Narrating people’s lives: Rob Smith’s photography from the city of superlatives

Originally from the United Kingdom, photographer Rob Smith has been living and working in China for the past 20 years. His approach to street photography is an intimate one: Rob’s photographs always seem to tell the real story, making you feel like you’ve known their protagonists forever.

Rob Smith, when and why did you decide to make Shanghai your adopted home?

I first arrived in Shanghai (editor’s note: the most populous city proper in the world) almost 20 years ago. At that time, I worked for a UK company as a project manager where I was involved in setting up a number of manufacturing companies, and then I stayed on for what I thought would be a short while to help with the operation. I slowly realised that I wanted to stay in China and not return to the UK. Together with a colleague and friend, I left the UK company and we set up our own small consultancy company in Shanghai, which we continue to run to this day.

What do you love about it?

When I first arrived, there was so much going on in Shanghai, the development was non-stop. The energy of the city was something I had never experienced before. I fell in love with the Chinese culture and admired their ambition and determination. I guess what I love the most is the variety of life, you can walk down the street and see so many contrasts, new and old, rich and poor. You can eat for 1 Euro or spend a small fortune all within 10 metres.

And which of its characteristics would you rather do without?

The traffic, the noise, the crowds all sometimes get too much and I want to see some countryside and go somewhere quiet, but unfortunately you have to travel so far to get that. In the summertime it also gets so hot and humid, all I want to do is stay indoors.

How did the city influence your style as a photographer?

Photographers need something to photograph. Shanghai is full of material to capture. I see so much life going on around me! I started off taking street style photographs, but found I could not resist also taking cityscapes and trying to find ways of mixing the two.

What inspires you?

Shanghai has so many great photographers, when I look at their images, it is easy to see I have a lot of room for improvement. It makes me want to do better and also try to find a different angle.

Your camera is also a frequent travel companion for you – do you have a similar process whenever you first arrive in a new country?

I always do some research on the location before I travel and look at pictures taken by other photographers and the places they photograph on sites like Flickr. So with this, I have a simple plan of where to go and what I would like to try and capture.

If its a city, I try to book a hotel that has a good view, so I can capture cityscapes from my room or the rooftop, and I have apps on my phone to show me where the sun rises and sets – light is so important!

How do you “discover” your subjects?

In Shanghai, I do a lot of walking around. I take my camera out with me most lunchtimes and also walk the streets in the evening. I might start with a plan of what to take or where to go, but very often I end up going down a small street or lane I never knew existed and find something unexpected. Pictures come to you if you go looking.

Which one of your pictures would you say is particularly important to you?

The negative side of the never ending development of Shanghai city is that inevitably along the way some people are going to suffer. Close to my office, I followed and photographed one of the many such small communities that have to leave their homes and possibly their lifelong friends to make way for the new. I saw this old lady – obviously in a lot of distress – pacing up and down a small lane, looking at her whole life in rubble around her. She stopped and leaned against the wall of her small home, which was soon to be demolished, and looked deep in thought. After I’d taken the picture, I tried to imagine what was going on in her mind and where she would go, did she have someone to look after her, how will she survive. The picture still brings tears to my eyes.

Love Rob’s work? You can buy his pictures straight from his gallery on Photocircle – and make sure to also check out his website for updates on his work.