American photographer Rick Smolan has been honored with the Photography Appreciation Award at the 14th edition of the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA), recognizing his distinguished career in photography. In an exclusive interview, Smolan reflected on his journey from a shy teenager to becoming one of the world's most recognized visual storytellers.
Smolan's passion for photography began at age 16 when his father gave him a camera, a gift that would transform his life completely. "I was an extremely shy teenager. I had very few friends, I was a ham radio operator and spent my time in the basement communicating in Morse code," Smolan recalled. "I couldn't maintain eye contact, especially with girls. When my father gave me a camera, everything changed."
The camera became Smolan's gateway to social connection at high school. "One day at school, a group of cheerleaders asked me to photograph them. Suddenly, everyone - athletes, hippies, all the groups - wanted my presence," he explained. "Photography became a way of being there without forcing myself. Even today, my wife tells me: 'Put down the camera and be present,' but back then, photography opened all doors for me."
Smolan's father also gave him a book by Elliott Erwitt, who later became his stepfather. Erwitt's images fascinated him - "funny, human, puzzling in the best sense of the word." However, when Smolan told his father he wanted to become a photographer, the response was categorically negative. His father insisted he should become a doctor or lawyer, refusing to send him to university "to take baby portraits."
Determined to pursue his passion despite his father's opposition, Smolan found a creative solution. "He refused to let me go to a university offering a photography program, so I enrolled in an institution that didn't have one," Smolan explained. "The first week, I asked the head of the art department if I could create my own program. Nobody had ever asked that before, but he agreed." His father was initially furious but later became proud of his son's initiative.
Smolan's career trajectory defied conventional expectations. Instead of following the traditional path of starting in a small studio and working up to a magazine by age fifty, Time Magazine recruited him at just 24 years old. He later discovered that Time editor John Durniak selected one young photographer each year and launched them on major assignments to see if they could handle the pressure.
"I discovered that I performed best when I was scared," Smolan reflected on working under pressure. "My first major assignment for Time was a color cover, even though I had only worked in black and white. They had prepared backup subjects in case of failure, but I didn't know that." Each assignment mixed excitement with imposter syndrome until he realized that most of his peers were also self-taught.
Smolan's influences included Henri Cartier-Bresson, numerous Magnum photographers like Philip Jones-Griffiths and Burt Glinn, as well as Bill Owens and Duane Michals. He later joined Contact Press Images, which he co-founded with David Burnett, Douglas Kirkland, Eddie Adams, and Annie Leibovitz. As the youngest member, he agreed to take assignments the others didn't want.
A pivotal moment came when Burnett asked if he had ever been to Japan. Pan Am was launching the first direct New York-Tokyo flight, and photographers were being sent to document the event. What was supposed to be a simple assignment - fly there, photograph two men shaking hands, and return - turned into an eleven-month stay that shaped Smolan's career. Time quickly learned he was in Tokyo and assigned him various subjects, from Muhammad Ali to political visits, making him their de facto correspondent.
During his time in Japan, Smolan met local photographers, particularly remembering Hiroshi Hamaya for his great kindness. "I recently found a portfolio he had given me, signed and stored in a box. At the time, it was just an exchange between colleagues; today, it's a precious object," he noted. This Japan journey eventually led him to Australia, where he met his wife Robin and conceived the idea for "A Day in the Life."
After living in Australia for five years following his first trip in 1976 and a camel trek across the desert in 1977, Smolan launched "A Day in the Life of Australia" in 1980, published in 1981. "I never wanted to become a publisher; I preferred working alone as a photographer. But the book's success changed everything," he explained. Each new volume pushed them to innovate with TV shows, exhibitions, interactive CD-ROMs, and later mobile applications linked to images.
His publishing house, Against All Odds, produced an entire catalog of major collaborative projects. Ironically, "A Day in the Life of America" was his most successful but least favorite project. "It's difficult to look at your own country with perspective," Smolan explained. "In Japan, I felt like an alien discovering a new world. In the United States, everything seemed familiar, almost random." Despite his personal feelings, the book sold 1.2 million copies, becoming the first photography book to reach number one on U.S. bestseller lists.
Smolan maintained strict editorial standards throughout his projects. "We never tried to be 'fair.' If we lacked a good image on an important subject, we didn't include it," he stated. "We also refused any product placement from our sponsors. And we guaranteed no photographer a place in the book." This approach sometimes cost friendships when photographers traveled far but weren't included in the final publication, but Smolan's loyalty remained with the project rather than individuals.
The editing process revealed how much chance shapes a book. "A bad editor can bury great images," Smolan observed. He recalled an instance when he and his wife reopened all the Kodachrome slide boxes late at night after reviewing a disappointing selection, discovering extraordinary photos that the editor had discarded. "That changed the entire book."
Technology played a major role in Smolan's projects, particularly his relationship with Apple. During preparation for "A Day in the Life of Japan," he asked Apple Tokyo if they could borrow a Macintosh. Not only did they agree, but they invited the entire project team to set up in an empty office tower belonging to Apple. When Steve Jobs arrived unexpectedly, he was initially surprised to see non-employees installed there, but when Smolan proposed paying photographers with Apple computers instead of money - about $3,000 worth of equipment each - Jobs immediately agreed.
For seven years, they paid photographers with Macintoshes. Later, Apple distributed their narrative CD-ROM "From Alice to Ocean" free in every Macintosh box, with half a million copies circulating and helping bring interactive storytelling to the general public.
Receiving the HIPA Lifetime Achievement Award marks a significant milestone for Smolan. "It's my first award for an entire career," he noted. "Watching the retrospective video last night seemed surreal, like a cliché of your life flashing by, but without the part where you die." At this stage of his life, he thinks much about his children, and sharing this moment with them was very important. Both have followed creative paths - his daughter as a photographer and his son as a filmmaker whose first short film is already circulating in international festivals.
Despite his successful career, Smolan admits he still feels the shyness that once defined him. "My wife doesn't believe I was shy, but I still feel it internally. I've simply learned to overcome it," he explained. "Photography was my tool to achieve that, just as writing or filmmaking can be for others. It's a bridge." This honest reflection reveals how the camera that once helped a shy teenager connect with others continues to serve as a bridge between the artist and the world around him.
