallmark cards. Many are for the Visit Williamsburg tourism site, which uses his striking photography to showcase the region.
"We love working with Sean Smith,” said Daniela Owen, social media specialist for the site. “He has a wonderful way of capturing the stories of the Historic Triangle; his images don’t just document history, they invite you into it."
Olivia’s in the Village, a family restaurant on Gloucester Main Street, doubles as a gallery for his photography. While everything on the walls is for sale, Smith hasn’t been aggressive about monetizing his art.
He doesn’t have an online store or even a business website.
“That’s part of the master plan when I’m not moving as fast as I am now,” said Smith, who worked eight years as a photographer for NASA Langley. “I’m not getting rich, but I am able to do what I love and pick my schedule.”
The Williamsburg native thought he wanted to be a graphic artist until he dated a photographer in high school with her own darkroom.
“I started with a Polaroid,” said Smith, who graduated to a Pentax K1000, distinguished by its simple body that doesn’t require a learning curve. Smith practiced with his new camera and sampled others at the then-Peninsula Community College.
In the early 1990s, Smith recognized how the digital age would be a game-changer in photography that gave rise to visual storytelling. When Canon introduced a prosumer digital camera with advanced features in 2003, Smith had to have one.
“That’s when things started to rock and roll.”
He was in downtown Washington, on a break from his job as a multimedia producer. Walking around D.C.’s Convention Center, he noticed a stairwell with people seeking a strong cell signal. The light hit just right. He snapped away and entered one of the photos into a National Geographic contest called Culture Shock.
His black and white submission was picked as one of five finalists and he received a cash prize.
Five years later, Smith’s work appeared in National Geographic’s special edition on space. He thought it would be a small photo in a corner. It was a double-page spread.
“I bought as many as I could,” he said.
Smith is remiss in naming the most popular photo of his, though he recalls the strong response last year when an electrical storm and the Northern Lights converged at the Governor’s Palace.
“It got something like 14,000 likes,” said Smith, whose watched his following grow to the point of Meta, formerly Facebook, deeming him a creator.
He favors the views of the Coleman Bridge. Williamsburg is a staple stop, though he likes heading to the beach, especially Sandbridge and Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. A recent drive up the Eastern Shore to Chincoteague to shoot the annual pony swim was a treat.
And “a blast,” he added.
Smith is just starting to add video to his Instagram and Meta feeds, a backup to show off surroundings that inspire him to rise early and stay out late.
“It’s a beautiful world we live in, especially on the East Coast and especially in the Tidewater region,” Smith said. “This area has plenty to offer on any given day."
