Sep 25, 2017

Terry Smith: A Life Devoted to the Beauty of Youth

Terry Smith grew up in Oklahoma, became a missionary and then a juvenile probation officer, and finally found himself in San Diego.  In May 1996, he bought a new camera and went out to shoot some skaters and surfers.  Soon he was photographing dozens of boys, trying to capture the fluid beauty of youth before it faded into the rigidity of adulthood.  He got some models from professional agencies, but most were discovered on the street, hanging out, skateboarding, swimming, being kids.

Chris (left) was one of his first models.

The project expanded to thousands of photographs of hundreds of boys taken over a period of over 20 years.

Terry preferred the androgynous, gender-atypical boys, the outcasts, Goths, Emos who rejected the macho sports culture of their high schools, the gay, bisexual, asexual, and queer.

But he didn't just photograph them.  He took an interest, got to know them, helped them through the turmoil of their teen years, kept in touch after they grew up.  Some have become models and artists.  About 20 have children of their own.   Five have died, three from the effects of drug addiction, two from suicide.

In 2012 there was a retrospective exhibit at the DRKRM Gallery in Los Angeles.

A book is planned for 2017.

A film of Terry's work with the kids, America's Finest Kids: A Historical Journey in Art and Anthropology, is in development, with a portion of the proceeds going to raise awareness of youth suicide.

Some of the photographs are uploaded to Terry's tumblr page, americasfinestkids.tumblr.com.

Here are some of Terry's favorite models:



Joshua was an Emo kid.










Matt was a model from the Pacific Northwest.  Terry is the first photographer to ever shoot him naked.













Reed is a more recent model, just 18, a skateboarder in vintage hip-huggers.











Siaha is pink, androgynous, and reflective.


















Sergei on the beach.


















Thomas stretching.

Nude photos are on Tales of West Hollywood.

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